Canadian official responds to Frontline News inquiry into rejection of retired firefighters

Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables Spokeswoman Patricia Jreige today denied any malfeasance by government officials in the rejection of offers from retired firefighters to assist in fighting historically large numbers of simultaneously spreading wild fires. 

Did this happen?

Frontline News reached out to Jreige's department requesting confirmation or denial of claims being made that they rejected assistance from “groups of retired Canadian firefighters, many from your province, despite their experience, expertise and willingness to join the fight against out-of-control forest fires in your province.”

Without denying the government rejected offers of help, Jreige told Frontline News that retired firefighters would be rejected due to a lack of time resources to put them through “a fitness test, training and supervision.”

We have about 300 wildland firefighters in Nova Scotia and hundreds more volunteer and municipal firefighters if needed. We used these resources over the last couple of weeks, while making sure no areas of the province were left without firefighters. We’re currently working on engaging more volunteer firefighters. 

Anyone who hasn’t been in active service needs to go through a fitness test, training and supervision. At the height of these fires, we couldn’t pull people from active firefighting to do those things.

Going public

Claims that the government rejected desperately needed assistance in protecting homes from out of control fires originated with a video by an anonymous retired firefighter who described how he put together a team of highly qualified volunteers. 

That firefighter has now been identified as forestry technician Peter Macisaac, 65.  In the initial video, Macisaac preempted the idea that his team would not be able to help without additional training, emphasizing that most firefighting work is not on the front lines.

We were not offering to do front line, hose line fire. But there's, there's uh for every guy on the line sometimes there's three guys behind the line providing, providing what they need in the way of services. And we were highly trained in both evacuation - all levels all levels of incident command.

Macisaac also disputed the claim that foreign firefighters would be better equipped for this role than his team of retirees.

On the first team I put together we had close to 200 years of experience of fighting fires here in the at the Acadia region of Nova Scotia. We have our own particular forests down here that, for example, all the crews that are being shipped in have zero experience fighting fires in an Acadian forest region.

 In a subsequent interview, Macisaac continued to contest the government's claims. 

Macisaac said his team could have helped with operations, logistics, planning and finance. They could have moved vehicles, delivered meals and fuel to the frontline, run firetrucks, helped with evacuations, or managed helicopter pads. . . . He can't fathom why his offer of help wasn't accepted by the province. 

Lockdowns instead of firefighters?

According to the Reese Report, it is in the interests of extreme environmentalists that the wildfires persist in burning out of control. Reese posted a video including a view of a poster put out by Extinction Rebellion that appears to advocate using a forest fire crisis to usher in emergency climate restrictions.

Some worry such a declaration of a climate emergency could mean climate lockdowns as strict as the COVID lockdowns. The Reese Report is concerned that overzealous activists could even precipitate a crisis in order to generate support for such lockdowns.

Extinction Rebellion published a poster with a burning forest and the words, “declare a climate emergency.” 

• And in Canada in 2021, a woman was charged with 32 counts of arson connected to numerous wildfires in Northeast Alberta last year. 
• In British Columbia a 42 year old woman was arrested and charged with four counts of arson.
• And this year there is much more in Alberta - the RCMP are searching for a suspect after a fire broke out in Grand Prairie the suspected arsonist was reportedly wearing all black. 
• The RCMP's Serious Crime Branch, the Forestry Crimes Unit, have been investigating multiple wildfires and arsons.
• And a 29 year old man has been charged with 10 counts of arson in Nova Scotia.
• The RCMP believe at least three of the fires in Picktown County were arson.
• Satellite imagery shows that, on June 2nd, most of southeast Quebec went up in flames at the same time, which demonstrates a highly coordinated arson attack. [From 1:50]

The Reese Report noted that, if the fires are indeed intentional, they may be the work of organized groups like Antifa, as a member of that group was caught in 2020 lighting fires in the American Northwest.

[S]ecurity cameras show people's houses being set on fire; a homeowner caught an arsonist dressed in all black and a member of black-clad terrorist organization Antifa was arrested for arson in Washington State.

In fact, Antifa has been linked to aggressive climate protests as Fox News reported in 2020.

Antifa caught on camera harassing police at climate change rally. Militants commandeered part of the climate demonstration in Portland, Oregon says journalist Andy Ngo.

Not buying it

Rolling Stone devoted an article to debunking the link to climate activists and Antifa after the Canadian fires began spreading. Rather than debunk, though, they simply quoted those who believe there is a connection.

The “Antifa Arsonist” Theory

Probably the laziest misinformation collected here holds that antifascists are setting the fires. Why? Because they’re antifa, stupid. Anything can be blamed on those who would oppose militant far-right ideology, so may as well try it. “Antifa pyromaniacs are getting started early this year,” one user commented as the fires started to burn in May, in a typical post on the QAnon forum Great Awakening. “As this thing unwinds, look for wildfires to increase exponentially as the cabal burns everything down.” 

The “Wildfires Are the New Covid” Theory

A variety of conspiracy theorists see the fires as part of a plot to limit freedom anew, now that the restrictions of the Covid pandemic have been largely eliminated. A Telegram account calling itself “GreatAwakening.World – Q + Trump” posted conspiratorially that: “They sets [sic] the Quebec and Ontario on fire” as part of a “globalist climate change scam.” The account warned: “Climate change lockdowns are starting.”

See our previous article on Canada's rejection of offers of assistance in battling wildfires

Canada refuses assistance from retired firefighters while claiming to be seeking help