We just launched something big

Details: Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00; Written by editor

Paov,

Last night, hundreds of people across the country joined us for an organizing call with our friends from the Council of Canadians. I can still feel the energy today. We’ve hosted quite a few calls like this since I joined the 350 Canada team, but none had a bigger turnout than last night’s session. There’s something powerful about this moment. People can see that Canada is at a critical crossroads.

Near the start of the call, we asked participants if anyone had been personally affected by the climate chaos that unfolded over the past year. The Zoom chat box filled up with story after story after story. As the consequences of climate inaction start to literally hit home, more people than ever are waking up to the stakes of this crisis. Yet, despite the mounting danger, our politicians refuse to act at the necessary scale and speed.

The most glaring example is Justin Trudeau’s long-promised Just Transition Act. It’s been nearly three years since he pledged to pass this legislation, which would support workers and communities as Canada accelerates its shift off of fossil fuels, but we’ve seen no... serious progress. Last night, we announced our plan to change that and hundreds of people like you raised their hands to get involved.

On Saturday, March 12 we’re holding a national Day of Action for a Just Transition. To make an impact, we need as many communities as possible to take part. Will you sign up to host an event in your community now?

I’m really excited about the design we’ve come up with for this Day of Action. Unions and civil society groups have been asking the federal government to create a Ministry of Just Transition to coordinate the massive project of rapidly decarbonizing our society. On March 12, Day of Action participants will stage creative actions to demonstrate the kinds of bold solutions they hope to see from this future Ministry.

Paov, even if you’re on the fence about hosting an action I encourage you to sign up now anyway. We want to get everyone’s event ideas on the map in the coming days so there’s plenty of time to plan them and recruit participants before March 12. We’ll support you every step of the way.

This might seem like a big commitment, but we’re here to help you through the whole process. We’ve created a detailed guide for local organizers and you will have access to one-on-one and peer support over the coming weeks. If you’ve ever thought about working with others in your community to push for real climate action, this is the perfect way to start.

Our organizing toolkit includes some great examples of what your action could look like, but we encourage you to get creative with it. Register your action now and feel free to flesh out the details later. Getting started is the most important thing.

With dozens of actions like these happening across the country on March 12th, we’ll mount pressure on our politicians to work towards the boldest Just Transition legislation possible and tell an inspiring story in our communities about why this is such an important part of the climate fight.

I hope you’ll take action with us!

Onwards,

Chris

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