An Open Letter to the United States of America
When California was on fire, Canada sent water bombers to help. When our country is burning… You sent us a complaint letter. America, we need to talk.
Dear United States Congress,
Thank you so much for your deeply concerned letter about our wildfires “ruining your summer.” Truly touching.
We apologize that our forests, after decades of record heat, drought, and corporate deforestation (some of it by your own timber giants), had the audacity to catch fire and interrupt your BBQs and lake weekends.
But since you’re so concerned, let’s review the scoreboard:
When California was engulfed in flames, Canada sent water bombers. No letter. No whining. Just help. Because that’s what friends do.
We routinely send highly trained Canadian firefighters to California, Oregon, and Washington when your forests are burning down faster than a rant from your president. We don’t send a letter complaining about the smog drifting north, we send help.
When your hospitals were overwhelmed and out of PPE during the pandemic, we shipped masks and gloves south. At the same time, Trump threatened to cut us off. No letter. Just help.
When 9/11 happened, we took in 33,000 stranded passengers and fed them in Gander, Newfoundland. We didn’t send a letter complaining about our tourism season. We opened our doors. You might try it sometime instead of burning the planet for campaign cash.
Meanwhile, you send us… a letter.
You write with concern about your “ability to go outside and safely breathe.” We’re concerned about that too. We’ve been concerned for decades as your corporations have belched more carbon into our shared atmosphere than almost any other country on Earth. You lecture us about “active forest management” while simultaneously gutting your own environmental protections and subsidizing the very fossil fuel industry that’s setting our planet on fire.
All the while, we’re actually investing in green energy to prevent these fires before they start. You might try it sometime instead of burning the planet for campaign cash.
You want to talk about what’s “ruining the summer”? Let’s talk about the raw sewage and industrial waste you’ve been dumping into the Great Lakes for a century. Let’s talk about the invasive species that hitch a ride in your ships and decimate our ecosystems. Let’s talk about the acid rain from your factories that has poisoned our lakes and forests for generations.
Oh, and let’s talk about that “outdoor recreation” you’re so worried about. You know, the same outdoors you’ve been paving over with pipelines, fracking, and oil rigs. The same air you’ve been happily polluting for decades, accelerating the climate crisis that makes these wildfires worse.
Your letter mentions arson, but conveniently ignores the primary accelerant for these fires: climate change. A crisis you have actively lobbied to ignore.
So please, spare us the lecture. Don’t you dare complain about the smoke in your sky when you have helped build the fire.
You accuse us of “a lack of forest management”? Please. Our forests are twice the size of the state of Texas. And guess what? We didn’t spend decades denying climate change while burning coal like it was going out of style.
We Canadians love our summers, too. We also love being able to breathe. But most of all, we value friendship and reciprocity. Things that are clearly in short supply south of the border these days. Real friends show up with buckets, not complaint letters.
If you’re so desperate for fresh air, maybe stop voting for politicians who think the only green policy worth supporting is the color of their campaign donations.
Instead of sending snarky letters, how about sending fire crews? Or maybe instead of funneling your giant defense budget into more tanks, border walls, and that Big Beautiful Bill budget that props up ICE and billionaires, you could help fight actual global threats. Like climate change?
Next time there’s a crisis, maybe look in the mirror before you look north.
With all the polite Canadian sincerity we can muster,
Canada and The Planet D
Want to sign this letter too?
Leave a comment below with:“Signed, [Your Name]” (and feel free to add where you’re from!)
Let’s show that real friends show up with buckets, not complaint letters.