South Okanagan-West Kootenay MP Richard Cannings says Canada needs to "do things differently" as wildfires continue to rage nationwide and dozens of evacuation orders remain in place.
Cannings, who serves as the NDP Emergency Preparedness and Climate Change Resilience critic, reiterated on Tuesday his call to the federal government to create a National Wildfire Fighting Force.
The MP's call comes as more than 380 blazes burn across B.C. and severe wildfires prompt the evacuation of Alberta's Jasper National Park.
"These out-of-control fires are destroying homes and forcing people to flee from their towns," Cannings said on July 23.
"Sadly, this is becoming our new normal, and we clearly need to do things differently. Canada needs a serious plan to deal with it — one that supports local efforts to combat these fires."
Cannings has called for the creation of a national wildfire force several times since the spring of 2023.
He says such action would help local fire crews, including volunteer teams, and give Canada "the resources it needs to support people without relying on the military."
The national force would be equipped and ready for deployment to communities in need, the MP added.
"We need to extinguish wildfires as quickly as possible before they grow into monstrous blazes that destroy communities and produce widespread smoke that chokes the air we breathe," Cannings said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in May, during a visit to West Kelowna, said his government was doubling tax credits for volunteer firefighters and investing $800,000 to expand firefighting capacity.
The initiatives were included in the federal government's budget for 2024, according to the Prime Minister's office.
But Cannings said Tuesday that Trudeau's Liberals are "not acting quickly enough in the face of this crisis."
More than 80 wildfires have sparked in B.C. over the past 24 hours, as of July 23, according to BC Wildfire Service (BCWS).
International firefighting crews, including from Australia and New Zealand, landed in the province last week to help with the efforts.
"Local firefighters and 75 per cent of Canadians have been urging the Liberals to create a National Wildfire Fighting Force so that Canada has the resources it needs to support people without relying on the military," Cannings said.
Out of the 384 active wildfires in B.C., 231 of them are considered "out of control" by BCWS.
