The Warren Sun

Congressman John James has called on Canadian leaders to take immediate action to address the ongoing wildfire crisis that is affecting air quality in Michigan and other parts of the Midwest. In a letter sent this week, James urged Canadian officials to contain wildfires that have led to dangerous levels of smoke across U.S. cities.

The 2023 wildfire season in Canada was one of the most severe on record, releasing 647 teragrams of carbon into the atmosphere. This amount is similar to emissions from more than 500 million cars running for a year. The resulting smoke has caused increased hospitalizations and respiratory illnesses, particularly among vulnerable groups such as children with asthma, dialysis patients, and seniors.

Over the past three years, nearly 70 million acres have burned in Canada—marking the largest cumulative loss recorded and causing major U.S. cities like Detroit and Minneapolis to experience high pollution levels.

Some Canadian officials have downplayed concerns about health risks from wildfire smoke affecting Americans. Manitoba’s Premier Wab Kinew reportedly described these risks as “trivial” and stated that Americans “enjoying their summers” is not a priority for Manitoba. Congressman James criticized this response: “Michigan families deserve clean air and respect. Canada’s failure to control these wildfires is not just an environmental issue, it’s a public health emergency that threatens our communities,” said Congressman James. “Our friendship with Canada is strong, but friendship requires respect. And respect means protecting each other’s health, not dismissing it."

Currently, more than 69 million people in the Midwest are under air quality alerts due to the smoke, while American firefighting teams have been deployed to assist with containing fires in Canada.

James has asked Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Forest Service to update forest management policies and invest in new technologies aimed at preventing future wildfires.

John James has served as a member of Congress representing Michigan's 10th District since 2023. He was born in Detroit in 1981 and now lives in Farmington Hills.