Canada is offering more help to Australia to aid in the fight against the wildfires ravaging parts of that country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the offer in a phone call with his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, on Tuesday.
An intentionally lit controlled fire burns intensely near Tomerong, Australia, yesterday, in an effort to contain a larger fire nearby. (Rick Rycroft/AP Photo)
According to a statement released by Trudeau’s office, the prime minister “expressed his condolences and sorrow on behalf of all Canadians for the death and destruction caused by the wildfires” as well as for “the major loss of wildlife and natural devastation.”
So far, 97 Canadians have deployed to Australia,
The first group of 21 Canadians, who arrived in Australia in early December, began returning home yesterday.
Eight new arrivals took their place.
A helicopter tackles a wildfire in East Gippsland, in Australia’s Victoria state, on Dec. 30. (State Government of Victoria)
A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said that–to this point–Australia has asked only for more people.
In 2018, Australian firefighters joined Americans, Mexicans and New Zealanders who came to Canada to help fight record fires in British Columbia.
With files from CP (Mia Rabson), CBC, CTV, Vox
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