RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO:
Yukon Employees’ Union 201-2285 2nd Avenue Whitehorse Yukon Y1A 1C9
Yukon Employees’ Union September 2023
NEWS
Much of Canada has been blanketed in smoke for the 2023 fire season, with almost 5600 wildfires to date this year. As I write this, Yellowknife is under evacuation order along with many more NWT communities. Yukon fires continue to burn even as Mayo and Old Crow residents return home, still under alert. Kelowna is under evacuation alert, and across this country fires rage, threatening lives and livelihoods. Since the start of this summer, the hottest ever recorded on our planet, countless Canadians have been forced to flee their homes, towns, and regions, not knowing what will be left when they return. After the near total destruc-tion of Lytton in 2021 and the historic city of Lahaina on Maui in Hawaii, images of fire ravaged home towns are seared into our hearts; we all feel the urgency and fear. Being prepared in case of emergency can provide valu-able peace of mind but nothing can truly prepare you for the moment you must lock the door behind you and flee. For those without a vehicle, relying on emergency evacu-ation flights and transportation can add extra layers of anxiety. For everyone affected, there is uncertainty and fear. Yukon Employees’ Union has watched events in our own territory and to our neighbours in the Northwest Territories with concern, looking for the best way to assist. As always, we look to the helper organizations and have cho-sen to lend our financial support to those working at ground level to help our displaced neighbours in these critical moments.
Close to home, Yukon Employees’ Union will make a $20,000 contribution to the Whitehorse Food Bank to help ensure shelves are filled. The Food Bank has been a constant support to locals and to evacuees throughout our own Yukon fires. They have also stepped up to ensure our NWT neighbours can access food when they arrive here. As well, Yukon Employees’ Union will donate $50,000 to the NWT Emergency Response Fund coordinated by the United Way in the NWT. Donations will be matched by the GNWT, doubling the impact.The United Way is trusted and deeply involved in helping with evacuation efforts, and supporting displaced climate refugees. We urge you to take care of yourselves and plan for your family’s safety. We also encourage you to have conversations in your workplace and with your employer around how an evacuation might impact your work and your pay. Will you lose income if an evacuation order is issued? How will financial uncertainty complicate things if you have to evacuate suddenly? YEU worked with employers this summer to ensure that workers forced to leave their communities would not face financial hardship. Sadly we imagine this conversation will take place more frequently as our climate continues to warm. The impacts of climate change are profoundly real, and are impacting our lives right now across the north. Planning for future disasters is imperative. Please stay safe, and continue to take care of one another.
We are always stronger together.