Collaborative Proposal Creation
Create, improve and sponsor proposals in a respectful, fully bilingual environment. Grow proposals in the "Hothouse", for promotion to the "Workshop", to become official GPC policy.
Proposal text
Be it resolved that.
• The platform of the GPC for the next federal election focus significantly on approaches to the environmental collapse of our civilization, and that,
• The platform be fully costed to show how our platform will ameliorate the climate catastrophe.
Type of Proposal
A directive to ask the party’s Federal Council to consider an action
Objective / Benefit
The climate of the world has changed dramatically in the last few years. Everybody in Canada is aware of the extreme weather events that have become far too common. This is the opportunity the GPC has been built for and is waiting for, and we need to take full advantage of it in the next election. No other party will dare to do it.
The GPC should establish itself as only and exclusively championing solutions to this catastrophe. All policies must be cast in an environmental light. Nothing else matters.
If your proposal replaces an existing policy or policies, which one does it replace?
None and all. This directive places a very forceful emphasis on the elaboration and implementation of all our policies in the light of climate change.
List any supporting evidence for your proposal
Self-evident!
Does this proposal affect any particular group and what efforts have been made to consult with the group or groups?
This directive will require a major change in emphasis at the top planning and execution levels in the party. Nothing else matters.
Jurisdiction: Is this proposal under federal jurisdiction?
Yes
Please indicate the language the proposal is being submitted in.
English
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Conversation with R. Victor Klassen
The title sounds good enough - emphasize combatting climate change. Where I disagree is the phrase "focus entirely". There's much traction to be gained by emphasizing fighting the climate crisis. But so far the way we've elected MPs has not been through appearing to be a one-issue party. Let's lead with a response to the climate crisis. But continue to have a platform that includes other aspects of a just transition. More focus, yes. But not "entirely".
I agree -- emphasis on combatting climate change. But beyond that I disagree: every single one of our platform positions should in some way reflect that emphasis. For example in our housing position we should (perhaps -- I'm not writing the position here) recognize the need for more housing, but declare that such housing must meet certain climate requirements, such as insisting on solar heating as a required feature. We can take a strong socially conscious position but also insist on climate change being part of it. i.e. entirely.
Hey Colin,
I agree with you that we are in a climate crisis, and need to deal with that urgently. As a political party, as others have noted, we have gotten elected by showing that we are NOT a single issue party, even if we do put the climate at the centre of what we do. I have two questions:
- This policy is very broad and fairly wide open (change every policy and how we operate as a party to put climate more in the centre than it currently is.) I'm not sure how to vote in favour of a policy that is so broad in scope, with so many unknowns. Could it be narrowed down to some more specific actions that are clearly implementable at the policy level?
- On a related note, in my area (Kitchener-Waterloo), as in many parts of the country, what we hear at the door as the top concern is the cost of living, affordable housing and others. How would you build this into a conversation at the door, without losing votes, to a person who cares about the climate crisis, but the immediate concern is the fact that they (or their young adult kids) can't afford a place to live?
Thanks!
Hey Colin,
I agree that those are contributing factors to high costs. However, record profits by large corps is also a factor.
And, at the same time as we are in a climate crisis, we are also facing unprecedented attacks against LGBQT+ families (which impact our household, directly, along with many others.)
For many households, the climate feels, rightly, right now, like an existential crisis AND so does the increase in hate attacks against queers, AND the genocide in Palestine AND the cost of living crisis which makes it impossible for young adults to venture out live independently AND so many others. Many of us are facing more than one existential crisis. How we word things like this, I think, should honour that inter-sectionality. Here in the GPO, there's often talk, from Schreiner and others, about the inter-connected problems being summarized as a crisis of caring ie for people, planet etc. So, how can we build that into this, so that we do more than name the climate crisis? We need to genuinely transform how we care for people and the planet, with concrete, measurable actions that make life easier for the countless people who are struggling, and only see things getting worse, not better.
People are concerned about the cost of living. We should tell them that recent increases in food costs are a result of climate change more than anything else. Lack of irrigation water from the Colorado River, high winds and floods in Florida, droughts and floods on North American prairies, fires in Spain and Italy, dry pasture lands in Canada and in central Asia. The list goes on and on. We can also talk about higher costs for insurance, caused by increased frequency of floods, fires and storms. We can talk about government costs for responding to disasters and rebuilding infrastructure.
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