Ottawa,  Ontario, February 6, 2023 — At 12 noon today, a supporter of Last  Generation Canada set fire to a stroller next to the Centennial Flame on  Parliament Hill and glued herself to the ground beside it. Last  Generation says that the supporter burned the stroller, which was empty  and belonged to the person who lit it on fire, in order to symbolise the  impacts of government inaction on the wildfire and climate crises.

“I want the government to look  into the eyes of all children of this and future generations and try to  justify their continued inaction on the climate crisis,” says Gillian  Graham, 24, who set fire to the stroller. “I’m demanding that the  government take action because they are currently sentencing my  generation and future generations to death.”

Last Generation Canada is calling for a national firefighting agency that trains and employs 50,000 firefighters this year.

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

Since the devastating 2016 wildfire season, Canada’s firefighting force has decreased by 30,000. As Alberta Fire Chiefs urgently call for a provincial strategy, Last Generation Canada calls on the federal  government to train and employ 50,000 firefighters this year. Despite  the NDP, Green Party, and experts’ recommendations, the Canadian  government has not made any commitment to implementing a national agency.

“We know that wildfires have  been continuing to burn our great Canadian forests throughout the  winter, ” says Josh Pringle, another supporter of Last Generation.  “We  saw record temperatures break just last week, and this summer is  predicted to be hotter than the last. I’m terrified of what is set to  happen if the government does not take proper action, and this is only  at 1.3 degrees of warming.”

Last Generation Canada says that Ottawa can expect more disruptions until their demands are met and a  meaningful statement is made with a commitment to installing such an agency.