1,000 signatures reached
To: Premier John Horgan
Premier John Horgan: create a provincial heat response plan now
The heat dome that blanketed BC last summer took the lives of nearly 619 people. The BC Coroner’s Report released last week showed that most were elderly and chronically-ill, living in buildings without air conditioning. [1]
The report issued three clear recommendations for how to prepare for future heat waves: 1) to identify and support our vulnerable neighbours by checking in on them and providing them with cooling devices, 2) to create a coordinated heat alert response system, and 3) to undertake long-term planning to build homes and communities equipped to deal with warmer weather. [2]
But with summer just around the corner and the threat of climate-induced heat waves looming, the BC government is still dragging its feet. Vancouver council made recommendations and is taking some actions [3]. More is necessary.
The Human Rights Watch has put the onus on Horgan’s government to avoid replicating the deadly mistakes of this past summer [4] — but he’ll keep delaying unless we turn up the heat (the other kind - solidarity and collective action!).
If we flood Horgan with thousands of messages calling on him to IMMEDIATELY implement all three of the BC Coroner’s Report’s recommendations, it could be enough to force him to act.
The report issued three clear recommendations for how to prepare for future heat waves: 1) to identify and support our vulnerable neighbours by checking in on them and providing them with cooling devices, 2) to create a coordinated heat alert response system, and 3) to undertake long-term planning to build homes and communities equipped to deal with warmer weather. [2]
But with summer just around the corner and the threat of climate-induced heat waves looming, the BC government is still dragging its feet. Vancouver council made recommendations and is taking some actions [3]. More is necessary.
The Human Rights Watch has put the onus on Horgan’s government to avoid replicating the deadly mistakes of this past summer [4] — but he’ll keep delaying unless we turn up the heat (the other kind - solidarity and collective action!).
If we flood Horgan with thousands of messages calling on him to IMMEDIATELY implement all three of the BC Coroner’s Report’s recommendations, it could be enough to force him to act.
Why is this important?
During last summer’s heat wave, I was luckily able to spend $700 on an AC unit just in time to find some relief. While those 600 people were in an actual fatal emergency, my partner and their two cats were feeling very stressed and desperate in their hot 1950s building in south Vancouver. In the 1950s the buildings were made to store and hold heat because they had little clue the opposite was a more vital need. They didn’t expect the changes in the climate we’ve seen now. Luckily I could house my partner and their cats for a couple weeks, and we made it through with the AC.
Not everyone was as lucky — but the most vulnerable in our communities shouldn’t have had to spend hundreds to survive. As British Columbians, we are currently living in fear of unnecessary deaths and climate hardship this summer and into the future. We need government action right now.
Sources
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-heat-dome-coroners-report-1.6480026?utm_medium=email&utm_source=actionkit
[2] see [1]
[3] https://council.vancouver.ca/20210720/documents/b5.pdf
[4] https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/05/canada-disastrous-impact-extreme-heat
Not everyone was as lucky — but the most vulnerable in our communities shouldn’t have had to spend hundreds to survive. As British Columbians, we are currently living in fear of unnecessary deaths and climate hardship this summer and into the future. We need government action right now.
Sources
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-heat-dome-coroners-report-1.6480026?utm_medium=email&utm_source=actionkit
[2] see [1]
[3] https://council.vancouver.ca/20210720/documents/b5.pdf
[4] https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/05/canada-disastrous-impact-extreme-heat
How it will be delivered
Online, in person, through a media release if possible