Jagmeet Singh asks prime minister to provide more support for front-line workers and their communities as wildfires rage on

OTTAWA – On Thursday, Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh sent a letter to the prime minister calling on him to provide more supports to firefighters and communities dealing with the climate emergency. With more than 10 million hectares of land burned to ash in Canada, and families forced to flee their homes, New Democrats believe the government must do more to support people and communities impacted by extreme weather events.\

Singh’s call on the prime minister for urgent action comes before he is set to visit the Northwest Territories early next week.

“Firefighters in the Northwest Territories and British Columbia and a pilot fighting the blaze in Alberta have all lost their lives, and communities across the country have been devastated by this summer’s record-breaking wildfire season,” said Singh. “The men and women who risk everything to protect our communities deserve to be supported with better equipment and training to do their dangerous jobs.

And Canadians who have had their homes and their communities destroyed need to know there’s a better plan to help prevent climate related disasters and to support people when these events do happen. It’s time for the prime minister to step up to help protect Canadians from more frequent and severe weather events.”

While Canada is experiencing unprecedented wildfires, floods and extreme heatwaves, Justin Trudeau has delayed $7.78 billion of climate adaptation funding since 2016. New Democrats are asking for both short and long-term solutions to better equip Canadians and communities to deal with climate disasters, including delivering on the funding Liberals have been promising.

Singh is also calling on the government to immediately provide better training and equipment to firefighters, to strengthen the role of the federal government in wildfire prevention and response, increase the Firefighter Tax Credit, expand the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund for municipalities, develop a national climate disaster insurance program for high-risk properties, and support Canadians who are trying to make their homes more climate resilient.

“The Liberals need to take a more proactive approach to preparing communities for extreme weather events,” added Singh. “And the Conservatives, are claiming everything is broken, because they want to tear down what supports already exist.

But Canadians don’t want a government that only shows up after the fire has started, or one who wants to destroy what supports we do have. It’s time for a plan that ensures our communities are ready when disasters do strike, and also works to prevent them before they begin. I’m calling on the prime minister to make the necessary investments to protect our communities and our invaluable front-line workers against the disasters we’re facing today and those that could come tomorrow.”