News about our government’s actions during COVID-19, in relation to a potential oil and gas bail-out, is coming in fast! Toronto350 members support a just recovery where funds go directly to workers, people and communities, helping create a greener, healthier future. This post is the first in a series of responses. Also, see the end of the blog for a recap of what’s happened provincially and federally so far.

On Earth Day this year, a contentious film entitled “Planet of the Humans”, directed by Jeff Gibbs and executive produced by Michael Moore, was made available for free on YouTube. Although the film was first released in 2019, it rapidly gained fresh attention and considerable notoriety starting on April 22. Its viewership now sits at over seven million.

“Planet of the Humans” has evoked strong reactions across the board, from climate and green energy advocates refuting the content to climate-change deniers and fossil fuel advocates enthusiastically promoting it. It paints a misleading picture of efforts by the climate movement to secure a livable planet. We won’t debunk point by point the misinformation presented in the film, as many others have already done so in extensive detail (see below); however, we believe it is important to expose some of the key arguments (mis)represented in the film. 

Earth Day 2020 marked its 50th anniversary on Wednesday! To commemorate the event, Toronto350 co-sponsored  the LIVE webcast organized by ClimateFast, Earth Day 2020: Toward a Green and Healthy Recovery.

On the first Earth Day in 1970, 20 million people from “groups that had been fighting individually against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness and the extinction of wildlife,” marched together to raise awareness about the harms caused to the environment and to human health(1).

Join Fridays for Future Toronto’s next global climate strike online! In light of COVID-19, in order to protect our communities and families, the event has moved online. See Fridays for Future Toronto’s formal response to COVID-19 here.

For details and ongoing updates, check the Facebook Event page: April 3rd Online Global Strike for Climate Justice. Green New Deal. Green New Decade.

As COVID-19 chases us inside and shuts the door behind us, it also shines a bright light on the cracks in our society. People struggle to meet their families’ needs and care for loved ones who are ill, immunocompromised or disabled. They face isolation and uncertainty. Groups of people, including migrant workers and precarious workers, the homeless and low-income renters are especially vulnerable. Health care workers raise the alarm about inadequate supplies and resources. 

Photo by Porapak Apichodilok from Pexels

For the other event hosts, see the Facebook Event. 

On March 1st, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) held the world's biggest mining convention at Toronto's Metro Convention Centre. Attendees represented many of the most destructive resource extraction companies. These companies violate human and Indigenous rights, perpetuate climate and environmental crisis and create huge gaps in economic equality. 

Toronto350 condemns the actions of the RCMP, the Canadian government and Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. with regard to the Wet'suwet'en First Nation and their territory. We fully support the Wet’suwet’en First Nation in their determination to prevent what amounts to an invasion of their unceded hereditary lands and sacred sites.

It is with horror and outrage that we watch the RCMP raids on Wet'suwet'en territory unfold in BC. These actions violate Indigenous, provincial and international laws and human rights. They make a mockery of the government's purported commitment to reconciliation. All in the name of industry and at the behest of government, to protect the interests of a fossil fuel pipeline! Shame. Deep and unpardonable shame. Keep reading to the end of this article for ways to act in solidarity and speak out.

Follow and share updates from the sources below:

• On Twitter: @UnistotenCamp @Gidimten @M_Tol @ricochet_en @harshawalia @Terrilltf
• On Facebook: Unist’ot’en Camp @unistoten Wet’suwet’en Access Point on Gidim’ten Territory @wetsuwetenstrong
• Website: http://unistoten.camp/category/blog/ 

Tags: #WetsuwetenStrong #DefendtheYintah #alleyesonWetsuweten #unistoten

On December 31st, the BC supreme court granted an injunction in favour of Coastal Gaslink (CGL) and against the Wet’suwet’en people who have been peacefully protecting their traditional territories from CGL’s destructive fracked gas pipeline project. The project is intended to transport natural gas to a liquefied natural gas facility on the BC coast. The supreme court ruling criminalizes Anuk ‘nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en law) and is in direct contradiction to BC’s adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.¹ The hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en clans have not given their consent for CGL to enter and work on their territory and now, have rejected the supreme court decision.²