An open letter to:
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada,
and other elected leaders
The lives of the people in Jasper, a mountain town beloved by Canadians, a place so many of
us have spent time in, have been devastated because of a fast-spreading wildfire.
How many more of our communities need to burn before our leaders act with the urgency required?
In order to stem wildfires, and other increasingly severe weather events, while protecting
Canadians, the only way is through decisive action on climate change.
Reducing emissions – starting with Canada’s biggest polluters – is key to preventing fires from
getting worse, and protecting our loved ones and our collective health and safety. The science
shows that climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, makes wildfires bigger, hotter,
and more frequent.
Climate change more than doubled the likelihood of extreme fire weather
conditions in Quebec last year. Thirty-seven per cent of burned forest area in western Canada
and the United States over the last few decades can be linked to 88 major fossil fuel producers
and cement manufacturers. Meanwhile, according to a recent Abacus poll, almost all (89 per cent) of
Canadians have noticed an increase in natural disasters over the past decade, while seven in
ten say it is because of the effects of climate change.
We urge the federal government, with support from all federal
and provincial leaders and political parties, to immediately, with no further delays, regulate oil
and gas companies responsible for one third of Canada’s carbon pollution to sharply reduce
their emissions, along with the financial institutions that bankroll them, so that devastating
wildfires, heat domes and floods don’t continue to worsen across this country.
In last summer’s record-breaking wildfires, more than 232,000 people
were evacuated, including 25,000 Indigenous people.
Eight years ago, Canada signed the Paris Agreement. That same year saw the largest
evacuation in Canadian history due to a wildfire in Fort McMurray.
Since then, oil and gas companies and some politicians have pushed back against regulating
Canada’s largest and growing source of emissions, the oil and gas industry. Those emissions
continue to climb, while Canadians’ homes are burning.
While limiting warming to 1.5°C requires a just transition away from fossil fuels, oil production in
Canada reached a record level this year, with Canadian banks and financial institutions among
the world’s top funders bankrolling oil and gas companies.
This country has been more intent on bankrolling financially and environmentally irresponsible
projects like the $34 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion than sharply reducing emissions,
required for a safe climate.
We ask our federal and provincial governments and all-party leaders to stop playing politics with
our health and safety and take urgent action to hold the oil and gas industry accountable for the
devastation it causes and end our collective dependence on fossil fuels, while supporting
workers and communities and ensuring social dialogue through this transition.
Governments in Canada must put the health of people in Canada and our communities above
fossil fuel profits – before another town or city burns or floods due to the impacts of climate
change.
Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition,
and 79 other groups and organizations
