An Open Letter to america of America
When California was on hearth, Canada despatched water bombers to assist. When our nation is burning… You despatched us a criticism letter. America, we have to discuss.
Expensive United States Congress,
Thanks a lot to your deeply involved letter about our wildfires “ruining your summer time.” Really touching.
We apologize that our forests, after a long time of report warmth, drought, and company deforestation (a few of it by your personal timber giants), had the audacity to catch hearth and interrupt your BBQs and lake weekends.
However because you’re so involved, let’s evaluate the scoreboard:
When California was engulfed in flames, Canada despatched water bombers. No letter. No whining. Simply assist. As a result of that’s what pals do.
We routinely ship extremely skilled Canadian firefighters to California, Oregon, and Washington when your forests are burning down quicker than a rant out of your president. We don’t ship a letter complaining concerning the smog drifting north, we ship assist.
When your hospitals have been overwhelmed and out of PPE throughout the pandemic, we shipped masks and gloves south. On the identical time, Trump threatened to chop us off. No letter. Simply assist.
When 9/11 occurred, we took in 33,000 stranded passengers and fed them in Gander, Newfoundland. We didn’t ship a letter complaining about our tourism season. We opened our doorways. You would possibly strive it someday as an alternative of burning the planet for marketing campaign money.
In the meantime, you ship us… a letter.
You write with concern about your “potential to go outdoors and safely breathe.” We’re involved about that too. We’ve been involved for many years as your companies have belched extra carbon into our shared environment than virtually every other nation on Earth. You lecture us about “lively forest administration” whereas concurrently gutting your personal environmental protections and subsidizing the very fossil gasoline business that’s setting our planet on hearth.
All of the whereas, we’re truly investing in inexperienced power to stop these fires earlier than they begin. You would possibly strive it someday as an alternative of burning the planet for marketing campaign money.
You need to speak about what’s “ruining the summer time”? Let’s discuss concerning the uncooked sewage and industrial waste you’ve been dumping into the Nice Lakes for a century. Let’s discuss concerning the invasive species that hitch a journey in your ships and decimate our ecosystems. Let’s discuss concerning the acid rain out of your factories that has poisoned our lakes and forests for generations.
Oh, and let’s speak about that “out of doors recreation” you’re so fearful about. You already know, the identical open air you’ve been paving over with pipelines, fracking, and oil rigs. The identical air you’ve been fortunately polluting for many years, accelerating the local weather disaster that makes these wildfires worse.
Your letter mentions arson, however conveniently ignores the first accelerant for these fires: local weather change. A disaster you’ve got actively lobbied to disregard.
So please, spare us the lecture. Don’t you dare complain concerning the smoke in your sky when you’ve got helped construct the hearth.
You accuse us of “a scarcity of forest administration”? Please. Our forests are twice the scale of the state of Texas. And guess what? We didn’t spend a long time denying local weather change whereas burning coal prefer it was going out of favor.
We Canadians love our summers, too. We additionally love with the ability to breathe. However most of all, we worth friendship and reciprocity. Issues which might be clearly briefly provide south of the border lately. Actual pals present up with buckets, not criticism letters.
When you’re so determined for contemporary air, perhaps cease voting for politicians who suppose the one inexperienced coverage value supporting is the colour of their marketing campaign donations.
As a substitute of sending snarky letters, how about sending hearth crews? Or perhaps as an alternative of funneling your big protection funds into extra tanks, border partitions, and that Massive Stunning Invoice funds that props up ICE and billionaires, you possibly can assist combat precise international threats. Like local weather change?
Subsequent time there’s a disaster, perhaps look within the mirror earlier than you look north.
With all of the well mannered Canadian sincerity we will muster,
Canada and The Planet D
Wish to signal this letter too?
Go away a remark under with:
“Signed, [Your Name]” (and be at liberty so as to add the place you’re from!)
Let’s present that actual pals present up with buckets, not criticism letters.
