This is an exerpt from an opinion piece in Canada's National Observer, published February 29, 2024. Read the full piece here.
Canadians should be grateful that cabinet ministers from across the country are meeting to discuss a co-ordinated response to a potential national climate emergency this spring and summer.
Yes, certainly, we must bolster our emergency preparedness across the country. The threat, unless we get relief in the form of heavy snowfall in the West soon and rain over much of the country in the spring, is real.
And sure, an Emergency Preparedness Week in May is a good idea. But it appears we remain stuck in the same old trap. We will deal, if we can, with the disasters as they occur, but we are not doing enough to address the cause of those disasters. We will, at great cost, staff the emergency room as it were, but we are still not spending enough on a vaccine...