Action Alert: Canada is burning and our future is in peril! Act NOW, Premier Ford and Prime Minister Trudeau!

As of late August 2023, 15 million hectares of land across Canada – almost twenty-seven times the size of Prince Edward Island – have gone up in smoke as a result of  thousands of wildfires. The 2023 wildfire season has already been Canada’s most severe on record.

These wildfires, which led to mandatory evacuations of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and many other communities, also threaten the millions forced to breathe the massive quantities of harmful pollutants released. At one point in June, Toronto had the worst air quality of any major city in the world due to forest fires in northeastern Ontario and Quebec.

We're calling on governments to put forward a science-based plan to address the climate emergency - join us!

The wildfire smoke that has surrounded millions of Canadians this season – impacting our health and wellbeing – is a reminder that we can’t escape the climate crisis. And, it is a taste of what’s to come unless our governments take decisive and strong action – now.

And, it’s not just the air we breathe, it’s much more: heat domes, powerful rainstorms, thawing permafrost and catastrophic hurricanes. The news cycle has become consumed by climate disasters of all types happening everywhere. 

The response should not be gloom and doom. The scientific consensus is clear. We can take action to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. There are solutions and opportunities! The technology and know-how are available, and time is of the essence. It’s critical that all orders of government end their support for the fossil fuel industries and focus on building a sustainable economy and society.

Nurses demand that politicians from all parties wake up to the urgency and scale of the emergency, and act accordingly.

Join us! Call on governments to put forward a science-based plan that addresses the scale and urgency of the climate crisis. Tell Premier Ford and Prime Minister Trudeau to behave like this is an emergency – because it is one!

Other ways you can get involved:

• RNAO, a member organization of the Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign (OCECD), has signed on to the campaign’s 12-point climate action plan. Read it or download it from their website.
• To participate in other rallies across the province, please visit the Global March to End Fossil Fuels website.

Engage with social media and amplify your action – sign and share the action alert, and tag @RNAO so we can share your message. Or, for more ideas and a list of demands, download this action and amplification pack [external link].