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18 million hectares burned this summer in Canada due to devastating fires. Indigenous peoples are among those most affected by this phenomenon in Lac-Simon (Quebec).
This summer, Canada experienced extremely large fires. 18 million hectares of forest burned. This represents almost a third of the surface area of France. The province of Quebec was not spared, particularly the Amerindian territories. The village of Lac-Simon (Quebec) is home to many indigenous families. With the fires, they lost a lot. “It’s a total loss. It’s linked to the territory, to ancestral elements”laments Lucien Wabanonik, leader of the Lac-Simon community.
Quebec has already experienced three incendiary episodes
The Quebec province had already experienced fires in 1995, 1996 and 2018. “A third of boreal forests could be lost by 2100 if we continue at this pace”, warns Maxence Martin, professor of forest ecology. Although global warming has been visible in Canada for several years, this summer of 2023 is more proof of it.