For Our Kids Vancouver and For Our Kids Sunshine Coast have jointly submitted a brief to the federal governments 2022 pre-budget consultations and have made a series of recommendations.  We encourage you to download a copy and email it to your MP with your own personal message stating why you feel it is important that the federal budget puts the climate crisis as a top priority.  Furthermore, we encourage our members to initiate meetings with MP's to discuss the budget recommendations below.  If you're interested or if this is your first time reaching out to an MP and you would like assistance, we are here to support you.  Please get in touch and we can help you with planning as well as connect you with other members in your riding who could attend the meeting, [email protected]

DOWNLOAD A PDF VERSION OF OUR SUBMISSION

SUBMISSION FOR 2022 PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATIONS 
Submitted by For Our Kids Vancouver & For Our Kids Sunshine Coast
February 25, 2022


OUR RECOMMENDATIONS - WHAT WE WANT IN THE 2022 BUDGET
1. Prioritize the urgency of the climate crisis by dedicating Canada’s share of the additional 2% of annual global GDP to climate mitigation actions. 

2. Eliminate all forms of subsidies for and investments into fossil fuels and fossil fuel infrastructure.  

3. Stop reliance on fossil fuel revenues as part of the transition to the low carbon economy and instead increase taxes of corporations and the wealthy.

4. Wind-down Canada’s oil and gas industry and invest in the retraining and transition of workers into the economy of the future in a manner that fosters human and labour rights.

5. Invest in clean energy projects and related infrastructure.

6. Invest in public and social services for people. 

7. Develop Canada’s domestic manufacturing capacity. 

8. Provide adequate protection and restoration of intact forests, old growth forests, marine ecosystems and the coast. 

9. Fund the full implementation of UNDRIP and FPIC on all laws. 

10. Build social resiliency by ensuring the well-being and basic needs of all Canadians are met, including food security and affordable housing.  

11. Fund the establishment of just and green transition agencies for each province with joint governance from all levels of governments, indigenous people, youth, scientists, academics, business, labour and environmental organizations, non-profit service providers and leaders of racialized and marginalized all at the table.

12. Invest in mass public electric transit systems across Canada and displace preference for domestic jet plane travel.

13. Invest in widespread retrofit programs to retrofit all existing buildings and homes in Canada for energy efficiency and to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.

14. Empower municipalities with the financial capacity to build sustainable communities and invest in regional and land use planning processes.

Who We Are - For Our Kids Vancouver and For Our Kids Sunshine Coast 

We are two local chapters of the national For Our Kids network located in Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia. 

We are parents united by our fears of the severity of the climate crisis and the effects it will have on the quality of life for our children.  We are committed to take action to find solutions for a sustainable future for all young people. 

Why Our Recommendations Matter

i. Parents’ Call for Post Pandemic Green and Just Recovery

In advance of the 2021 post-pandemic budget, parents, grandparents and caregivers across the country joined forces with other organizations and civil society for a widespread call for a Green and Just Recovery. In the face of the Covid-19 crisis, which shutdown the global economy, the international community and Canadians saw the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fundamentally shift the economy to flatten the GHG curve now and quickly. In an effort to support this critical call to address the climate crisis that threatens the health, safety, security of our children and all younger generations, we joined others in our network to host virtual town hall meetings in the spring of 2020 with federal, provincial, local and Indigenous governments. The Honourable Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, Jonathan Wilkinson in one such Town Hall stated:

"If we don't change the current course of climate change and the global loss of biodiversity, the effects are going to be far more devastating than what we have seen from COVID-19." - Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson (North Van Town Hall)

Our recommendations here are based on the number of policy options solicited through direct engagement with town hall government representatives as described in our August 7, 2020 Pre-2021 Budget Submissions. 

ii. UN Warns Countries Could Miss Opportunity for Green and Just Recovery

In March 2021, a report published by the United Nations Environment Program and Oxford's Economic Recovery Project, warned that policymakers were missing out on the "greatest chance we have had so far" to redirect the upward trajectory of global greenhouse gas emissions to meet Paris 2030 commitments.

