Weekend Actions in Canada Herald 'New Kind of Climate Movement'
Marches and actions for 'a just transition to a clean economy' to take place across Canada this weekend
Mobilizations that are being hailed as "the first steps towards a new kind of climate movement" will take place across Canada this weekend, bringing together an "unprecedented coalition" of environmental, labor, social justice, public health, and student activists to call for a justice-based transition to a clean energy future.
"It's not every day you see Canada's largest public and private sector unions mobilizing alongside Indigenous frontline communities, migrant justice groups, and anti-extractive sector activists," reads a post at the March for Jobs, Justice, and the Climate website.
"Politicians will face a choice: listen to corporate leaders from across the Americas gathering to advance an economic austerity agenda that is increasing inequality and causing a climate crisis felt disproportionately in the global south--or listen to the people."
--Andrea Harden-Donahue, Council of Canadians
One dozen separate actions are planned to take place across Canada on Saturday, July 4, under the "We > Tar Sands" banner aimed at demonstrating that "we, the people, are greater than the tar sands."
"As we approach one of the most important elections in this country's history and another round of international climate negotiations, it is crucial for us to unite and demonstrate to our leaders that we are ready for real climate action," the organizers, who include 350.org, write in their call to action. "If politicians refuse to lead us. We will lead them."
The following day, July 5, will see the streets of Toronto fill with Canadians calling for green jobs, localized agriculture, and "a new energy economy, in which corporate polluters pay and ordinary people benefit."
In a piece about Sunday's march, eco-crusader Naomi Klein wrote: "Canadians are clearly getting tired of the fossil-fuel roller coaster. Tired of being told we have to sacrifice our environmental protections and our international standing when times for industry are good. Of seeing our budgets for social programs slashed and livelihoods destroyed when times for industry are bad. It turns out we sacrifice on the upside and we sacrifice on the downside."
Explaining why the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario would join in the July 5 march, president-elect Carol Timmings declared, "[w]ithout jobs that provide a living wage and a strong and stable environment, Ontarians' health and well-being are at risk. As a society, we can no longer afford to ignore these issues."
The events are taking place on the eve of the Climate Change Summit of the Americas, taking place in Toronto from July 7-9. Former Mexican president Felipe Calderon, former U.S. vice president Al Gore, and the Canadian premiers of Quebec and Ontario are all scheduled to speak at the summit, which ostensibly will "bring together Pan-American jurisdictions, as well as Indigenous leaders, environmental groups and industry, to work towards commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and highlight opportunities for investing in a global low carbon economy."
At the summit, Andrea Harden-Donahue of the Council of Canadians wrote last month, "[p]oliticians will face a choice: listen to corporate leaders from across the Americas gathering to advance an economic austerity agenda that is increasing inequality and causing a climate crisis felt disproportionately in the global south--or listen to the people."
For more about the march and the movement, watch the video below:
And follow the weekend's actions on Twitter under the hashtag #JobsJusticeClimate:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Mobilizations that are being hailed as "the first steps towards a new kind of climate movement" will take place across Canada this weekend, bringing together an "unprecedented coalition" of environmental, labor, social justice, public health, and student activists to call for a justice-based transition to a clean energy future.
"It's not every day you see Canada's largest public and private sector unions mobilizing alongside Indigenous frontline communities, migrant justice groups, and anti-extractive sector activists," reads a post at the March for Jobs, Justice, and the Climate website.
"Politicians will face a choice: listen to corporate leaders from across the Americas gathering to advance an economic austerity agenda that is increasing inequality and causing a climate crisis felt disproportionately in the global south--or listen to the people."
--Andrea Harden-Donahue, Council of Canadians
One dozen separate actions are planned to take place across Canada on Saturday, July 4, under the "We > Tar Sands" banner aimed at demonstrating that "we, the people, are greater than the tar sands."
"As we approach one of the most important elections in this country's history and another round of international climate negotiations, it is crucial for us to unite and demonstrate to our leaders that we are ready for real climate action," the organizers, who include 350.org, write in their call to action. "If politicians refuse to lead us. We will lead them."
The following day, July 5, will see the streets of Toronto fill with Canadians calling for green jobs, localized agriculture, and "a new energy economy, in which corporate polluters pay and ordinary people benefit."
