Last year, firefighters were sent to the United States to combat wildfires. This year, however, Canada was criticized for smoke crossing the border. The ongoing wildfires in Canada have caused poor air quality in many areas of the United States. American Republican lawmakers took this opportunity to accuse Canada of poor forest management. However, many Canadian netizens reacted by saying, "Didn’t we help extinguish the fires last year? Are you now becoming criminals?"
According to a report by the US 'HuffPost' on the 17th, Republican Congresswoman Lisa McLaine from Michigan posted an article on social media on the 17th local time, stating that Michigan residents "should not have to pay for Canada's negligence," and complaining that Canada "allows smoke to cross the border year after year," calling on Canada to "stop exporting smoke to the United States."
On July 16th, from the observation deck on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building in New York City, it could be seen that smoke from the Canadian wildfires covered the Chrysler Building.
McLane also co-signed a letter with four other Republican legislators to Canadian Prime Minister Harper, stating that Canada “has the ability to prevent and control forest fires, yet chooses to do nothing.” They warned that if Canada continues to “fail to manage forests properly,” the United States will “take action of its own” to protect American citizens.
According to data from the Canadian Interdepartmental Forest Fire Center, there are still nearly 900 active wildfires across the country, many of which remain out of control. The continuous smoke has crossed the border, causing poor air quality in several states in the Midwest and Northeast of the United States. Areas such as New York were also covered by smoke haze for a period of time.
However, McLean’s statement did not receive much endorsement. The Huffington Post reported that many Canadian internet users believed it was unrealistic to blame cross-border smog on the Canadian government, and it also didn’t help in dealing with the increasingly frequent wildfires. Some even joked that she had acted like a “Karen-level” woman who behaves recklessly.
Many netizens also cited another set of data. Data from the National Fire Center of the United States shows that since the beginning of this year, there have been nearly 40,000 wildfires in the US, covering an area of over 3.67 million acres. The United States itself is also severely affected by wildfires.
Some also brought up news of the wildfire in Southern California, USA last year: At that time, Canada sent firefighters and equipment to assist in the rescue efforts in the US. Now, as smoke crosses the border, some American politicians are pointing fingers at Canada. Many netizens criticize this as a typical example of “forgetting who helped oneself.”