According to the International Energy Agency, achieving a net-zero carbon economy would require us to spend just 2% of annual global GDP over what we already do on our energy system. In a recent poll of climate economists conducted by Reuters, most agreed that getting to net zero would cost only 2% to 3% of annual global GDP. These numbers echo the assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which in its landmark 2018 report stated that in order to limit climate change to 1.5°C, annual investments in clean energy needed to increase to around 3% of global GDP.   

iii. Canada’s April 2021 Budget Falls Short of Necessary Transformative Change

In April 2021, the Canadian government finally released its post-pandemic Budget, Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience. While positive in providing some funding for a green economy, experts concluded the budget fell “short of transformative change needed to meet climate targets”.

Accordingly, we became concerned about a firm commitment by the government to a green and just recovery from the pandemic. 

iv. IPCC 2021 Report - A Code Red for Humanity

Our concerns were further deepened when the liberal government called a federal election a few short months after the IPCC’s 2021 Report that according to UN Secretary General, António Guterres, was a Code Red for Humanity that sounded the Death Knell for Fossil Fuels. 

v. COP26 Falls Short in Delivering on Paris Agreement

We were deeply concerned whether a government elected just weeks before COP26 would be prepared to meet the last opportunity to ensure the global community is on the right path to its 2030 targets. We called on the new government to change course on the climate crisis at COP26 with a special message:

Artwork by For Our Kids Vancouver member Jana Rayne MacDonald.

While some positive steps were made at COP26, the world failed to agree to commitments that would keep us at 1.5-2 degrees of warming committed in the Paris Agreement. This outcome is terrifying for us as parents. 

vi. Climate Crisis Arrives in BC with Lethal Blow

In 2021, our children here in BC suffered the most lethal series of climate catastrophes: heat domes that killed over 600 people; devastating floods that killed over 700,000 livestock, and relentless wildfires that burned over 8,600 square kilometers and torched the whole town of Lytton. We cannot allow this to continue. 

vii. 2021 Throne Speech Calls for Budget Committed to Climate Action For Our Kids 

In its November 2021 Throne Speech, the newly elected liberal government committed to: Building a resilient economy: a cleaner & healthier future for our kids. While a laudable goal, the 2021 Throne Speech continues to cause us concern that not enough investment will be made in climate action. This is because the focus of the Throne Speech appears to be on greening our economy, when it is the very notion of prioritizing the economy that is causing climate collapse. The government must put our children first today and prioritize the health, safety and security of people just like we learned was necessary during the pandemic. 

viii. Our Wish is For Our Children to Inherit a World Without Crisis 

Our children now face yet another crisis: the global insecurity caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A swift conclusion to the war is necessary not only for global security and humanitarian reasons but also for reasons of climate. Research has concluded climate change will only increase global armed conflicts. Further, Canada must resist any temptation to profit from the violence through increased oil and gas production encouraged by provinces driven by their own fossil fuel ambitions. Rather, Canada should be a world leader in transforming the global energy supply to renewables to bring about long-term peace. Canadians have been through so much over the last few years of the Covid crisis. We as parents and grandparents have learned so much about coming together, acting collectively, and putting human health before economic values. Only by putting the climate first, can we truly “build a cleaner and healthier future for our kids”.

Sources
1 https://cape.ca/healthy-recovery/; https://davidsuzuki.org/action/green-recovery/; https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/05/07/news/use-pandemic-future-proof-against-climate-crisis-academic-group-urges; https://www.recoverytaskforce.ca/;  https://www.pembina.org/pub/green-stimulus-principles-and-recommendations-2020-economic-stimulus-package; https://cleanenergycanada.org/a-resilient-recovery-an-open-letter-from-canadas-clean-energy-sector-2/
2 https://www.greenbiz.com/article/not-so-green-recovery-new-report-warns-world-failing-build-back-better
3 https://time.com/6132395/two-percent-climate-solution/
4 https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-federal-budget-2021-reaction-1.5991419
5 https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/campaigns/speech-throne/2021/building-resilient-economy.html
6 https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2021-10-29/how-climate-change-may-increase-global-conflicts#:~:text=In%20a%202019%20paper%2C%20researchers,risk%20over%20the%20past%20century.
7 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/25/this-is-how-we-defeat-putin-and-other-petrostate-autocrats

Call to action at the bottom of the page
November 29, 2021 

Letter Re: Human rights violations of Indigenous peoples by RCMP for oil and gas development

Last week, we watched scenes of the RCMP armed with attack dogs, paramilitary gear and sniper guns pointed at unarmed Indigenous people protecting sacred Wet'suwet'en lands and waters. This was all seemingly authorized by a Court injunction obtained by a corporation - Coastal Gaslink, a subsidiary of TransCanada Energy and funded by financial institutions, including Canada’s major banks.  

