A man from Quebec has pled guilty to starting 14 forest fires that forced hundreds of Canadians to flee their homes last summer.
This week, Brian Paré, 38, pled guilty at a court in Chibougamau, Quebec to 13 counts of arson and one count of arson with disregard for human life. The court heard that two of the 14 fires set by Paré had forced around 500 homes to be evacuated in the Quebec town of Chapais on May 31st of last year, CTV reported.
The prosecutor, Marie-Philippe Charron, said that the largest fire set by the man, near Lake Canavan, burnt nearly 873 hectares of forest and was one of five fires started by Paré between March 31st and June 1st, during which time the local government had banned outdoor fires amid the heavy wildfire season that saw smoke descend upon American cities.
Five fires being sparked within such a short time frame in the same area raised concerns of possible arson among officials, and police began monitoring Paré’s social media accounts, given that he frequently posted about the forest fires. In one post on Facebook, he claimed that the fires had been started deliberately by the government to convince the public of climate change.
The prosecutor in the case said that Paré was arrested on September 7th and that he admitted to police to starting nine of the fires. “At this point, the accused admitted he was the one who started the fires and, as his main motivation, claimed he was doing tests to find out whether the forest was really dry or not,” Charron said.
The wildfires in Canada last summer saw over 4.5 million hectares of forest burned in Quebec, alone. Local authorities claimed that over 99 per cent of the fires were started by lightning strikes.
The establishment media and the government were quick to blame climate change for the devastating fires, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau writing in June: “We’re seeing more and more of these fires because of climate change. These fires are affecting everyday routines, lives and livelihoods, and our air quality. We’ll keep working – here at home and with partners around the world – to tackle climate change and address its impacts.”
However, Canada has come under criticism for failing to take the basic steps required to prevent naturally occurring fires, namely forest management, the practice of clearing highly flammable brush and debris from the forest floors before the wildfire season.
In 2021, the editorial board of Canada’s Globe and Mail wrote “Wildfire management agencies in Canada are at a tipping point… Presuppression and suppression costs are increasing but program budgets are not.”
Countries around the world are also coming to the realisation that many forest fires are frequently a result of arson. Last year, Greek Climate Change Minister Vassilis Kikilias admitted that the majority of wildfires seen across his country in 2023 “were caused by human hand”.
Meanwhile, the fires on the Spanish holiday island destination of Tenerife, which drew international media attention for their supposed connection to climate change, were also determined to have been started by humans. The fires forced some 12,000 people to evacuate their homes and hotels.