CITYnews halifax : Trump threatens Canada with more tariffs over wildfire smoke after Ford tells Republicans to stop ‘chirping’

CITYnews halifax / By Denio Lourenco

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to add more tariffs on Canada over what he described as “willful negligence” to prevent wildfires that have blanketed much of Ontario and some northern U.S. states with smoke.

“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!” Trump wrote in a social media post shared Friday afternoon.

Trump said he would call Prime Minister Mark Carney to find out what Canada is “going to do about it.”

“The cost is incalculable! Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result,” he said. “This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars.”

“[The] cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying,” he added.

Asked about the U.S. criticism of Canada’s wildfire management during a Thursday news conference in London, Ont., Carney brushed it off. He said Canada is pursuing investments in clean energy, while the U.S. is actively working against clean energy.

“Fighting climate change is the responsibility of all countries, including the United States,” Carney said in French.

It is unclear under what authority Trump would rely on to impose new tariffs on Canada. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s ability to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, better known as IEEPA, for his sweeping and erratic “Liberation Day” tariffs and fentanyl-related duties on Canada, Mexico and China.

The current 10 per cent tariffs on Canada were implemented using Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. Those tariffs were always seen as temporary because they expire after 150 days — at the end of July — unless Congress votes to extend them. They do not apply to goods compliant under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade.

The Trump administration is looking to use Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to rebuild his tariff wall through investigations into forced labour in supply chains.

Trump’s comments come after four U.S. Republicans called for sanctions against Canada over its handling of wildfires.

Republican Congressman John James, who represents a district north of Detroit, posted a “final warning” to Canada on social media.

“Manage your forests to prevent these fires. American lungs are paying the price for Canadian inaction, year after year,” he wrote.

“Sovereignty comes with responsibility, and the responsibility to prevent a foreseeable disaster from crossing into another country’s airspace has not been met.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio, said he will introduce a bill next week to sanction Canada over the smoke.

A text of the legislation provided to The Canadian Press says it would require the president to determine if Canadian wildfires harmed U.S. air quality, sanction Canadian officials the U.S. holds responsible for the smoke — through revoking visas and “blocking assets,” among other things — and “express a sense of Congress” that the Canadian ambassador is “persona non grata” until the smoke has cleared.

“My bill will declare an emergency, sanction all Canadian officials responsible, and study a victims compensation fund driven by imposing additional tariffs,” Moreno said in an emailed statement.

Responding to the criticism on Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters, “There’s some politicians out there chirping away, well maybe what you should do rather than complain, is send support, send help, because we have done the exact same thing for our American friends.”

“That’s what you’re supposed to do,” Ford added.

He says crews are battling nearly 200 active fires across the province, half of which have been deemed “out of control.”

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report