Nelson hosts Green New Deal Town Hall
By Nelson Daily Staff
On the heels of a successful meeting held this past week in the Slocan Valley, several organizations in the Heritage City concerned about climate change are hosting a public townhall on the Green New Deal campaign in Canada, Wednesday (June 5th) at the United Church at 602 Silica Street.
“Many Canadians are realizing that concrete steps are necessary to reduce emissions and keep our planet liveable," said Jan Inglis, one of the organizers of the meeting.
"The Green New Deal, a global movement, offers these steps in a comprehensive and collaborative manner that transforms our economic dependence on fossil fuel while at the same time creating needed employment and community sustainability.”
On May 6th a broad coalition including more than 60 organizations, unions and associations, launched the Pact for a Green New Deal in three cities across Canada. The coalition includes CUPE Ontario, the Canadian Health Coalition, the Canadian Unitarian Council, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Indigenous Climate Action, Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) and the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, as well as 50 prominent Canadians, including K.D. Lang, Rufus Wainwright, Dr. David Suzuki and Cobie Smulders.
In Nelson, the Council of Canadians Chapter, The West Kootenay EcoSociety, the Interfaith Climate Collaborative, and Nelson-West Kootenay Citizen's Climate Lobby are sponsoring a Townhall to encourage discussion of urgent strategies to rebuild a sustainable Canadian economy.
The Pact for a Green New Deal is focused on cutting emissions in half by 2030, protecting critical cultural and biological diversity, creating a million jobs, and addressing the multiple crises we face through a holistic and far reaching plan that respects the constitutionally enshrined and internationally recognized rights of Indigenous peoples. This large, non-partisan coalition calls on all federal political parties, in the lead up to the election, to put versions of the Green New Deal that meet those goals in their platforms. A new poll by Abacus Data shows a clear majority of Canadians (61 per cent) support the idea of a Green New Deal.
In the face of record heat waves, floods, wildfires, and increasing global migration due to climate disruption, scientists have said the window in which we have to act is getting short and have given us just 11 years to cut our emissions in half. Niklas Agarwal, student and youth organizer said in announcing the campaign: “The Green New Deal is the safest choice for how we move forward, it recognizes that climate change requires urgent action but is also an opportunity to make our communities healthier and create a million good jobs in the process.”
Find out more at GreenNewDealCanada.ca
Ideas discussed during the meeting with placed under Red Line and Green Line headings on the blackboard. — Submitted photo
