A Canadian conspiracy theorist who spread falsehoods last summer that the government started Canada's wildfires to make people believe climate change was real was found guilty of starting 14 fires. Ta.
Brian Paré, 38, pleaded guilty in a central Quebec court earlier this week to 13 counts of arson and one count of arson with disregard for human life, according to CBC. When he was finally arrested, he told police he started the fire to see if the forest was dry.
The arsonist's arson attacks began in May and continued into September, as Canada suffered the worst wildfire season on record. Smoke from the Canadian wildfires blanketed much of North America in dangerous smoke for months, often shrouding cities like New York in a yellow haze. The International Fire Brigade assisted Canada with firefighting efforts.
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires blanketed much of North America in dangerous smoke for months, often shrouding cities like New York in a yellow haze. The International Fire Brigade assisted Canada with firefighting efforts. (Eduardo Muñoz Alvarez/Getty Images)
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Two of the fires started by Paré forced the evacuation of about 500 homes in Chapay, Quebec, a small community about 425 miles northwest of Quebec City. Residents of the town were not allowed to return home until June 3, prosecutor Marie-Philippe Charron told the court, according to CBC.
One of the fires, at Cavan Lake, burned more than 2,000 acres of forest, making it the largest fire Pare has acknowledged starting.
The newspaper reports that Paré started a series of fires between May 31 and June 1, about three days after the Quebec government banned bonfires in and around forests due to dry weather conditions. It was the first of five fires.
Flames from the Donny Creek wildfire in British Columbia, Canada, on July 2, 2023. Last summer, a Canadian man who promoted a conspiracy theory that the government started wildfires to make people believe in climate change was found guilty of starting 14 fires. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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Sharon said five fires in such a short period of time raised suspicions. Prosecutors said authorities determined the fire could not have had a natural cause and was caused by a crime.
While setting the fire, Pare claimed on social media that it was started as a ploy by the Canadian government to make people believe in climate change.
In fact, the Canadian Fire Marshal said in November that 99.9 per cent of the more than 700 wildfires that started last year were caused by lightning strikes, and dry conditions made the damage even worse. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Biden at the time blamed the fires on climate change.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blames climate change for fires (Reuters/Patrick Doyle)
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Police installed a tracking device on Pare's car, which allowed him to be arrested. According to CBC, Mr. Sharon appeared at the scene of the fire on June 2, and during police questioning, he said he “expressed some interest in the fire,” raising suspicions. On September 1 and September 5, tracking devices showed he had been in the area where other fires had broken out, and on September 7, during interrogation, he admitted to starting nine of the fires.
“At this point, the defendant admitted that he was the one who started the fire and claimed that his primary motive was to conduct a test to see if the forest was truly dry,” Sharon said. Ta.
Mr Pare remains in custody and a pre-sentence report has been ordered which takes into account his mental state and the risk he poses to public safety.
The combination of a busy wildfire season, extreme drought and generally warm and dry conditions through December has resulted in severe conditions remaining in British Columbia, the Vancouver Sun reported, citing local fire officials. More than 100 wildfires are reported.
