Kevin Kijewski wrote this op-ed for Michigan News Source. He is an attorney in Birmingham, Michigan who is seeking the Republican nomination for Michigan Attorney General. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) using @KevinKijewskiBy Kevin Kijewski.
BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – As a Republican candidate for Michigan attorney general that has been visiting counties across our great state, few sights distress me more than our iconic Mackinac Bridge shrouded in a noxious haze from Canadian wildfires. Our magnificent bridge has faded into an orange murk, its cables and towers obscured by pollution drifting unchecked across the border. What was once a symbol of American engineering triumph has become a casualty of foreign mismanagement, turning our pristine skies toxic and our summers suffocating.
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This transboundary assault is no anomaly. In 2023 and again this year, smoke from Canada’s rampant blazes has engulfed Michigan, plunging air quality to historic lows. The state’s Department of Health and Human Services has sounded alarms over “very unhealthy” conditions, with Detroit’s pollution levels rivaling those of smog-choked global metropolises, courtesy of particulate matter from Manitoba’s infernos. This isn’t mere inconvenience – it’s a profound health and economic crisis demanding legal reckoning from the Michigan Attorney General.
Consider the human cost. Fine particles from the smoke burrow into lungs and bloodstreams, aggravating asthma, COPD and heart conditions. Emergency room visits for respiratory distress surged nearly 20% in affected areas during the 2023, afflicting thousands with coughing, wheezing and breathlessness. Our most vulnerable populations – children, seniors and those with chronic illnesses – bore the brunt. Experts from Cornell University attribute 169 premature deaths in Michigan to that year’s smoke alone, with 2025’s exposure poised to inflate the tally.
The American Lung Association warns of heightened risks for strokes and heart attacks, transforming family outings into medical emergencies. Michiganders shouldn’t inhale the fallout from Ottawa’s forestry failures. The economic fallout is equally devastating, as Michigan’s nearly $55 billion tourism sector suffers when haze veils landmarks like the Mackinac Bridge and the sandy shores of our Great Lakes.
Canada’s poor forest management and negligence is responsible – failing to clear deadwood, lack of prescribed burns, ignoring drought warnings, and skimping on fire suppression – as this contributed to these blazes spiraling out of control. Canada has a duty to manage its lands responsibly, especially when fallout crosses into Michigan. If Canada will not responsibly act to contain their problem, then Michigan must act as it is not powerless. As Michigan’s next attorney general and building on recent congressional Republicans’ demands for Canadian accountability, I will work to shield Michigan from this invasion.
On the international front, I’ll seek to invoke the 1941 Trail Smelter arbitration precedent, a landmark case where a U.S.-Canada tribunal held Canada liable for sulfur dioxide pollution from a British Columbia smelter that damaged farms and forests in Washington state, establishing the foundational “polluter pays” principle in international environmental law. Drawing on this, under the 1991 U.S.-Canada Air Quality Agreement – which commits both nations to prevent and reduce transboundary air pollution that harms public health and the environment – I’ll petition the U.S. State Department to initiate arbitration. This would seek substantial damages for Michigan’s health care costs, lost tourism revenue exceeding millions annually, and environmental degradation, holding Canada accountable for negligence amid uncontrolled wildfires impacting our state.
On the economic front and using the USMCA’s Chapter 24 – Articles 24.11 and 24.4 mandating air quality cooperation and environmental law enforcement – I’ll press the U.S. Trade Representative for state-to-state disputes under Chapter 31, potentially yielding trade remedies or sanctions. By escalating to Chapter 31’s dispute settlement mechanism – which allows for binding panels to resolve non-compliance – Michigan can advocate for remedies such as compensatory tariffs on Canadian timber imports or other trade measures until Ottawa demonstrates improved wildfire prevention and suppression.
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Michigan deserves clean air and justice, not Canada’s exported pollution crises year after year. Families across Detroit, Grand Rapids, and the Upper Peninsula are suffering. Respiratory illnesses are spiking. Emergency rooms are overwhelmed with asthma attacks and related issues. As Michigan’s next attorney general, I’ll work with to clear the air, safeguard our health, and ensure our state’s beauty endures for generations. I also implore our current state and federal leaders to pursue these actions now rather than wait until the next election.