Conservative MP calls on Ottawa to do more on wildfires, criticizes forest entry ban

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner says Ottawa must act on wildfires, slamming "inaction" and calling for more resources instead of restricting movement.

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner says the federal government needs to do more to fight Canada’s devastating forest fires.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday in Ottawa, the Alberta MP accused Ottawa of “inaction” on wildfires. She also blamed that lack of action for new measures restricting activities in the forests of two provinces — even though those bans were imposed by the provinces themselves.

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last week banned hiking, fishing, camping and the use of vehicles in its forests in response to the heightened wildfire risk.

Rempel Garner said that while she understands the fear Maritimers feel, restricting individuals’ movements is “not right.”

“Whenever there’s a major crisis, what the Liberal government has done by their inaction has conditioned Canadians to expect that the only response they can see out of their federal government is to restrict their movement,” Rempel Garner told reporters.

“We’re calling on the federal government to actually get serious about this issue.”

Conservative MP Marc Dalton presented a bill last year to stiffen penalties for wildfires caused by arson. It never made it past first reading and died when Parliament was dissolved ahead of this year’s election.

Rempel Garner said that’s one area where the Liberals could have taken action on wildfires. She also called on the federal government to dedicate more resources to wildfire control.