QUEBEC

A conspiracy theorist who blamed the government for forest fires admitted that he started 14 himself

Joshua Zitser
Tue, January 16, 2024 

• A Canadian man pleaded guilty to setting 14 fires in Quebec last year.

• The fires led to hundreds of homes being evacuated and thousands of acres being burned.

• The man spread conspiracy theories online alleging the government had started the fires.

A Canadian man who spread online conspiracy theories saying the government was deliberately starting forest fires pleaded guilty to personally setting 14 fires himself, CBC reported.

Brian Paré, 38, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of arson and one count of arson with disregard for human life at a courthouse in Chibougamau, Quebec, on Monday.

According to CBC, prosecutors told the court that Paré started two fires that led to the evacuation of about 500 homes in Chapais, Quebec, last year.

A mandatory evacuation order was issued in the town on May 31 following a fire at an airport and at Lake Cavan, prosecutor Marie-Philippe Charron told the court, per CBC. The fires scorched more than 2,000 acres of forest, she said.

Charron added that residents could not return to their homes until June 3, with other fires taking place at a similar time raising suspicions because there was no clear natural cause.

During court proceedings, the prosecutor said police first spoke to Paré on June 2 after he was seen near where one of the fires started.

Although he denied causing the fire, police became suspicious after Paré demonstrated a "certain interest in fires" during an interview, Charron said, per CBC.

The news outlet said that police began to examine Paré's Facebook page, where he regularly posted about forest fires in Quebec, claiming the government had deliberately started them to trick people into believing in the climate crisis.

According to Quebec's anti-forest-fire society, SOPFEU, fires burned more than 11 million acres of land during last year's forest-fire season in the province— a historically high number.

Charron told the court that after the Facebook posts aroused suspicions, police installed a tracking device on Paré's car, revealing his presence at locations where other fires ignited on September 1 and September 5.

He was arrested on September 7 and admitted to starting nine fires, according to CBC.

"At this point, the accused admitted he was the one who started the fires and, as his main motivation, claimed he was doing tests to find out whether the forest was really dry or not," Charron said, per CBC.

Since his arrest, Paré has been held in detention. In his hearing, he responded to questions from the judge with simple "yes" answers, according to CBC.

The news outlet said a pre-sentencing report will assess Paré's mental state and evaluate the risk he poses to public safety.