Horrified, we parents and grandparents are left to explain this blatant disregard for human rights and injustice to our children - children, who also heard in the last week, of a child orphaned and families displaced by extreme weather - all to add to their already high climate-anxiety. This too against the backdrop of their learning that Canada is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Indigenous children taken from their parents to residential schools.  

For the last two years of the pandemic, we have watched you, our political leaders, repeatedly tell us to look after each other and to be kind to one another. We have watched you pour billions of government funds into protecting people at the expense of corporate interests. As you shut down the economy for the sake of health and safety, we were led to believe that people mattered more than money. 

The hypocrisy of these actions is infuriating and deeply distressing as we watch Indigenous peoples and those reporting their stories being held in prison for days to be told, by Coastal GasLink, they are criminals for exercising their Indigenous rights and, ordered by the Court, not to access unceded lands. All of this just to ensure that oil and gas development proceeds for corporate profit while it destroys our planet; a planet that we, as parents, are doing everything in our power to protect for the health, safety and security of our children. 

The legitimization and militarization of corporate power in this country has now become crystal clear and it is terrifying. The attempted silencing of reporters is Orwellian. The distortion of our government’s priorities is unnerving. 

As we come to the despairing realization that our children’s future is ripe with the crisis of climate meltdown - all caused by corporate greed - we parents staunchly stand firm by the following principles that we demand you respect:

• police force is never an acceptable manner to resolve legitimate disputes 
  
  
• Canada’s colonial legal system cannot be relied upon if it authorizes injustices against Indigenous peoples and people of colour 
  
  
• no one should be criminalized for standing up for their inherent basic rights  
  
  
• we all have a responsibility to uphold the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
   
• police are to protect people and their rights, not corporate interests 
  
  

With this, we call on you to immediately:

• suspend Coastal GasLink’s operations until and only if the Free Prior and Informed Consent of all Wet'suwet'en hereditary leaders is granted
  
  
• take concrete actions to dismantle and defund the Community-Industry Response Group arm of the RCMP in keeping with the basic principles of a free and democratic society 
  
  
• legislate the prohibition of resource and oil and gas companies from seeking civil injunctions with respect to Indigenous lands and resources
  
  

We look forward to your prompt response and commitment to the demands stated above. We are available to meet with you.  

Co-signatories:
For Our Kids Vancouver
For Our Kids Sunshine Coast
For Our Kids North Vancouver
For Our Kids Nelson
For Our Grandkids Victoria
Babies for Climate Action, New Westminster
For Our Kids Nanaimo-Ladysmith
Parents 4 Climate Victoria
For Our Kids Cowichan
Surrey For Future
Babies for Climate Action, Vancouver
…….

For Our Kids groups across BC stand in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en and all Indigenous people whose human rights are violated by state, corporate and police action when exercising their inherent and basic human rights. We acknowledge Wet'suwet'en rights, title and pre-existing laws. We admire and express gratitude to all Indigenous peoples for their courage, strength and leadership in speaking against injustice and protecting what matters.

The signatories are For Our Kids and affiliated groups across BC made up of parents, grandparents and caregivers committed to taking climate action to address the climate crisis as the single greatest threat to the health, safety and security of our children. We acknowledge that we live, work and use traditional, ancestral, and unceded Indigenous lands. We are committed to contributing meaningfully to reconciliation and decolonization.  

