Smoke from Quebec wildfires blankets Montreal Rowena Papasin | TFC News Vancouver

Canada has deployed more personnel of its armed forces in Quebec to help put out the wildfires in the province. Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said members of the military will continue to provide fire fighting and evacuation support to the affected areas. He added that more than eight million hectares of land have been destroyed from the wildfires. "We're now past the threshold to make the current fire season and the acreage burned," Blair said, "which is now in excess of eight million hectares. [This is] the worst in our recorded history." Blair has met with officials from various provinces and territories to draw up measures on how the country will respond to future climate-related disasters in the future. The smoke from the wildfire has now affected major cities like Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal. Community leader Michael Davantes said Filipinos in Montreal recently woke up to find their city already blanketed in thick smoke. "When you go out, you can really smell the smoke," he said in Filipino. "It felt like the fire was happening just at the nearest street corner, when in fact, it was hundreds of kilometers away." Davantes said residents with respiratory and heart problems were advised to avoid outdoor activities. The persisting poor air quality has also forced organizers of the Montreal Fireworks Festival to cancel the opening night of the event.

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