As 250 Canadian wildfires blaze out of control, media mum on arsonists

FPI / July 3, 2023

At least 500 active fires are burning around Canada, 257 of which are classified as “out of control,” according to the Canada Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

As a result, poor air quality in several areas of the U.S. has in recent days been a hot topic on social media and private conversations.

The fires have burned more than 8.1 million hectares, or around 20 million acres, across Canada. The country's wildfire season typically peaks in late July or August.

According to major media, there is only one explanation for the fires — climate change. Similar themes have been heard in California where smoky skies have become an annual occurrence in late summer and autumn.

What about widespread reports of arson and poor forest management? Reporters are not curious. "The situation in Canada is similar to that in Australia, where green ideology and chronic government underfunding mean that the forests currently ablaze have not been managed properly for years," according to New York Post columnist Miranda Devine.

"Warm and dry conditions are like kindling for wildfires. Much of Canada, like the rest of North America, has experienced record heat and drought recently as climate change continues to warm the planet," CBS News declared on June 27 (a statement which has been pretty much repeated verbatim by most Big Media outlets.)

Occasionally, actual journalism is practiced and reports of a slew of arrests of arsonists make it into the mainstream, but are not surprisingly suppressed by Big Tech.

• The Edmonton Journal reported on May 4 that a 29-year-old man had been arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and charged with 10 counts of arson after a string of wildfires and blazes in and around Cold Lake.

• CBC reported on June 2 that RCMP in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, say they are investigating three fire scenes as arson cases.

The Mounties say they responded to a call of a structure fire on Highway 4 in Alma on Friday at 1:30 a.m. That fire was was extinguished by the local volunteer fire department, the report noted. About an hour later, a second fire was reported in Granton on Granton Abercrombie Road. RCMP say they learned a green bin had been set on fire. A third fire was reported a short time later in Mount William on Mount William Road. RCMP learned that recycling bags had been set on fire on the side of the road in that case.

The Mounties say their initial investigation determined all three fires were the result of arson.

• The Toronto Sun reported on June 7 that Quebec police are investigating the possibility that the smoke creating poor air quality in southern Ontario and making downtown Toronto skylines disappear may have been the result of arson.

“There is an investigation because the cause is suspect,” said Surtee de Quebec media officer Hugues Beaulieu.

Previous forest fires in places like Fort McMuray or in Nova Scotia are suspected to be caused by humans, the report said.

WorldTribune.com reported on June 8 that multiple arrests had been made in connection to the Canada fires.

Along with arson, many are attributing the fires to poor forest management by Canadian authorities. Critics say too few controlled burns are being performed to clear the forest of flammable surplus.

Free Press International
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