Ideas for a Green New Deal

A preliminary reporting of what came out of the Pact for a Green New Deal town halls has been released.
The Pact for a Green New Deal is defined as a coalition calling for a far-reaching plan to cut emissions in half in 11 years, in line with Indigenous knowledge and climate science; create more than one million good jobs; and build inclusive communities in the process.
Volunteers organized more than 150 town halls, taking place in every province and territory, to build alignment towards a set of shared principles for a Green New Deal. Locally, town hall meetings held in Creemore and Collingwood were organized by Sherri Jackson (Green Party candidate for Simcoe-Grey).
National organizers say that the exercise reached beyond the so called green bubble but acknowledge there is a lot more work to be done to reach out to those who wouldn’t, or couldn’t, participate in such a meeting.
It really was an interesting exercise, to sit down at a table with a relatively diverse cross section of the community and hear directly from participants their ideas for climate action. One got the sense that participants approached it with bravery, in that they were willing to take risks if it meant a healthier future for the planet. There was also a strong feeling of optimism as people saw climate crisis as an opportunity to build a new and better community. And there was hope for what it could mean to be part of a new green economy.
Participants were asked to discuss their red lines and green lines: “the things that absolutely should not be in a Green New Deal for Canada, and the things that people, groups, communities and institutions want, and in some cases, need to see in a Green New Deal in order to be on board.”
Nationally, participants tabled a total of 8,900 ideas.
A more complete synopsis of what came out of the workshops is posted at greennewdealcanada.ca but here’s how they summed it up:
Green Line categories: Economy and government, green infrastructure, nature, agriculture, social justice, democracy, plastics, climate science, decent work, Indigenous reconciliation, climate debt, and rights. (Of these categories, the ones that occurred most frequently were economy and government, green infrastructure, social justice, and Indigenous sovereignty. It is clear that systemic change and radical shifts are needed to transform the systems and institutions that perpetuate inequality, racism, xenophobia, and ongoing colonial violence.)
Red line categories: Town hall participants talked about putting a stop to the industries, institutions and practices that endanger our future and accelerate environmental destruction. Some of the red lines that came up discussed the fossil fuel industry, extraction and pollution, plastics, and a failing democracy.
The Green New Deal is inspired by The New Deal, which helped raise the United States out of the Great Depression through infrastructure programs and financial reform.
Read the findings from the town hall meetings in more detail at greennewdealcanada.ca.