In a piece about Sunday's march, eco-crusader Naomi Klein wrote: "Canadians are clearly getting tired of the fossil-fuel roller coaster. Tired of being told we have to sacrifice our environmental protections and our international standing when times for industry are good. Of seeing our budgets for social programs slashed and livelihoods destroyed when times for industry are bad. It turns out we sacrifice on the upside and we sacrifice on the downside."
Explaining why the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario would join in the July 5 march, president-elect Carol Timmings declared, "[w]ithout jobs that provide a living wage and a strong and stable environment, Ontarians' health and well-being are at risk. As a society, we can no longer afford to ignore these issues."
The events are taking place on the eve of the Climate Change Summit of the Americas, taking place in Toronto from July 7-9. Former Mexican president Felipe Calderon, former U.S. vice president Al Gore, and the Canadian premiers of Quebec and Ontario are all scheduled to speak at the summit, which ostensibly will "bring together Pan-American jurisdictions, as well as Indigenous leaders, environmental groups and industry, to work towards commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and highlight opportunities for investing in a global low carbon economy."
At the summit, Andrea Harden-Donahue of the Council of Canadians wrote last month, "[p]oliticians will face a choice: listen to corporate leaders from across the Americas gathering to advance an economic austerity agenda that is increasing inequality and causing a climate crisis felt disproportionately in the global south--or listen to the people."
For more about the march and the movement, watch the video below:
And follow the weekend's actions on Twitter under the hashtag #JobsJusticeClimate:
Mobilizations that are being hailed as "the first steps towards a new kind of climate movement" will take place across Canada this weekend, bringing together an "unprecedented coalition" of environmental, labor, social justice, public health, and student activists to call for a justice-based transition to a clean energy future.
"It's not every day you see Canada's largest public and private sector unions mobilizing alongside Indigenous frontline communities, migrant justice groups, and anti-extractive sector activists," reads a post at the March for Jobs, Justice, and the Climate website.
"Politicians will face a choice: listen to corporate leaders from across the Americas gathering to advance an economic austerity agenda that is increasing inequality and causing a climate crisis felt disproportionately in the global south--or listen to the people."
--Andrea Harden-Donahue, Council of Canadians
One dozen separate actions are planned to take place across Canada on Saturday, July 4, under the "We > Tar Sands" banner aimed at demonstrating that "we, the people, are greater than the tar sands."
"As we approach one of the most important elections in this country's history and another round of international climate negotiations, it is crucial for us to unite and demonstrate to our leaders that we are ready for real climate action," the organizers, who include 350.org, write in their call to action. "If politicians refuse to lead us. We will lead them."
The following day, July 5, will see the streets of Toronto fill with Canadians calling for green jobs, localized agriculture, and "a new energy economy, in which corporate polluters pay and ordinary people benefit."
In a piece about Sunday's march, eco-crusader Naomi Klein wrote: "Canadians are clearly getting tired of the fossil-fuel roller coaster. Tired of being told we have to sacrifice our environmental protections and our international standing when times for industry are good. Of seeing our budgets for social programs slashed and livelihoods destroyed when times for industry are bad. It turns out we sacrifice on the upside and we sacrifice on the downside."
Explaining why the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario would join in the July 5 march, president-elect Carol Timmings declared, "[w]ithout jobs that provide a living wage and a strong and stable environment, Ontarians' health and well-being are at risk. As a society, we can no longer afford to ignore these issues."
The events are taking place on the eve of the Climate Change Summit of the Americas, taking place in Toronto from July 7-9. Former Mexican president Felipe Calderon, former U.S. vice president Al Gore, and the Canadian premiers of Quebec and Ontario are all scheduled to speak at the summit, which ostensibly will "bring together Pan-American jurisdictions, as well as Indigenous leaders, environmental groups and industry, to work towards commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and highlight opportunities for investing in a global low carbon economy."
At the summit, Andrea Harden-Donahue of the Council of Canadians wrote last month, "[p]oliticians will face a choice: listen to corporate leaders from across the Americas gathering to advance an economic austerity agenda that is increasing inequality and causing a climate crisis felt disproportionately in the global south--or listen to the people."
For more about the march and the movement, watch the video below:
And follow the weekend's actions on Twitter under the hashtag #JobsJusticeClimate: