Canada, U.S. sign deal to better co-ordinate fight against wildfires
Agreement makes it easier for firefighters to pitch in on both sides of the border
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and David Cohen, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday meant to improve cross-border cooperation on wildfires.
While the two countries have worked together on an ad hoc basis for decades, the new deal formalizes that cooperation and makes it easier for U.S. firefighters to pitch in when Canada needs them to quell a fire, and vice-versa.
As part of the deal, there's now a new "framework" that stipulates how firefighting resources will be exchanged between the two countries.
"Climate change is a global issue. Its impact requires a global response," Wilkinson said as he announced the deal. "This MOU will increase the ease of cross-border support and modernize many existing agreements."
The deal is designed to cut through red tape and bring together the agencies on both sides of the border that have a hand in fighting these destructive fires, which could become more frequent in the years ahead.
The deal also calls for better information-sharing so that both countries can stop a fire before it spirals out of control.
As part of the related FireGuard program, Canada will now have easy access to sophisticated U.S. satellite data that can identify fires.
This will ensure Canada has better "wildland fire management knowledge," the deal says.
"Prior to this MOU, reciprocal wildfire support was predicated on several individual arrangements and processes and was focused solely on suppression. This arrangement will ensure that mutual aid is efficiently and effectively deployed where it is needed most, on both sides of the border," says a background document on the deal shared with the media.
The deal comes as Canada grapples with a record-breaking wildfire season.
Fires have destroyed nearly 6 million hectares in Canada this year — an eye-popping figure that dwarfs the damage tolls from previous fire seasons.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said Thursday that there are 416 wildfires burning across Canada, with 213 of them out of control.
"We remain concerned that the fire risk remains high or even extreme in many parts of the country," Blair said.
To help bring these fires under control, Canada has turned to its international partners for assistance.
The U.S. has already deployed more than 1,500 firefighters to Canada to help local authorities and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Canada has received support from other countries like Australia, Chile and South Africa.
Canadian firefighters have helped out the neighbours in years past.
In 2020, for example, Canadian firefighters were deployed to the northwestern U.S. during a particularly ugly wildfire season.
"Canada was there for us. This is the nature of our reciprocal arrangement," Cohen said.
"Wildland fires is something that is well-suited for a binational approach. Fires do not respect borders. A wildland fire doesn't know when it's about to cross the border in the U.S.
"This is the kind of thing that Canada and the U.S. can do together. We will always have your back."
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