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Across Canada and World, Climate Movement Prepares for Leap into 2016
Global day of action is in support of the Leap Manifesto, a set of 15 demands endorsed by more than 150 organizations and unveiled last September
Feb 28, 2016
With ambitious calls for a post-carbon future, respect for Indigenous rights, and economic justice for all, climate activists from across Canada and the world will celebrate International Leap Day on Monday with rallies, film screenings, teach-ins, and more.
The actions support the Leap Manifesto, a 15-demand manifesto unveiled last September endorsed by more than 150 organizations. Canadian anti-capitalist and author Naomi Klein and her husband, filmmaker Avi Lewis, are among its initiating signatories.
"The Manifesto, bolder than anything on offer from the major federal political parties, lays out an alternative vision that would get us to 100 percent renewable electricity within two decades -- while building a fairer, more humane society in the process," they said in a statement read at the launch and published at the Toronto Star at the time.
"In Paris, Canada's government committed to radically lowering its emissions," additional high-profile supporters wrote on Friday. "The Leap Manifesto outlines practical policies for how we can do this in ways that change our country for the better."
Klein will join labor, Indigenous, and social justice activists at an event in Ottawa on Monday to present a proposal for "transforming Canada's postal system for a greener and more equitable economy."
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers launched a campaign for postal banking earlier this month, saying, "Canada needs a postal bank. Thousands of rural towns and villages in our country do not have a bank, but many of them have a post office that could provide financial services. Nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders. A postal bank could be that alternative."
Meanwhile, campaigners with the Council of Canadians will call on federal and provincial governments to commit to "a 100 percent clean economy by 2050" at the first minister's meeting in Vancouver on Thursday, March 3.
Follow the actions on Twitter with the hashtag #LeapManifesto:
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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 |
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Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
avi lewisrenewable energyenvironmentfirst nationsindigenousinequalityeconomic justiceindigenous rightslabornaomi kleinworkersclimate movementsocial justicecouncil of canadiansparis agreement
With ambitious calls for a post-carbon future, respect for Indigenous rights, and economic justice for all, climate activists from across Canada and the world will celebrate International Leap Day on Monday with rallies, film screenings, teach-ins, and more.
The actions support the Leap Manifesto, a 15-demand manifesto unveiled last September endorsed by more than 150 organizations. Canadian anti-capitalist and author Naomi Klein and her husband, filmmaker Avi Lewis, are among its initiating signatories.
"The Manifesto, bolder than anything on offer from the major federal political parties, lays out an alternative vision that would get us to 100 percent renewable electricity within two decades -- while building a fairer, more humane society in the process," they said in a statement read at the launch and published at the Toronto Star at the time.
"In Paris, Canada's government committed to radically lowering its emissions," additional high-profile supporters wrote on Friday. "The Leap Manifesto outlines practical policies for how we can do this in ways that change our country for the better."
Klein will join labor, Indigenous, and social justice activists at an event in Ottawa on Monday to present a proposal for "transforming Canada's postal system for a greener and more equitable economy."
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers launched a campaign for postal banking earlier this month, saying, "Canada needs a postal bank. Thousands of rural towns and villages in our country do not have a bank, but many of them have a post office that could provide financial services. Nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders. A postal bank could be that alternative."
Meanwhile, campaigners with the Council of Canadians will call on federal and provincial governments to commit to "a 100 percent clean economy by 2050" at the first minister's meeting in Vancouver on Thursday, March 3.
Follow the actions on Twitter with the hashtag #LeapManifesto:
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
With ambitious calls for a post-carbon future, respect for Indigenous rights, and economic justice for all, climate activists from across Canada and the world will celebrate International Leap Day on Monday with rallies, film screenings, teach-ins, and more.
The actions support the Leap Manifesto, a 15-demand manifesto unveiled last September endorsed by more than 150 organizations. Canadian anti-capitalist and author Naomi Klein and her husband, filmmaker Avi Lewis, are among its initiating signatories.
"The Manifesto, bolder than anything on offer from the major federal political parties, lays out an alternative vision that would get us to 100 percent renewable electricity within two decades -- while building a fairer, more humane society in the process," they said in a statement read at the launch and published at the Toronto Star at the time.
"In Paris, Canada's government committed to radically lowering its emissions," additional high-profile supporters wrote on Friday. "The Leap Manifesto outlines practical policies for how we can do this in ways that change our country for the better."
Klein will join labor, Indigenous, and social justice activists at an event in Ottawa on Monday to present a proposal for "transforming Canada's postal system for a greener and more equitable economy."
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers launched a campaign for postal banking earlier this month, saying, "Canada needs a postal bank. Thousands of rural towns and villages in our country do not have a bank, but many of them have a post office that could provide financial services. Nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders. A postal bank could be that alternative."
Meanwhile, campaigners with the Council of Canadians will call on federal and provincial governments to commit to "a 100 percent clean economy by 2050" at the first minister's meeting in Vancouver on Thursday, March 3.
Follow the actions on Twitter with the hashtag #LeapManifesto:
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