MLA Tells Governments to 'Wake Up'

Valeriote addresses fossil fuel choices in light of BC wildfires

'Wildfire of Note' Ainslie Creek blaze, one of the more than 100 wildfires currently burning in the province. Photo: BC Wildfire Service.

Local MLA Jeremy Valeriote is asking both the province and the federal government to wake up when it comes to support for fossil fuel projects.

Currently the BC Wildfire Service is fighting 109 wildfires in the province, with 50 of those fires rated as out of control. Firefighters from Alberta and as far away as Mexico and Australia have come to support the efforts to quell the current volatile situation.

MLA Jeremy Valeriote. Photo: BC Green Party

"BC is facing a new perennial emergency. ‘Fire weather’ due to our changing climate is responsible for uncontrollable wildfires, enormous costs, and immense suffering," Valeriote told The Watershed yesterday.

"BC’s (and Canada’s) government has a choice: join the many countries around the world who are reducing carbon pollution, and stop expanding fossil fuel production, or continue to add fuel to the fires."

In a press conference from Penticton on August 12, Premier David Eby spoke about concerns that the speed the Bald Range wildfire spread "may be our new normal for fire speed."

At the same press conference, Penticton Indian Band Chief Greg Gabriel said that every year, BC is facing fires that are increasingly destructive.

"These weather events are not a natural phenomenon. Each and every year we deal with the same situation but we are not making any progress trying to fix these problems."

Gabriel said a reassessment of logging and forestry practices are needed, as well as addressing ongoing drought.

In July, the CBC reported Eby's response to an open letter written by former New Democrat MPs and MLAs, Indigenous and community leaders calling for a renewed commitment to the provincial government’s climate strategy.

"Those who would say that we shouldn’t develop the LNG sector in British Columbia, I just disagree with them," said Eby. He noted that the LNG Canada Phase 2 project represents $28 billion in revenue for the province over the lifetime of the project, and said that it will create thousands of jobs.

But costs of inaction will far outweigh any benefits of subsidizing LNG or building pipelines, said Valeriote. “The risks posed by wildfires demand that our leaders wake up and act like we’re in an emergency.”

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