Dear friends concerned about climate action,
We are in a very challenging time now, with a provincial government that is hostile to climate action. At this very moment the Legislature is considering a bill (Bill 4, Cap and Trade Cancellation Act) alongside Bill 5 (Amend the City of Toronto Act) both of which will have extreme consequences for our ability to undertake effective climate action here in Toronto. TRANSFORMTO’s recent newsletter lets us know of $52 million in cuts to 10 programs currently planned. This is on top of the $100 million that is being cut from school retrofit budgets – funds that have already been collected! We are shocked by this and we need to fight!
These bills are being rushed through at unprecedented speed . It is hard to know for sure, but it looks like the Cap and Trade bill will be voted on this coming Tuesday (or later in the week). ClimateFast has sent a letter to the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, Rod Phillips, and copied the MPPs.
WE NEED TO BE THERE IN PERSON! DEMO TUESDAY AUGUST 14 TH 9 AM!
ClimateFast CarbonFreeTO campaign invites you to be present at Queen’s Park on Tuesday morning, 9 – 10 am to be part of a visual display of the effects of inaction on climate. We’ll have banners and photos of the most recent flooding, from Tuesday this week, and will enter Q Pk at 10:30 for question period. Bring your ID if you’d like to go in and listen. RSVP lyn@climatefast.ca and let us know if you can help. Our prep meeting for this and other actions we are taking will be held Sunday August 12 th , 6 pm, Friends House, 60 Lowther Ave. RSVP lyn@climatefast.ca
THEATRE WORKSHOP – WEDNESDAY AUGUST 15 TH – 6:30 PM
THIS WEEK WE ARE ALSO OFFERING A THEATRE WORKSHOP THAT WILL GIVE US A CHANCE TO GIVE EXPRESSION TO OUR FEELINGS OF FRUSTRATION AND CONCERN – and to become more empowered. This is a ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’ workshop, being offered by Pavla Uppal on Wednesday August 15 th 6:30 PM at Friends House, 60 Lowther Ave.
If you have similar feelings and thoughts like:
“I am freaked out right now by Ford's moves!”
“It is a giant step backwards as a province and we have to fight back!”
“The fossil fuel power lobby is behind this!”
“I see the conservative power is rising all over the world and I am feeling powerless...”
And do you want to co-create a renewable energy future? Come and join this empowering workshop!
Please see details and register today ! On facebook
HOTHOUSE PLANET?
We all know that climate action is extremely urgent. This article in the Guardian reports on the recent new report on the possible hothouse effect: https://bit.ly/2vRCvz7 This is where we are heading if we do not act –and so we must act!
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment had this Op Ed printed in the Vancouver Sun:
Opinion: Wake up and smell the smoke
Canadians are not doing nearly enough to combat climate change and a record season of wildfires this year serves as evidence of our failure to act. MELISSA LEM & LARRY BARZELAI August 8, 2018 https://vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/opinion-wake-up-and-smell-the-smoke
UPCOMING AUGUST EVENTS: AUGUST 22 ND AND AUGUST 29 TH
URGE YOUR COUNCILLOR TO SUPPORT LEGAL ACTION TO CHALLENGE BILL 5 when it comes to City Council for a vote on August 20 th . Sample letter is posted here . Find out the name of your councillor here : The format is: councillor_lastname@toronto.ca . Please cc the Mayor: mayor_tory@toronto.ca and bcc lyn@climatefast.ca .
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22 ND – GET INVOLVED IN THE MUNCIPAL ELECTION ! Come out and learn more about the Toronto Council Renewal Project, RadTO, and the TTCRiders campaigns. Learn about the candidates in your ward and in key wards throughout the city and the mayoralty race, and consider helping in a campaign. We don’t know for sure what the ward boundaries will be for the election October 22 nd , however we believe that it is very likely to be the 47 wards that the City set. The province’s Bill to cut it 25 wards will be virtually impossible to do on the current election timeline and the City, we believe, will launch a legal challenge.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 29 TH : DRAWDOWN TORONTO BUILDINGS AND CITIES SECTOR SUMMIT
Join Unify
Toronto
for the fourth of seven
Drawdown
sector summits. On August 29, learn about Buildings and Cities-related solutions to global warming that are already in place and in action in
Toronto
.
Discover how you can help empower humanity's response to global warming by accelerating what is already working. PWYC.
Project
Drawdown
has identified, researched and modeled the 100 most substantive, existing solutions to address climate change, grouped into seven sectors. Put together, they reveal a path forward that can roll back global warming by 2050.
Buildings and Cities Sector Summit August 29, 6:30-9:30 -
Friends House, 60 Lowther Ave.
St. George N of Bloor, Toronto
For more info and to register
Together we can really make a difference! We need action on climate – FAST!