TO:
Hon. John Horgan, Premier of BC and President of the Executive Council, MLA Langford- Juan de Fuca
Hon. Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and Deputy Premier, MLA Port Coquitlam
Hon. David Eby, QC, Attorney General, MLA Vancouver Point-Grey
Hon. George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, MLA Vancouver- Point Grey
Hon. Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, MLA Vancouver Kingsway
Hon. Murray Rankin, Minister of Indigeous Relations and Reconciliation, MLA Oak Bay- Gordon Head
Bowinn Ma, Minister of State for Infrastructure, MLA North Vancouver- Lonsdale
Hon. Nicholas Simons,  Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, MLA Powell River- Sunshine Coast
Susie Chant, MLA North Vancouver- Seymour
Brittny Anderson, MLA Nelson-Creston
Doug Routley, MLA Nanaimo-North Cowichan
Hon. Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Education, MLA New Westminster
Grace Lore, MLA Victoria-Beacon Hill
Niki Sharma, MLA Vancouver Hastings
Hon. Melanie Mark, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sports, MLA Vancouver- Mount Pleasant
Brenda Bailey, MLA Vancouver- False Creek
Jagrup Brar, MLA Surrey-Fleetwood
Rachna Singh, MLA Surrey-Green Timbers
Garry Begg, MLA Surrey-Guildford
Hon. Harry Bains, Minister of Labour, MLA Surrey-Newton
Jinny Sims, MLA Surrey-Panorama
Hon. Bruce Ralston, Minister of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation, MLA Surrey-Whalley
Stephanie Cadieux, MLA Surrey South
Trevor Halford, MLA Surrey-White Rock
Mike Starchuk, MLA Surrey-Cloverdale
Hon. Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, MLA Victoria - Swan Lake

CC:
Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, MP North Vancouver, BC
Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, MP Laurier-  Sainte-Marie, Quebec
Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, MP Ville-Marie - Le Sud Ouest - Ile-des-Souers, Quebec
Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, MP Eglinton- Lawrence, Ontario
François Poirier, TC Energy President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Tracy Robinson, President Coastal GasLink

TAKE ACTION
Write to your MLA or anyone on the list above to express your personal concern for the actions taken against Wet'suwet'en and Indigenous land defenders by RCMP in the interest of protecting corporate oil and gas development.  You're welcome to attach our letter in your email, you can download a pdf here.  Find email addresses from our list here and find your MLA here.

So far, 2021 has offered up one of the most intense years of the growing climate crisis in BC: A summer of non-stop wildfires that left the entire community of Lytton in ashes and many more being evacuated. Now, we’re experiencing devastating floods and landslides across BC that have killed at least one person, stranded thousands in cars and rural communities with no way in or out in dangerous conditions.  Floods have destined tens of thousands of farm animals in the Fraser Valley to their deaths. There will be continuing and long-term impacts such as food insecurity, dislocation and years of recovery - and those on the front lines of these consecutive disasters are those who are often facing existing barriers to recover from these challenges. 

As many in BC grapple with our new climate reality, First Nations leaders, communities and other experts are continuing to underscore the connection between BC’s logging practices and extractive industries with both worsening the severity and damage of both wildfires and floods. In a November 16th press release by the First Nations Leadership Council, Grand Chief Stewart Philip,  President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, stated: 

"As extreme weather events ravage across BC, First Nations continue to bear the brunt of climate change impacts and have been forced to flee their homes again. The unprecedented and continuing weather events prove that this is no longer a climate crisis; we are in an ongoing climate emergency, and lives and communities are at imminent risk. This is no time for the province to forge ahead with antiquated fossil fuel projects and logging of old growth forests that will only continue to worsen the absolute environmental catastrophe we are experiencing. The response to climate change must be cross-ministerial and cannot be silo-ed into one ministry- the province must start to actively connect the climate crisis dots.”

The recent BC NDP announcement of new deferrals for old growth logging includes some encouraging pieces, but overall it is being acknowledged that this current action falls far short of what the crisis requires. The time is now to engage with Ministers and MLAs on this important issue.

Artwork by Jana Rayne MacDonald, a member of For Our Kids Vancouver, image inspired by the photography and activism of TJ Watt

PLEASE TAKE ACTION! THE BC GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU- WE NEED TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. 

We encourage you to take a few minutes to email (or call) Ministers or MLAs to demand the BC government make big changes, and make them now.  Below you will find many different letter writing tools by several organizations, you can use their templates or even better use them as inspiration to write your own email.  We’ve also put together a backgrounder on current BC logging issues, along with recent news and resources.

Contact your MLA to ask questions and share your perspectives.  Find your MLA here by using your postal code or community or constituency name.

Letters- Scripts- Actions 

Ancient Forest Alliance Letter
Tell the BC Government to Commit Funding for Old-Growth Forest Protection

Stand Earth Letter
Tell your MLA to protect old growth immediately

The Wilderness Committee Letter
BC Must Match Old Growth Intention with Action

Sierra Club Letter
Call on the BC government to reform forestry practices

Sierra Club
30 Ways You Can Stand Up For Old Growth Forests Today

Backgrounder - November 2021 BC Government Announces Old-Growth Logging Deferrals

BC Government News Release
November 2, 2021
Government taking action on old-growth deferrals
The Province has announced its intention to work in partnership with First Nations to defer harvest of ancient, rare and priority large stands of old growth within 2.6 million hectares of B.C.’s most at-risk old-growth forests.
Government statement can be read in full here.

