As Canada faces wildfires and smoke, is it ready for climate migrants?
The air in several major Canadian cities on Monday smells like burning campfires.
Air quality has plummeted during recent weeks because of wildfire smoke, made worse by the adverse effects of climate change in an “unprecedented” fire season. But as Canada battles environmental emergencies, advocates are asking if the country is ready to play its part in a global crisis of climate migrants.
“We know that people will try to reach here in perilous ways. That’s going to only increase with climate migration increasing,” said Maureen Silcoff, an immigration and refugee lawyer.
She said that Canada needs a broader approach to deal with the question as climate change and natural disasters ranging from fires to droughts to floods such as those that devastated Pakistan last year become more frequent.
“Canada has operated on a little bit of a piecemeal basis. So if there’s an earthquake in one place or hurricane in another, public policies are invoked to ease restrictions. Sometimes visa requirements are eased. Sometimes there’s a broader policy to allow people who are already here to apply for status,” she said.
“We have to think bigger and bolder than that. Because that’s not going to be enough.”
On June 14, a fishing boat illegally smuggling migrants and refugees sank in the Mediterranean, just off the coast of Greece. A large chunk of those who lost their lives were from Pakistan, still reeling from an economic crisis triggered by last year’s devastating floods.
Unprecedented flooding over five months killed 1,739 people in the South Asian country, causing over $30 billion in economic losses. The resulting economic crisis spurred thousands to leave Pakistan, paying thousands of dollars to traffickers to be help them migrate to
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