So much to celebrate!

After a decade of living under Harper, and years of fighting for climate action in Canada, we are finally seeing some results. Just last week, the government committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 through a plan that includes, among other things,

  • A phase out of pollution from coal power plants by 2030,
  • A national price on carbon, and
  • Greater regulations on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector1-4

While we know there’s still lots of work ahead of us, it’s important to relish in these small victories and give credit where it’s due. These victories are thanks to the thousands of you who have mobilized for climate action since last year’s election.

Click here to watch a recording of the event


While the fossil fuel industry has been spending millions in ads, lobbyists, and helping elect Donald Trump, you’ve shown that people power can be as effective and powerful as their dollars.

Today, I’m emailing you from Ottawa, at the end of a busy week of meetings where I shared with cabinet ministers and MPs from all parties messages I’ve heard from the Leadnow community over the past year. This trip is the culmination of a string of actions you’ve taken part in over the past two weeks.

Last week, close to 400 of you came to a public event -- in Vancouver and online -- to hear from indigenous and community leaders in Standing Rock and BC about lessons on how direct action could help stop the Kinder Morgan Transmountain pipeline. We are expecting the federal government to make a decision on this project as early as Monday, and there’s a good chance it will be approved without community consent. If approved, this pipeline would make it unlikely for Canada to meet its climate commitments.

So many of you joined this conversation, that our hashtag #DAPLtoKM trended on Twitter across Canada!5

Click here to watch a recording of the event

Also last week, the Canadian Youth Delegation at the UN Climate talks in Marrakech hand-delivered your petition, and that of other groups, against Kinder Morgan right to the hands of Environment and Climate Change Minister McKenna. In total, we delivered 210,000 petition signatures!

To follow up on that action, we partnered with the For The Coast coalition to deliver this same petition, right to the steps of Ottawa to make sure they got the message.

If you didn’t get a chance to sign the petition, but would like to express your opposition to the Kinder Morgan pipeline, you can still make a call to the cabinet ministers who will be making the decision through our click-to-call tool.

Click here to call key cabinet MPs

Yesterday, I also had the honour to wrap up our work with the People’s Climate Plan. Throughout the summer, 8,200+ people across the country attended 100+ town halls to call on the government to put in place a climate plan that builds a 100% renewable energy economy and ensures a just transition for all.

To make sure the government heard the voices of these people, we created a report that, for the first time, summarizes the results from these climate town halls. I personally delivered it to the staff of Environment and Climate Change Minister McKenna.

Click here to read the report

These are just the latest of all the hundreds of actions you and the broader climate movement took over the past year to bring climate leadership back to Canada. All the petitions you signed, messages you sent, town halls you attended, rallies you organized, and calls you made, made these victories possible.

For now, let’s relish these victories, but let’s stand prepared in case the government approves the Kinder Morgan Transmountain pipeline. A growth in the fossil fuel industry would weaken our climate leadership and threaten our future.

Thanks for all that you do.

With hope and respect,
Logan, Mike, Rodrigo, Rachel and Jamie on behalf of the Leadnow team

Sources:

  1. CANADA’S MID-CENTURY LONG-TERM LOW-GREENHOUSE GAS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY http://unfccc.int/files/focus/long-term_strategies/application/pdf/canadas_mid-century_long-term_strategy.pdf
  2. Canada accelerates phasing out of coal, breaking from Trump https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/11/21/federal-government-to-phase-out-coal-by-2030.html
  3. Government of Canada Announces Pan-Canadian Pricing on Carbon Pollution http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1132149
  4. Reducing methane emissions from Canada's oil and gas industry http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1039219
  5. TrendsMap Canada https://twitter.com/TrendsmapCanada/status/799484335992737792

Please support the Leadnow.ca community! We're funded by people like you, and our small, dedicated team and growing community make sure your donation goes a long way. Every dollar helps. You can donate online at http://www.leadnow.ca/en/donate

Leadnow.ca is an independent campaigning community that brings Canadians together to hold government accountable, deepen our democracy and take action for the common good. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.


Leadnow.ca - À l’Action est une communauté indépendante qui souhaite réunir les Canadiens afin de demander des comptes au gouvernement, approfondir notre démocratie et passer à l’action pour le bien commun. Suivre sur Twitter, Facebook, et Google+.


Leadnow.ca, PO Box 2091, Stn Terminal, Vancouver, BC, V6B 3T2 — 1‑855‑LEADN0W | 1‑855‑532‑360



Login Form