Canada Press
November 5, 2021
Indigenous leaders concerned over B.C.'s process for old-growth logging deferrals
The First Nations Leadership Council, which includes the executives of the chiefs union, the B.C. Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Summit, issued a statement Thursday, saying it was "extremely concerned that old growth remains unprotected today, and that the province has passed responsibility to First Nations without providing financial support for nations to replace any revenues that might be lost if they choose to defer logging old growth in their territory.
Read the full article here. 

Wilderness Committee
November 2021
Understanding the new BC Old-Growth Announcement - Webinar with Dr. Torrnace Coste
This webinar by Torrance Coste, Campaign Director with the Wilderness Committee, explains the most recent government announcements, and also gives the background and context leading up to the deferral announcements. Access the recording on Youtube. 

Related News & Analysis

In 2020, For Our Kids North Shore created a really useful resource on old growth, including research reports on old-growth in BC, policy analyses, and links to information on Fairy Creek and more. It’s a great place to get started with your learning on old-growth issues and the provincial policy response in 2020. Access the primer here (Please note a number of the actions outlined in this resource are now outdated, including a federal petition). 

The Energy Mix
November 23rd, 2021
BC Flood Devastation Linked to Logging Practices 'Without Question' Experts Warn
As the long work of rebuilding southern British Columbia begins, forestry professionals and activists are urging the Horgan government to connect the dots between the climate crisis, clearcut logging, and catastrophes like the landslide that killed five people on Highway 99 near Lillooet.
Full article can be read here.

The Narwhal
November 17, 2021
Connecting the dots between B.C.’s floods, landslides and the clearcut logging of old forests
Deforestation dramatically alters how landscapes are able to cope with extreme weather events like the atmospheric river that surged across southern British Columbia earlier this week
Full article can be read here.

First Nations Leadership Council
November 16, 2021 
Press Release: FNLC Calls for a State of Emergency due to Unprecedented Climate Weather Events in BC
Full article can be read here.

The Tyee
November 12, 2021
Analysis: Protecting Some Old Growth Isn’t Enough. BC Needs a Forest Revolution.
Governments have mismanaged the sector for decades. Now communities and First Nations should lead.  Four things the provincial government can do.
By Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, Arnold Bercov, Torrance Coste and Ben Parfitt
Read the full article here.

The Tyee
November 9, 2021
BC Paused a Lot of Old-Growth Logging. Now What?
Forest ‘deferrals’ explained. And what Indigenous, conservationist and union voices say they don’t yet fix.
Read the full article here. 

The Narwal
November 9th, 2021
How B.C.’s long-awaited forestry law updates leave gaps around protecting old-growth and Indigenous Rights
While environmental advocates are cautiously optimistic about proposed amendments to B.C.'s 2004 Forest Ranges and Practices Act, many worry they lack clarity and don't provide the protections the province's oldest forests need
Read full article here.

Kelowna Now
November 5, 2021
Indigenous leaders concerned over BC's process for old-growth logging deferrals
Read the full article here. 

The Tyee
November 3, 2021
BC Unveils Plans to Defer Logging of Old-Growth Forests
Green Leader Furstenau calls it ‘an essential and overdue first step.’ And more reaction on the announcement…
Read the full article here. 

The Narwhal
November 2, 2021
‘Extremely frustrating’: B.C. announces 2.6 million hectares of at-risk old-growth, no permanent protections
The announcement, which comes one full year after B.C.’s expert panel recommended the province introduce immediate deferrals in old forests facing irreversible biodiversity loss, is short on specifics and funding for affected First Nations, critics say…
Read the full article here. 

Additional Resources

Sierra Club BC
May 2021
New Map of At-Risk Old-Growth Forests in BC is a First Step Towards Solutions
At-risk old-growth still unprotected, as RCMP clears path for logging companies on Vancouver Island
Access article and map here.

The Discourse
November 5, 2021
In maps: Where are the proposed old-growth deferrals for Vancouver Island?
Here's where a panel of experts say old growth forests need urgent protection.
Access the article and map here. 

