RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Canada is sending water bombers and US$15 million to Brazil to assist with wildfires in the South American country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced at the close of G7 in France Monday.
“We are shocked and devastated to see the Amazon engulfed in flames,” said Trudeau. “Our government has been in touch with the Brazilian government to offer our support to put an end to this crisis.”
Canadian assistance will nearly match the US$20 million G7 nations pledged together for wildfires sweeping Brazil, which host leader, French President Emmanuel Macron announced before Trudeau’s statement on the matter.
Trudeau also added that Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland had already “reached out to her counterparts in Brazil and Bolivia” to offer aid.
“We could pretend that the situation in the Amazon is just part of a natural cycle, but that’s not exactly what’s going on here,” Trudeau said Monday. “The toll of human activity and extreme weather events on our communities, our environment, our health, and our world will continue to climb unless we take decisive action.”