We Are The Boat

March 26 marks an important legal anniversary for Ontario parents concerned about what kind of future climate their kids face. When a court recognized that climate change has the potential to violate Charter rights and gave seven youth the greenlight to move ahead to a full hearing against the Ford government’s record on climate, the Ontario government tried to overturn that ruling. But on March 26, 2021 the Ontario Divisional Court dismissed the province’s request to appeal. (See Ecojustice report of the case: Mathur et. al. v. Her Majesty in Right of Ontario) Now, a year after the Ontario government was dismissed by the courts, will concerned loving parents also dismiss that government in the upcoming Ontario election, the court of public opinion?

Which of These are the Voices of Reason over a Proposed Tax Credit for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)? On March 7, 2022, former Liberal Minister of the Environment Catherine McKenna had severe reservations over giving a tax credit to the fossil fuel industry as an incentive to invest in CCUS. She said the following in her conversation with The Energy Mix: “What is extremely frustrating is that we know a large part of what works” to reduce emissions, and “that includes actually doing the hard work of reducing emissions and not waiting for some innovation,” McKenna told The Mix . “And it’s an open question how much government should be supporting innovation in a sector that has very large budgets,” like oil and gas. “When you see companies issue large dividends, fail to invest in technology, and make large profits, then ask the government to step up but say there’s no way they would do it themselves , it actually makes you wonder about their business model.”

If you know all this stuff and just want to take ACTION, scroll down to the sections marked **TAKE ACTION. But if you're still learning, welcome here and read on 😊 Simply put, a "Just Transition" is a move to a greener economy that attempts to leave no worker behind. Some of the global history of a Just Transition is covered in: “Roadmap to a Canadian Just Transition Act: A path to a clean and inclusive economy”...produced in April 2021 by Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood and Clay Duncalfe of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)  SEE LINK That global history shows that Canada is behind other countries in its move towards a Just Transition for workers. This is illustrated by the below (numbered) excerpts from that CCPA document, etc.  Some of the earliest examples of just transition principles being applied by governments around the world are in the context of coal phase out initiatives. But other examples include sectors other than coal: 1. "Since the 1970s, D