When the wildfire sirens blared through Alberta last summer, 17-year-old Maya packed her little brother’s inhaler and her grandma’s slippers and waited. Not because she didn’t want to leave, but because she couldn’t. In her remote Indigenous community, evacuation support was limited. 

With neither car nor bus in sight and a family depending on her, Maya’s evacuation timeline was much slower than everyone else’s. By the time she found a ride, the smoke had already thickened. Thankfully, Maya and her family made it out safely — but many families in similar situations aren’t as fortunate. 

As climate change accelerates, Canada is facing more frequent and severe disasters. From wildfires in the West to floods in the Maritimes, each disaster exposes the gaps in our evacuation systems and the people they leave at risk. 

As a public health master’s student studying inequities in health and safety, I’ve seen how climate emergencies amplify existing vulnerabilities. Maya’s story is just one example of a reality faced by many women and marginalized people, particularly those living in remote or Indigenous communities. 

When a natural disaster forces a community to evacuate, the official message sounds simple: get........

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