More than 60 Powell River residents gathered at Dwight Hall on Wednesday, May 22, to discuss how a Green New Deal might tackle climate change while strengthening economic and social equality in Canada.
As city councillor and event co-organizer CaroleAnn Leishman explained, the Green New Deal is a political program that proposes substantial government investment in renewable energy and sustainability projects, whilst enshrining economic and social justice for all people affected by such programs. The idea attracted international attention after United States democratic member of congress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spearheaded the policy in December last year.
“We need to start pushing for a total shift in how we do things in Canada if we’re going to meet any kind of carbon emission reduction, meeting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recommendations,” said Leishman. “Let’s get on top of what we want to ask of our elected representatives.”
The event gave some of those broad proposals a practical focus, offering residents the chance to share ideas about what such a sweeping program might look like at local, national and international levels.
As well as proposing a national ban on all new oil and gas infrastructure, such as the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, several attendees outlined more granular climate-conscious policy ideas.
Those proposals included investment in local renewable energy projects, more robust environmental regulations and switching city vehicles over to electric fleets.
“All these kind of policies can be implemented at a local level, and will actually generate us money down the road,” said Leishman.
The evening included a short meet and greet between participants, who came from a cross-section of different backgrounds and age groups.
One of those attendees was sustainability planner Andrea Hedley, who said she was excited by the apparent enthusiasm for radical climate solutions at the meeting.
“The Green New Deal is very vague, but that leaves opportunity for Canadians define what it means,” she said. “I would hope for a more aggressive, national push towards climate solutions, more non-partisan. I hope the Green New Deal would be a way for people to rally around a shared vision.”
Hedley said she also wants to see greater emphasis on the need for collective mobilization, rather than individual action, in achieving sustainability goals.
“We need more civic education,” she added, “figuring out how we can take collective action rather than focusing on individual behaviour change.”
Lund resident Charles Latimer, a project leader at Greenpeace and volunteer organizer for the Green New Deal campaign, said he was impressed by the turnout at the town hall.
“It’s amazing; it just speaks to the kind of energy that’s around tackling this problem,” he added. “I’m hoping that people at the grassroots are able to give politicians the courage to do what needs to be done.”
City of Powell River sustainability planner Anastasia Lukyanova stressed that the Green New Deal strives to put forward a positive policy agenda.
“What’s really important about this approach is that it’s not focusing on the negative,” she said. “This has a lot more positive focus on what it is that we want to create.”
