More than 900 wildfires raged across Canada this summer. A nation grieved for those who have lost their homes, had their lives disrupted and the elderly woman who lost her life. The certainty of summers past is gone. The levelling of homes and communities, evacuations, staying inside and cancelling summer holidays are now unfortunate hallmarks of the season.  

The conversation was focused on evacuation orders, threatened structures, firefighter responses and weather forecasts.  Climate change — which is driving more extreme and frequent wildfires — was given a side mention but was not central in media reporting. Wildfire coverage largely omits steps communities can take to build long-term resilience to climate change. 

While it is understandable that responding to immediate risks would take precedence, avoiding climate change in wildfire communications leaves Canadians in the dark and therefore vulnerable to current and future climate risks. 

Climate change is about uncertainty, and dealing with that is uncomfortable. This is true in the short term for those who have been evacuated and lost their homes due to wildfires, or whose lives have been disrupted in other ways. In the bigger picture, the current ways of protecting communities, advancing economic development, managing agriculture, travel and other factors of everyday life based on past weather and old patterns are no longer reliable. 

Canadians need to be involved in conversations about climate change, rather than having risks and solutions prescribed for........

© National Observer