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To: Chrystia Freeland

Ask Chrystia Freeland to Condemn President Bolsonaro's Destruction of the Amazon

Dear Minister Freeland:

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, you have the power to make a statement on behalf of the Government of Canada condemning Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's policy-backed environmental destruction, and specifically for his ongoing inaction and lack of leadership in stopping the fires in the Amazon Rainforest.

As a world leader that claims to reconcile with Indigenous people and fight the effects of climate breakdown, Canada must make a firm and assertive statement that Bolsonaro's destructive policies and inaction during this Amazon emergency are inexcusable and destructive to the health of the Brazilian people and to the global climate.

We urge you to take a stand on this urgent and pressing situation.

Why is this important?

The Amazon Rainforest stands to make "a significant contribution to pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Coe [Earth Systems Scientist] likens it not to a pair of lungs, but to a giant air conditioner that cools the planet—one of our most powerful in mitigating climate change, alongside other tropical forests in central Africa and Asia—some of which are also currently burning" (for a more accurate look at the role of the Amazon: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/why-amazon-doesnt-produce-20-percent-worlds-oxygen/).

Its loss, together with our lack of political will to stop carbon emissions and the absence of means to capture carbon effectively are posing a severe threat to people worldwide.

Importantly, about one million Indigenous people live in the Amazon. It is also home to three million species of plants and animals (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49433437).

These fires are material and deadly. And their frequency is spurred by Bolsonaro's policies, which have accelerated deforestation, up 88% (https://globalnews.ca/news/5794191/amazon-rainforest-fire-explained/), due to farming, logging, and drilling.

"The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) has recorded more than 74,000 fires so far this year [in the Amazon] – an 84 per cent increase on the same period in 2018. It’s the highest number since records began in 2013." (https://globalnews.ca/news/5794191/amazon-rainforest-fire-explained/).

Take a deep breath and imagine smoke filling your lungs on a darkened afternoon, just as residents of São Paulo did at 3 p.m. Monday, August 19.

How it will be delivered

The first batch of petition signatures was delivered in person to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on August 26. The next will be delivered on September 13.

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Updates

2019-11-25 11:17:24 -0500

Because we did not receive a reply from former Foreign Affairs Minister, Chrystia Freeland, we are taking the opportunity to address this ongoing issue with our new Minister, François-Philippe Champagne. The text of our e-mail can be found at: https://climatepledgecollective.org/2019/11/25/amazon-petition-update/. We will follow up with a phone call if no reply is received.
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2019-09-04 18:49:33 -0400

Last week, on August 26, we delivered the first batch of signatures to Chrystia Freeland's Toronto office.

Since then, people expressed interest in continuing to sign, so we're going to keep the petition going until next week. Why? Because as the Amazon burns and Bolsonaro takes no real climate action, Canada continues to talk trade with Brazil, pushing for environmental protections that are simply not forthcoming.

Please share this petition once again, to let Chrystia Freeland know that we demand that Canada condemn Bolsonaro's ongoing inaction to protect the Amazon.

2019-08-24 11:36:59 -0400

500 signatures reached

2019-08-23 05:07:58 -0400

100 signatures reached

2019-08-22 23:52:06 -0400

50 signatures reached

2019-08-22 23:24:01 -0400

25 signatures reached

2019-08-22 23:07:52 -0400

10 signatures reached