Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew calls out U.S. lawmakers complaining about smoke from Canadian wildfires

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has pushed back against U.S. lawmakers who recently sent a letter to Canada’s ambassador complaining that wildfires are sending smoke across the border and making it difficult for Americans to enjoy the summer.

The Tuesday letter was signed by six Republican lawmakers from Minnesota and Wisconsin, and questioned Canada’s approach to fighting wildfires. In response, Kinew said Thursday that the lawmakers should speak with the American firefighters currently on the ground in Manitoba, instead of making political statements from afar.

“I’ve shaken the hands of American firefighters in northern Manitoba who are helping us out,” said Kinew. “I would challenge these ambulance chasers in the U.S. Congress to go and do the same, and to hear how much the American firefighting heroes who are here, how much they love our province.”

The letter was sent by representatives Tom Tiffany, Brad Finstad, Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Glenn Grothman and Pete Stauber of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and addressed to Canada’s U.S. ambassador, Kirsten Hillman.

In the letter, they outlined that over the last few years, Canadian wildfires have impacted American’s quality of life. They argued that a “lack of active forest management” is a key cause, but arson could also be a contributing factor. The letter went on to say that with all the technology available, “this worrisome trend can be reversed if proper action is taken.”

“This is what turns people off politics,” Kinew said in response. “When you’ve got a group of congresspeople trying to trivialize and make hay out of a wildfire season where we’ve lost lives in our province. There’s no place for that in politics.

“If you can’t get likes on Instagram from your own skills as a politician don’t bother trying to throw other people under the bus during a state of emergency.”

• Manitoba is under province-wide emergency order as wildfires continue to burn
• U.S. Republicans demand to know what Canada is doing to curb wildfire smoke

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