Ottawa,  Ontario, June 12th, 2024 — Last Generation Canada supporters have  posted an ultimatum letter to the government of Canada demanding they  commit to signing the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. Last  Generation Canada is announcing they will participate in internationally  coordinated actions if the government does not meet their demands. This  coalition, which to-date includes the Netherlands, Norway, the UK,  Switzerland, and Austria demands that their governments adopt the fossil  fuel non proliferation treaty in a legally binding manner.

Two Last Generation Canada supporters mailed the letter to the Prime Minister which can be read below.

12 June 2024

Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,

It is now widely recognised that global temperatures have passed the threshold outlined in the  Paris Agreement, exceeding +1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Since April 2023, records indicate an average temperature rise of 1.61°C.

Canada can no longer afford to  ignore the consequences of this breach. Last year, we endured an  unprecedented wildfire season which released two billion tonnes of CO2, an amount greater than the total emissions of 100 countries. This forced 240,000 Canadians out of their homes, disproportionately impacting Indigenous communities.

10,000 people have already faced evacuation orders so far this year, signaling that unprecedented wildfire seasons are the  new norm. As the leader of our nation, you bear the responsibility to  protect the citizens you were elected to serve. However, you have yet to  act on our demand for a national firefighting agency that trains and  employs 50,000 firefighters to protect Canadians, despite expert  recommendations.

As Prime Minister, your continued support for the oil industry, evidenced by billions of dollars in funding,  is deeply concerning. Financing the climate criminals driving global  warming is fueling the destruction of our forests, and poses threats to human health, to food security, to our economy, and global peace.

Put simply, fossil fuels will  kill people and destroy everything we hold dear. Continuing to extract  and burn fossil fuels is nothing short of an act of war against small  island states, communities in the global south, and a betrayal to  Indigenous peoples, who bear the brunt of the wildfire crisis in Canada.  It strips everyone in this country of their right to a livable future.

It is crystal clear that the COP  process has failed and we now need a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation  Treaty - a concrete, globally binding plan to end all new coal, oil and  gas projects and manage a fair and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.

We therefore demand that you  immediately commit to work with other nations to establish a legally  binding treaty to stop extracting and burning oil, gas and coal by 2030  as well as supporting and financing other countries to make a fair and  just transition.

This can be accomplished by endorsing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative and seeking a negotiating mandate to establish the treaty.

Failing to do so, would be both criminal and murderous.

We have made our demands clear.

We require that your government  shows that it will protect all Canadians by implementing a National  Firefighting Agency that trains and employs 50,000 firefighters to  handle the current impacts of the climate crisis.

We require that your government  fulfills its mandate to uphold the health, safety, life and liberty of  the public by endorsing and committing to the Fossil Fuel  Non-Proliferation Treaty in a way that is legally binding.

If you do not provide such  assurance by 12 July 2024, we will be forced to do what your government  can’t, and take action to protect our communities. We will do so by  engaging in a campaign of internationally coordinated, nonviolent civil resistance.

Our collective future is at risk; Canada is burning to the ground.

This might be our last chance.

Yours sincerely,

Last Generation Canada

Gillian Graham, a 24-year old supporter of Last Generation Canada said:

“Our  country is threatened, our planet is in crisis, and our governments  have failed to act on this emergency. We’re demanding action—before it's  too late. Our government is continuing to expand our oil and gas  production instead of cutting it, and it’s resulting in the destruction  of our futures and forests. We cannot as citizens sit by and watch our  country burn to the ground without taking proportionate action.”

Last  Generation Canada has been demanding government action on the climate  crisis, starting with the creation of a national firefighting agency.

The  group’s demands are fueled by the out-of-control Canadian wildfires  that, in 2023 released two billion tonnes of CO2, an amount greater than  the total emissions of 100 countries. The wildfires destroyed five per  cent of Canada’s Boreal forest.

“Our  country is literally on fire and we know that the big oil companies are  the arsonists,” says Tzeporah Berman, chair of the fossil fuel non  proliferation treaty. “These companies knew that their products threaten  our lives and they denied it and delayed climate action. We are simply  calling on our government to protect us. To make a plan to support  cleaner, safer energy systems and stop expanding fossil fuels. Anything  less is greenwashing. I applaud those that are planning civil  disobedience if our government doesn’t step up to protect us. They are  the real heroes.”

Currently,  over 70 per cent of Canadian firefighters are volunteers. As Alberta  Fire Chiefs urgently call for a provincial strategy, Quebec firefighters  prepare for a strike, and Ontario cuts its wildfire fighting budget,  Last Generation Canada calls on the federal government to train and  employ 50,000 firefighters this year.

This  ultimatum follows the group blocking Highway 417 in Ottawa last week,  and blocking access to the F1 Grand Prix in Montreal this Sunday.

This  summer, Last Generation Supporters will be acting in solidarity with  other groups internationally to defend their families and communities  from the crimes of fossil capital and the political leaders who are  facilitating the destruction of the planet. The nonviolent campaign says  disruptions will continue until their demands are met.