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Forests are an incredible creation of nature, a magical blend of species - sustainable, resilient and awe-inspiring beauty. Only humans would have the audacity to harm such a brilliant resource.

The intentional destruction of the boreal forest in Canada has been a sustained effort of governments for decades. The wildfires of 2023 and 2025 are the foreseeable result of policy failures by provincial and territorial governments.

The conversation across legacy and independent media is generally classified into two streams. First, is the expected and predicted assignment of blame to the 21st century’s convenient boogyman, climate change. Easy to fault a concept, one where no accountability is claimed, than to do the hard work on actual contributing factors. Second, are the investigations into challenges to coordinate firefighting, interagency cooperation and championing the call for greater governmental intervention.

The policy failure in this area was three fold. First, allowing the use of chemicals to hack biodiversity and damage the environment. Second, minimal investment in forest management practices to mitigate future losses due to wildfire and third, nominal building of response capability.

If the desired outcome is a sustainable and safe forestry sector, then addressing each of these contributing factors will significantly contribute to less wildfires,

Political debates aside, if a province is clearly overwhelmed and underprepared, the first indication will be a call for federal assistance, likely using language such as “unprecenteted, driest conditions in “X” decades” and other descriptors carefully chosen to seed the doubt as to responsbility. Next, will be the blame on climate change and human activities, reinforcing that the government is handcuffed in their ability to manage, as it remains the result of nefarious actors - the climate and the outdoorsy types. Last comes the clarion call for greater cooperation and a national agency, blaming coordination as a rationale for delayed response or limited asset availability.

These are the predictable cards played by a government who made the policy decision not to invest sufficient resources in wildfire management, got caught unprepared and are scrambling to find someone or something to blame. Hilarious if not sad, especially for the losses that did not have to occur.

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