COLUMN: View from the Legislature – Hazy diplomacy not helpful

It was one of those news stories that quickly drew attention and just as quickly caused a sharp reaction. U.S. lawmakers from Wisconsin and Minnesota wrote a letter complaining that the smoke from Manitoba forest fires was ruining outdoor recreation in their districts and demanding to know what the government was going to do about it.

To be sure, the irritation of smoke has escaped few this summer in Manitoba and has caused the cancellation or delay of several outdoor events due to poor air quality. But the letter struck most of us north of the border as ill-timed at best and completely insensitive and out of touch at worst. Because while the smoke from forest fires is impacting everyone in the province, and well beyond our borders, it is nothing compared to the impact the fires have had on the thousands of families who have had to be evacuated from their homes and for those who have lost their homes or even their loved ones as a result of this years fires.

It is worth noting that the letter from U.S. representatives south of our border is not reflective of what Manitobans have witnessed on the ground from Americans. In fact, there have been through out the spring and summer a strong contingent of U.S. firefighters who have been helping battle the blazes in the same way that Manitobans have helped to fight fires in the United States, including recently in California. That is because the fires are not simply a Canadian or American concern. Just as the smoke that is caused doesn’t respect borders, the common effort to suppress the fires should also extent between our two countries.

Manitobans, who have been the most impacted by the fires and smoke, also understand where the real hardship is and have demonstrated their concern for months by donating to and helping support those who have been evacuated. Manitobans have done what they always do, whether through floods, blizzards or fires, and rallied around those that need support.

The comments from U.S. lawmakers come at a particularly difficult time in Canada-U.S. relations. The months long debate over tariffs and other disparaging comments lobbied toward Canada from the White House have left relations between the two nations in a strained position. Which doesn’t mean that the individual appreciation that Canadians and Americans have for each other has diminished, but it is difficult to simply ignore policy positions that are designed to hurt the Canadian economy.

Which isn’t to say that there shouldn’t be a discussion about issues around forest management, the impact of climate change and forest fires that start through human error or through deliberate acts. Those are discussions that are important for all officials to have. But in the midst of an emergency that has taken lives and disrupted thousands of others, a letter complaining about how disruptive smoke is from forest fires is likely to achieve the opposite results the writers may have intended. More than ever there is a need for level-headed and clear thinking diplomacy between Canada and the United States. The letter from U.S. lawmakers was not an example of either.