The Heat Dome, one year later - Webinar Series

You don’t have to look far to know that extreme climate events are here to stay. Unprecedented and devastating wildfires and floods, noticeable changes in weather and seasons, and extreme heat events have affected the lives of millions of people. The economic, health, and social impacts of these events are enormous. Last year provided many lived examples of this including the devastating effects of last summer’s heat wave, and the heat dome on British Columbians and all Canadians.

Join us on June 28th, 2022  - the anniversary of the hottest day in 2021 - for a webinar exploring the lessons learned from the heat dome, and the changes we need to make to address future heat events. The webinar will bring together climate and heat dome researchers, emergency health practitioners, and social justice  advocates in a dynamic discussion of where the province is at, one year later, and where we need to get to if we are to be collectively resilient moving forward.

Rachel La Fortune (researcher with the Environment and Human Rights Division at Human Rights Watch where her current work is focused on human rights violations in the context of climate change and environmental health),

George P.R. Benson (climate leader and urban planner based in Vancouver, currently serves as Managing Director of the Climate Displacement Planning Initiative (CDPI), one of the first organizations in the world to focus solely on climate change and forcible human movement),

Sarah Henderson (Scientific Director of Environmental Health Services at the BC Centre for Disease Control, and Scientific Director of the National Collaboration Centre for Environmental Health. She oversees a broad program of applied research, surveillance, and knowledge translation to support evidence-based environmental health policy and practice in BC and across Canada), and

Brooks Hogya (doctoral candidate at RRU, undertaking research to help BC Emergency Health Services better adapt to climate change challenges. He started as a paramedic in 2007 and now manage the Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience department)

will be part of the conversation.

As we approach a new summer season, it is important to reflect on the lessons learned about those heat events. We need to be asking ourselves and our governments what changes are needed to ensure that people, businesses, communities and governments are better prepared for heat waves and heat domes, and have plans in place that ensure that those made vulnerable through material, social, and economic marginalization.  

In a recent interview with CBC, our webinar host Dr. Robin Cox mentioned: “We know we are at a state where we need to be investing in climate adaptation and really supporting communities, businesses, governments, and individual households to rethink their operations and focus more on preparedness and risk mitigation.”

This webinar is the first session of a series on climate change and climate action webinars sponsored by the Climate Action Leadership program at Royal Roads University. Stay tuned for the upcoming sessions. 

We encourage you to register even if you are unable to attend. Everyone who registers will receive a link to the webinar recording.

If you have any questions, contact an enrolment advisor here or at 1.877.778.6227.

*We are experiencing some issues with the registration link. Please email nancy.prevostmaurice@royalroads.ca if you have any questions. We will make sure to add you to the attendees' list*