Wildfires have been heating up North American relations and the Senate floor this past week. Republican lawmakers have recently led an effort seeking unanimous support to sanction Canada over smoke from the wildfires. In response, Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington made a speech, calling the resolution a “petty and offensive statement” to our neighbors.
As noted in Murray’s statements, the resolution aims to demand that the Canadian government take responsibility for the smoke drifting into the United States by “increasing efforts to extinguish these fires and prevent their recurrence.” Murray responded by saying, “As if the Canadian government is letting their forests burn—and its own citizens inhale wildfire smoke—just to spite us. This is a joke.”
