Americas

Canada Counts on Foreign Firefighter Aid, Stands Ready to Help Others Too

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Canada sees international firefighting assistance as sustainable and counts on it just like friendly countries can rely on Canadians to help them during their wildfires season, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.
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"The reality is that international aid is a sustainable situation. It happens almost every year somewhere on the planet because the wildfires seasons are unaligned from a country to another ... So, we can count on our friends just like they can count on us," Trudeau said during a press conference from the Canadian Forces Base Bagotville, Quebec.
Trudeau warned that friendly countries should make sure to protect themselves when facing wildfires, particularly since extreme weather events would become ever more frequent in the coming years due to climate change.
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Clouds of Smoke Billow Over New York as Wildfires Rage in Canada
The prime minister added that Canada would have to continuously learn, prepare, and better coordinate to face future weather events, noting that Canadian armed forces (CAF) members from Western Canada — who have more experience in fighting wildfires — could help train others across the country.
Trudeau assured Canadians that the CAF would continue to support Canadian and international firefighters.
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