5,000 signatures reached
To: Canada's federal government
Double the support for our firefighters to fight double the fires
.png)
We can’t keep throwing college kids into the meat grinder and expecting them to make million dollar decisions and then saying at the end of the wildfire seasons “here’s your resignation letter, good luck.” - Harold Larson, 20-year veteran Wildland Firefighter [1]
Why is this important?
Wildfire fighters are defending what we love for low pay in life-threatening working conditions. And too many paid and volunteer firefighters lack the full crews and tools they need to stop fires now.
That’s why we’re losing too many wildland firefighters to burnout. Firefighters are raising the alarm that they don’t have the support they need to fight the fires.[2]
At the same time, Canadian wildfires are already twice as bad as they used to be. Since 1970, the area of Canada burned by wildfires has doubled. If fossil-fuel driven climate change continues, then the area that burns every year will double again.[3]
To fight double the fires our wildfire fighters need at least double the support. As wildfires rage across Canada, we are asking for your signature to call on the federal government to double their support to:
- Buy key equipment that paid and volunteer firefighters need to save communities now,
- Train more firefighters to meet the growing need, including Indigenous firefighters and fire guardians,
- Free up provincial money to improve pay, and provide health protections and pensions so they can support families long-term and keep working to defend us all.
The federal government has listened before. In 2022 the federal government committed funding to help provinces equip and train 1,000 wildfire fighters over five years.[4] That’s a good start, but it’s not enough.
The money is a no brainer. Millions can save us the billions we are already spending to recover from the growing destruction.[5]
To stop the problem at the source, we need to do our part to stop climate change by switching from fossil fuels to clean energy. We also need to help nature stop the fires by fixing our forest management.[6]
Those solutions will take time, and in that time wildfire fighters need help to defend us now.
The federal government’s decisions affect how easily our communities can stay safe and rebuild. They affect how many animals die in the fires, and they affect how much smoke fills the skies. They need to hear from you.
Firefighters defend what we love, let’s defend them too.
References
[1] My Climate Plan, Burning Out: A Veteran Wildland Firefighters Battle for Change
[2]
- Edmonton Journal, Wildland firefighters raise alarm over lack of preparedness: AUPE
- CBC, Ottawa could do more to equip volunteer crews to fight wildfires: firefighter association president
- CBC, Burned out: Former B.C. wildfire fighters worry safety at risk as experienced workers leave
- CBC, As wildfire season approaches, remote First Nations prepare to fight from the ground up
[3] Public Safety Canada, National Risk Profile
[4] Public Safety Canada, Canada's wildland fires risk reduction plans and actions
[5] The Wall Street Journal, Canada’s Wildfires Are Back After $10 Billion Economic Blow
[6] Canadian Climate Institute: Climate change and wildfires, How the forestry sector can respond to fires due to climate change