Change Everything

In a special mini-episode, we discuss the federal election and all the special moments of racism that it surfaced. We dig into the political flashpoints that brought hateful politics into the mainstream – from a former immigration minister celebrating Blackface while claiming to speak for the Black community, to the secret conspiracy signals flashed by the leader of a fringe party welcomed into the spotlight.

This election has the highest possible stakes when it comes to climate action. But we can’t talk about a Green New Deal without talking about institutionalized racism in Canada – and how our system devalues and dehumanizes the people most at risk.

Special thanks to Aluma Sound for our theme music.
Please support this podcast by contributing to our Patreon account, and read more about The Leap.

As the Green New Deal continues to capture imaginations and open up new possibilities in the United States, a broad, grassroots coalition has just launched a Pact for a Green New Deal in Canada, with over 200 town halls taking place around the country. How can Canada’s politicians and parties genuinely take up the fight, and work with communities to translate this bold vision into policy?

We begin by looking at the NDP, which has already started using the phrase “Green New Deal” to frame their new climate platform. We talk to maverick NDP candidate Svend Robinson [@Svend4MP], about how the party is doing on climate so far, and whether it’s capable of getting the Green New Deal right. We also touch on the NDP’s history and future of opening itself to the creativity and energy of social movements. Spoiler alert: it’s not always a pretty story. But the good news is, there’s a growing group of radical candidates across the country — and they’re putting transformational change on the table in Canada.

Special thanks to Aluma Sound for our theme music.
Please support this podcast by contributing to our Patreon account, and read more about The Leap.

Why do personal emergencies feel more urgent than collective ones? How can we activate our collective emergency response systems to address the crises of climate, racism and inequality we face? For inspiration, we talk to Varshini Prakash (@VarshPrakash), co-founder and Executive Director of the Sunrise Movement about the bold idea known as the Green New Deal.  The GND is a vision for radically transforming the country’s systems–from energy to infrastructure, housing, food and transportation–in order to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, avoid catastrophic global warming, and create millions of good jobs in the process. And if insurgent Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) and the Sunrise Movement have their way, it’s going to be a major campaign issue leading up to the U.S. election in 2020. But is there anything intrinsically American about a Green New Deal? As Canada heads into a federal election year, we explore the opportunities and challenges of bringing the GND frame here.