‘Most vulnerable population on Earth’: politicians urged to consider wildfire impacts on children as towns evacuated

UNICEF Canada president and CEO Sevaun Palvetzian says youth will ‘carry the heaviest burden if we don’t get this right.’

The wildfires pictured on July 20, 2024, in Williams Lake, B.C. Tom Cameron told The Hill Times: 'We were less than 500 metres from the flame front and watched buildings burn from our front yard. One minute we were sitting down to dinner and the next we were throwing our go bags and family albums in the trucks getting ready to flee. Scary stuff.'The Hill Times photograph courtesy of Tom Cameron

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BY STEPHEN JEFFERY

July 29, 2024

As tens of thousands of people evacuate due to wildfires across the country, UNICEF is hosting a talk this week to urge governments to factor in the unique needs of children in a future where climate change increases the risk of large-scale fires.

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