U.S. Congress members urge Canada to deal with wildfire smoke ruining their summer
Six members of the U.S. Congress have penned a public letter to Canada's ambassador in Washington demanding their Northern neighbour do better at mitigating wildfires, which have led to thousands of evacuations in this country and sent smoke billowing across the border into Midwestern states.
'We write to you today on behalf of our constituents who have had to deal with suffocating Canadian wildfire smoke filling the air,' reads the letter signed by Republican House representatives Brad Finstad, Pete Stauber, Michelle Fischbach and Tom Emmer of Minnesota, along with Tom Tiffany and Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin.
'While we know a key driver of this issue has been a lack of active forest management, we've also seen things like arson as another way multiple large wildfires have ignited in Canada.'
Congress members said Midwestern states are struggling to enjoy their summer because of hazardous fumes that have extended beyond Canada's border.
'Our constituents have been limited in their ability to go outside and safely breathe due to the dangerous air quality,' the Wisconsin and Minnesota representatives wrote in their letter questioning Canada's lack of action.
'In our neck of the woods, summer months are the best time of the year to spend time outdoors recreating, enjoying time with family, and creating new memories, but this wildfire smoke makes it difficult to do all those things.'
Wildfire smoke is affecting air quality across the country. Here's what you need to know
In a short statement to The Globe and Mail on Wednesday, Canadian Ambassador Kirsten Hillman defended the government's response to wildfires.
'Canada takes the prevention, response, and mitigation of wildfires very seriously,' wrote Ms. Hillman's spokesperson, Tarryn Elliott.
'We can confirm that the letter has been received and has been shared with the relevant Canadian agencies. We will respond in due course.'
Several regions in Canada have experienced an early and active wildfire season this year. Both Manitoba and Saskatchewan declared simultaneous provincewide states of emergency, as dozens of other large fires also spread in northwestern Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
More than 40,000 people in Canada had been ordered to evacuate from their communities this year. Although the vast majority have now returned home, thousands of people remain displaced.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires has drifted not only to parts of the U.S., but also as far as Europe. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued air-quality warnings for several states, including Minnesota, New York and Florida, while Europe's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said the smoke has travelled eastward to Greece.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
7 minutes ago
- CTV News
Trump rebukes Goldman's Solomon and bank's economics research on tariff impact
U.S. President Donald Trump rebuked Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon on Tuesday, saying the bank had been wrong about the potential impact of tariffs on the economy and the stock market. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said it was mostly 'companies and governments, many of them foreign, picking up the tabs.' 'But David Solomon and Goldman Sachs refuse to give credit where credit is due,' the president said, while taking a dig at the Goldman chief's DJ hobby, which he has since abandoned. Trump did not specify which Goldman report he was referring to, but Goldman has taken a bearish position on Trump's tariffs. The Wall Street investment bank declined to comment on the matter. U.S. consumers had absorbed 22 per cent of tariff costs through June and their share will rise to 67 per cent if the recent tariffs follow the same pattern as the earliest ones, Goldman Sachs Economics Research said in a note published on Aug. 10. 'This implies that U.S. businesses have absorbed more than half of the tariff costs so far but that their share will fall to less than 10 per cent,' analysts led by chief economist Jan Hatzius said. 'I think that David should go out and get himself a new economist,' Trump wrote. Hatzius declined to comment. The latest Trump salvo comes days after he took aim at Goldman peers JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, alleging without evidence that they discriminated against him by refusing his deposits after his first term. The president has been vocal with his complaints against corporate executives. Last week, he demanded the resignation of Intel CEO Lip Bu-Tan, but praised him after a meeting on Monday. Since Feb. 1, when Trump kicked off trade wars by slapping levies on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, at least 333 companies worldwide have reacted to the tariffs in some manner, as of August 12, according to a Reuters tracker. Tariffs are taxes levied on imported goods to typically protect domestic industries or influence trade policies. Its financial impact can be distributed among manufacturers, retailers and consumers, depending on market conditions and supply-chain dynamics. Economists continue to study how much of the tariff cost is ultimately passed on to consumers through higher prices. (Reporting by Manya Saini and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Tatiana Bautzer and Saeed Azhar in New York; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
CTV News
7 minutes ago
- CTV News
Can Trump take control of Washington D.C. to fight the city's crime?
