As you know, B.C. is on fire. (So are many other parts of Canada and the world.) My eyes are stinging and I can乌鸦传媒檛 go outside. Most of August has been like this in Kelowna. It乌鸦传媒檚 the third year in a row that the summer has fizzled out due to a sun-blocking, lung-burning haze.

I know you乌鸦传媒檙e both on the pathway of normalizing this (a 乌鸦传媒渘ew reality,乌鸦传媒� said the prime minister; a 乌鸦传媒渘ew normal,乌鸦传媒� said the premier). You乌鸦传媒檙e both on the pathway of turning the new normal into a matter of resource allocation to fight the fires. 乌鸦传媒淲e have to clear up those lines of flowing resources and ensuring people get what they need, regardless of whether they are in an Indigenous community or a non-Indigenous community.乌鸦传媒�

That乌鸦传媒檚 completely unacceptable. NDP MP Sheila Malcolmson articulated the truth. 乌鸦传媒淭he smoke in the air is such an emblem of the climate change crisis. That the federal Liberals have still failed to regulate any greenhouse gas emission reductions is all that people are talking about on the street. That the air from the forest fires is evidence that stems from climate change and it highlights a lack of action federally.乌鸦传媒�

What乌鸦传媒檚 required is climate action and all we乌鸦传媒檙e getting is bankrupt excuses. While the province burns, Horgan was asked how he can justify supporting the LNG industry. He answered that B.C. is just 4.5 million people sharing a planet with seven billion others. 乌鸦传媒淲e have to be realistic about what our impacts would be,乌鸦传媒� he said.

This logic tells us that despite the fact that Canada has one of the highest per capita GHG emissions rates in the world and that the world is broken climate-wise, we (a nation of only 36m out of a global 7bn) are not the problem, that no one should look toward us for a solution, and that contrary to reducing emissions, we乌鸦传媒檇 be fine with increasing them.

That logic plays out every day. We乌鸦传媒檙e nowhere close to meeting Stephen Harper乌鸦传媒檚 basement-level emissions reduction targets. When Donald Trump demolishes a carbon tax, we meet him on the way down. Instead of investing in a new green economy, we buy a pipeline. There乌鸦传媒檚 no daylight between any of you. You behave like there乌鸦传媒檚 no tomorrow, and I乌鸦传媒檓 finally feeling scared. I think the only answer as to why you continue adding fuel to the fire is that there乌鸦传媒檚 no point not to. Is that what you know that we don乌鸦传媒檛? That it乌鸦传媒檚 over, that we乌鸦传媒檙e finished, that we have at best a dance or two left before the ship sinks?

Dianne Varga

Kelowna