Parents remind Ottawa City Council - We need Urgency for a Climate
April 24th will mark the two-year anniversary for Ottawa's declaration of a Climate Emergency.
And what have we seen in the past two years?
* An increase in our urban boundary (sprawl is considered to be "Ontario's tar sands" due to its effect on carbon emissions)
* Limited funding for the City of Ottawa's Energy Evolution (they were going cut the meager $300 000 budget by almost 80% in June 2020 until we stood up for climate!)
* Increased road expansions (Strandherd) and Millions of dollars on road infrastructure
* An official plan that doesn't put the planet or the people of Ottawa first
* Limited funding for new sustainable transportation infrastructure
* A climate resiliency plan that won't be ready until at LEAST 2023
* We are STILL waiting on funding/rebates for retrofits to building
Parents, we need to MAKE SOME NOISE. These are not the decisions of a city who is serious about a climate EMERGENCY.
So what can you do?
First: Send your city councillor an email telling them that you ARE concerned about climate change and need our elected officials to be leaders to get us out of this crisis! We have a simple draft you can use here!
Second: Families take a 20 sec video. If you have made a sign about the Climate Emgergency use it. “In a climate emergency, a city needs to...xxxxx “e.g. protect the tree canopy”. Send your submissions to us using this email.
Bonus: if you feel comfortable, state your councillor or ward. Do your kids want to be involved? Great!
"Dear Councillor xxx, As a parent in your riding, I am concerned
about climate change. In a climate emergency, a city needs to
xxxx"
Not sure about a video - Here's our Small ask: Simply send us a photo of your sign (Bonus if you can get your kids holding the sign (Faces could be hidden by the sign :-))
No sign? Print or write out a copy of our simple Urgency Poster.
Keep it simple: "Dear Councillor xxxxx. I am a parent and I am worried about climate change. We need urgency in a climate emergency."
Or talk about something that concerns you, like:
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a culture that supports active transportation vs infrastructure for cars”
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safe and connected paths for active transportation.
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affordable housing and food security, because we know crises disproportionately affect the marginalized in our communities
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divesting from fossil fuel infrastructure (e.g city vehicles should be electric or people-powered..imagine if bylaw officers traveled by e-bike!)
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human health is threatened by climate change and the city needs to act quickly and with urgency.
Send your photos and videos to us using this email
Next steps:For Our Kids Ottawa/Gatineau will be posting these videos on social media with a message to city council: "City of Ottawa, councillors, mayor Watson, are you ready to commit to protecting the future for our kids? We have been waiting 2 years and our planet cannot afford to wait any longer”. We need you to start acting like we are in a climate emergency or parents will need to find leaders who WILL invest in a healthy planet and a safe climate for our kids