This Father’s Day, let’s clear the air for our kids

By Will van Engen on June 13, 2025.

Three years, three months ago, I became a father.

Like many new parents, I was filled with joy and love-and also a profound sense of responsibility. My son was born into a world grappling with war, rising authoritarianism, and an accelerating climate and biodiversity crisis that threatens the planet he will inherit. His safety and future quickly became my top priority.

The crisis is no longer distant – it is real, dangerous, and unfolding across the prairies right now. In the summer of 2023, just as my son began to explore the outdoors, wildfire smoke kept him confined indoors – unable to enjoy Edmonton’s sunny summer days. As I write this letter, wildfire haze lingers in the air over the city I call home.

Sadly, my family’s experience isn’t unique. Across Alberta and Canada, more families are confronting this new, sobering, smoky reality. Watching wildfires rage in Saskatchewan and Manitoba underscores how urgent the situation has become. My heart goes out to all those directly impacted, especially families with young children.

I often wonder: are Canadians connecting the dots between the burning of fossil fuels and the wildfires we’re experiencing? While we do what we can in our daily lives to reduce pollution, there are clear, immediate steps Canada’s federal government must take – starting with cutting methane pollution from the oil and gas sector.

Methane is an invisible but powerful climate pollutant – over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. It is the second-largest contributor to global warming after CO2 and accounts for roughly 16% of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, roughly one-third of methane emissions are from the oil and gas sector. This potent pollutant is a key driver of the accelerating climate crisis threatening communities across the country and around the world.

But the damage doesn’t stop with the climate. Methane pollution harms our children’s health, too. Emissions from oil and gas operations often include toxic chemicals – vented or deliberately burned – that contribute to health issues. Families living near these sites in B.C., Alberta, and Saskatchewan, including children attending nearby schools, face increased risks of respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease, and other life-altering conditions. No child should grow up in an environment where simply breathing the air puts their health and well-being at risk.

The good news? Targeted solutions can make a big impact.

In 2023, Ottawa introduced draft regulations to slash methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 75 percent by 2030. We must finalize and implement these rules without delay – and go even further. For the sake of our children and communities, Canada must set sights on achieving near-zero methane emissions by 2035, aligning with ambitious targets in British Columbia and regulations in Europe.

Cost-effective technologies exist – there’s no excuse for further delay. Canada’s Federal Government can take immediate steps to pass methane emissions reduction regulations, blunt the climate emergency, and reduce the harm already bearing down on our communities.

This Father’s Day, I want to enjoy time with my son playing under Alberta’s clear blue sky. But with wildfires threatening our air and limiting our ability to be outdoors, I feel a heavy weight pressing down on us.

As individuals, we can take steps to respond to this crisis-but we can’t do it alone. I’m calling on our leaders to take bold, urgent action.

Let’s honour dads by protecting the health of our children and our Earth. Our leaders must act – to safeguard the air our kids breathe, the climate we share, and the well-being of every child, in Canada and beyond.

Will van Engen is an Edmonton-based lawyer and a member of For Our Kids Alberta, a grassroots network of parents and caregivers advocating for bold climate action to protect the health and future of our children. In February, 31 organizations endorsed this letter to federal party leaders, calling on federal party leaders to for urgent action to address the significant issue of methane pollution.

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