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to put Washington, D.C., under full federal control to reduce crime, even as city officials stressed crime is already falling. While Trump does have some authority over the capital city's police force and National Guard soldiers, a full federal takeover would likely be blocked in court. Here is why. What does the constitution say about control of D.C.? The U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1787, provided for the creation of a federal capital district to serve as the permanent seat of the government. The Constitution made clear that Congress has complete legislative authority over the district. But Congress has historically delegated at least some of the day-to-day work of municipal government to other entities. How is D.C. governed? A federal law passed by Congress in 1973, known as the Home Rule Act, allowed city residents to elect a mayor and council, who have some autonomy to pass their own laws. Congress still has budgetary oversight over D.C., however, and can overturn local legislation. Congress did that most recently in 2023, voting to overturn changes to Washington's laws that lowered penalties for some crimes. Who controls D.C. law enforcement? The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has authority over the city's Metropolitan Police Department. But the Home Rule Act allows the president to take control of the MPD for federal purposes during emergencies if 'special conditions of an emergency nature exist.' A presidential takeover is limited to 30 days, unless Congress votes to extend it through a joint resolution. Trump invoked this part of the Home Rule Act on Monday, saying in an executive order that there is a 'crime emergency' in the city that necessitates federal management of the police department. Bowser has pushed back on Trump's claims of unchecked violence, saying the city is 'not experiencing a crime spike' and highlighting that violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year. Violent crime, including murders, spiked in 2023, turning Washington into one of the nation's deadliest cities, according to city police data. However, violent crime dropped 35 per cent in 2024, according to federal data, and it has fallen an additional 26 per cent in the first seven months of 2025. Trump also has broad control over the D.C. National Guard's 2,700 soldiers and airmen. They report directly to the president, unlike counterparts in other states and territories. Trump said on Monday he was deploying 800 National Guard troops to Washington. So, can Trump 'federalize' D.C.? It is highly unlikely. To exert full federal control of D.C., Trump would need Congress to repeal the Home Rule Act. Such a repeal would require 60 votes in the U.S. Senate, where Trump's Republican Party has a 53-47 advantage. Democrats have been supportive of home rule for D.C. and are not expected to cross party lines to endorse Trump's vision. But there are ways Trump can exert more influence over the district without fully taking it over. Trump in recent months has directed federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI to increase the police presence in Washington. Trump has broad authority to reallocate FBI personnel, and in recent months, FBI agents around the country have been given temporary assignments to help with immigration enforcement. Trump also signed an executive order in March to make D.C. 'safe and beautiful,' establishing a task force to increase police presence in public areas, maximize immigration enforcement, and expedite concealed carry licenses. Can Trump evict D.C.'s homeless population? Trump has said homeless people must move out of Washington, without offering specifics of a plan to accomplish this. 'I'm going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital.' The federal government owns much of Washington's parkland, so the Trump administration has legal authority to clear homeless encampments in those areas, like President Joe Biden did while in office. But the federal government cannot force people to move out of the city because they lack shelter, legal experts said. Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Rod Nickel.
National Post
7 minutes ago
- National Post
China announces 75.8 per cent tariffs on Canadian canola
OTTAWA — China announced a 75.8 per cent preliminary tariff on Canadian canola on Tuesday, following an anti-dumping investigation launched last year in response to Canada's tax on Chinese electric vehicles. Article content China's Ministry of Commerce published the details of the plan on Tuesday, claiming the 'dumping' of Canadian canola into the Chinese market is hurting its domestic canola oil market. Article content Article content The Canola Council of Canada says 'anti-dumping investigations are initiated when a country suspects a product is being imported at a lower price than it is sold for in the domestic country in which it is produced. Article content Article content 'The two sides had in-depth and frank exchanges on bilateral economic and trade relations and key economic and trade concerns of both sides, and exchanged views on deepening bilateral, regional, and multilateral economic and trade co-operation,' the post read. Article content The Prime Minister's Office deferred comment on the canola tariffs to the minister of international trade, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Article content Article content Canada imposed a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles in October 2024, a move that is to be reviewed within one year. Article content Article content Canada supplies China with most of its canola but China currently exports very few electric vehicles to Canada. Article content When Canada levied tariffs on Chinese EVs last year — which are significantly less expensive than North American-made EVs, in part because of lower labour and environmental standards and state subsidies — it justified the move as protecting 'the transformation and planned investments in Canada's vehicle sector.' Article content 'Actors like China have chosen to give themselves an unfair advantage in the global marketplace, compromising the security of our critical industries and displacing dedicated Canadian auto and metal workers. So, we're taking action to address that,' then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time. Article content The Chinese EV tariff also matched a similar move made by then U.S. president Joe Biden. Article content But with EV sales slumping in Canada following the abrupt ending of the government's popular Incentive for Zero-Emission Vehicle program, which provided up to $5,000 toward the cost of a new EV, environmental groups have called on Canada to revisit the Chinese EV tariff to help drive competition in the Canadian market.