SkeenaWild Conservation Trust & Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition - Report Authored by Dr. Jim Pojar
February 2019
Forestry and Carbon in BC
Find the report here. 

Veridian Ecological Consulting - Report authored by Karen Price, Ph.D., Rachel F. Holt, Ph.D., R.P.Bio and Dave Daust R.P.F., M.Sc.
April 2020
BC’s Old Growth Forest, A Last Stand For Biodiversity 
Find the report here. 

Sierra Club - Report authored by Dr. Peter Wood
February 2021
Intact Forests, Safe Communities: Reducing community climate risks through forest protection and a paradigm shift in forest management 
Find the report here.

THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN COMPILED BY FOR OUR KIDS SUNSHINE COAST.

For Our Kids Sunshine Coast is a group of parents and grandparents living up and down British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast - from Langdale to Lund. We are part of the national For Our Kids network and we are committed to taking action on climate change as it is the single biggest threat to our world right now and our children’s future.  We feel the urgency to help our communities and society shift away from fossil fuels and destructive environmental practices to create a more just and safe world for our kids.  

We acknowledge that we live on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded Indigenous territories of the shíshálh, sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Tla’amin First Nations and we are committed to contributing meaningfully to reconciliation and decolonization.

As parents, we understand how hard it can be to make time for activism, but our aim is to make taking action more inclusive and easier for parents.  No action is too small, no action is too big. We are an inclusive group with a national leadership that is founded on principles of anti-oppression and anti-racism.  Follow us on social media or subscribe to our mailing list below to find out ways you can get involved, join one of our organizing meetings, or reach out if you would like to know more.

Climate activism is a necessary skill for all 20th century parents.  It will take nothing less than a massive movement to make the changes needed to turn the tides on climate change… we need all hands on deck!  

SIGN UP HERE or reach us on our email: [email protected]

RECENT ACTIONS
Federal Oil and Gas Emissions Cap Consultation Submission- For Our Kids Sunshine Coast co-signed the submission written by a members of For Our Kids Vancouver including recommendations to the federal government on how to reduce and cap oil and gas emissions and to heed the calls of the scientific and international communities to immediately wind down the fossil fuel industry and commence a just transition for workers, with a focus on clean, renewable energy, biodiversity, and food security, alongside social justice, equality, Indigenous rights and poverty alleviation. It is possible to make this transition and imperative that it begin immediately. 

Federal 2022 Pre-budget Consultation Submission- For Our Kids Vancouver and For Our Kids Sunshine Coast have jointly submitted a brief to the federal governments 2022 pre-budget consultations and have made a series of recommendations that will hold our government to their promise of building a clean and healthy future for our kids.

BC Natural Gas Royalties Review joint submission from For Our Kids Sunshine Coast, For Our Kids Vancouver, and Parents 4 Climate Victoria.Through an independent assessment of the province's royalty scheme, we learned billions have gone to fossil fuel companies with little return to the province. Basically - BC's royalty scheme is a huge subsidy. Now, Minister of Energy Bruce Ralston is proposing to replace this system with one that seeks to spur economic development in natural gas, obtain a fair return and ignore climate.

Letter Re: Human rights violations of Indigenous peoples by RCMP for oil and gas development. Read our letter is written to MLA's and Ministers in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en land defenders, signed by For Our Kids groups across BC.  You can write your own or attach ours, email list provided.

Take Action on Old Growth! The recent BC NDP announcement of new deferrals for old growth logging includes some encouraging pieces, but overall it is being acknowledged that this current action falls far short of what the crisis requires. The time is now to engage with Ministers and MLAs on this important issue. We have compiled links to many different letter writing tools and templates, as well as background information, analysis and resources on current issues around old growth in BC today.

COP26 Open Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau. COP26 is just days away. Prime Minister Trudeau, the new Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, all MPs, and COP26 delegates need to hear from us. As COP26 discussions become flooded with corporate lobbyists putting personal wealth over the health, safety and security of our children, OUR VOICES MUST BE LOUDER.  Please use this letter as a template to write to our leaders to demand that they truly lead the way towards immediate and meaningful global action on climate change.

Let our MP Patrick Weiler know we want him to act for Just Transition Legislation!  Use our email template to write to Patrick Weiler to express your concerns about the federal government’s accountability to the climate crisis and the need to move urgently toward a Just Transition for our country.

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