CALGARY — After recently taking shots at Canada’s immigration policy and Islam, former federal Conservative public safety minister Stockwell Day is accusing Ottawa of pushing a climate change narrative around Canada’s wildfires that ignores the role humans play in starting fires.In a new video posted to social media platform X on Thursday, Day said governments should place a greater emphasis on investigating arsonists deliberately setting fires and impose severe penalties on those responsible.."Do we really think that people who are going to be burning down our forests and our homes are going to be, uh, put off by hearing the Prime Minister saying that it's all a result of climate change?" Day asked."No, they'll be encouraged."The former leader of the Canadian Alliance party called for Ottawa to offer large financial rewards for information leading to convictions and warned potential arsonists they would be aggressively pursued.“People who are thinking, even dreaming of setting fire to our forests need to know they will be hunted down, they will be tracked down,” he said.“We will be putting out huge rewards for those who give us evidence that leads to them being found guilty. We need to get a message that this is a criminal justice issue. If you're even thinking, planning about setting fire to forests, we are gonna find you. We will track you down, and you will be in jail for a very long time.”His comments come as Canada is experiencing another severe wildfire season, with 657 fires currently active..'ALL CULTURES ARE NOT EQUAL': Stockwell Day warns Canada risks ‘catastrophe’ over illegal immigration.“All organizations are reporting the majority of these devastating forest fires are not a result of climate change," Day said."The majority are human-started, and in fact, arson is a clear factor."However, government wildfire statistics draw an important distinction between fires caused by human activity and fires deliberately set through arson.Natural Resources Canada says slightly more than half of Canadian wildfires have historically been caused by human activity, a category that includes campfires, cigarettes, recreational vehicles and other accidental ignition sources.In 2024, approximately 2,571 Canadian forest fires — 44% of the national total — were attributed to human activity, according to federal environmental indicators..Spokane wildfires destroy more than 700 structures, man arrested in arson investigation.Statistics from the Alberta government also show that there were 1,184 wildfires in the province in 2024, with 50% human-caused, 47% lightning-caused and 3% under investigation.Nevertheless, Day argues the federal government is using wildfires to push broader climate policies that could affect Canada’s resource industries."This hasn't to do with the climate change agenda of people who just want to shut down industry, shut down business, and they're using these forest fires, human-created forest fires, to terrify people," Day said."We have to stop using a climate agenda, which will be used to shut down business, to shut down industry, even in some provinces, to shut down travel into parks. We have to get serious about going after the people who are starting these fires."
