the leap manifesto

“A Call for a Canada Based on Caring for the Earth and One Another”

It’s time to take action on climate change and on making Canada more like what it COULD be, vs what the right wing / corporations would LIKE it to stay – for the sake of money.

How Did the Manifest Come About?

The writing of The Leap Manifesto was initiated in the spring of 2015 at a two-day meeting in Toronto attended by representatives from Canada’s Indigenous rights, social and food justice, environmental, faith-based and labour movements.

The typical right-wing fear mongering says it’s “Utopian” and unaffordable. Just let us stay fracking, pumping oil and damaging the environment.

A couple of items from the FAQs on the LEAP site:

Are the policies advocated in the Leap Manifesto “utopian”?

Hardly. Many of the policies – like a speedy transition to renewables, massive green job creation, and more democratic control over our energy – are already being implemented in other countries. Germany now generates 30 percent of their electricity from renewables, has created 400,000 jobs in the clean energy sector, and has a thousand local cooperatives that ensure community control over energy. Scientific studies – cited in the manifesto – show that a complete and economically-beneficial transition toward renewable energy is feasible within the next two to three decades. Climate scientists are telling us it must be done; the engineers tell us it is possible; now we just need to generate the political power to make it happen.

But can we afford it?

Yes. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has produced a document explaining how to raise the money for The Leap in a way that will be a net positive for the economy.

It’s time to make a change, and like ALL change – to do it, you must CHANGE something!

I heartily encourage anyone who cares about the enviroment and a better version of Canada to check out the attached documents, and if they speak to you – to join the already more than 34,000 people who have signed the manifesto.

Resources

• SIGN THE MANIFESTO
• download the “Leap Manifesto”
• download “We Can Afford the Leap”
• download “Acting on Climate Change”

David