Register Now: Climate in the Ridings, Sept 15, at Noon

Map of BC Ridings

Tuesday September 15th, 12 Noon Climate in the Ridings

A New WE-CAN Initiative to Connect with our MPs and MLAs

Greetings friends!

We invite you to the launch of a new initiative, with which we seek your assistance. The initiative is to create a group in every riding in the province to coordinate climate action meetings with our MPs and MLAs.

At the Zoom event, you will learn about the new initiative from Avi Dolgin, its key organizer, and get guidance from Emiko Newman with the BC Climate Emergency Campaign about how to organize a great meeting with your MLA or MP. The event is being hosted by WE-CAN, facilitated by Guy Dauncey.

More details:

There is a narrative out there that folks don’t care about climate much these days. This influences the perceptions and actions (or inactions) of our politicians. We plan to create groups of local constituents in every riding who will meet personally with their MP and MLA, perhaps on a recurring basis, to stress that this is indeed a concern that needs to be addressed, and to help them see the solutions they could be advancing.

Where does your organization fit in? Very simply, we hope you will publicize this opportunity and encourage your members and followers to take part:

  • Put it in your newsletter.
  • Put it in a mailing.
  • Give it your blessing, and let your members decide if it fits for them.

We have drafted a letter for you (see below) – feel free to modify it to suit your style.

The letter leads to a link where people can sign up and be put in touch with others in their riding. See http://bit.ly/4oZMvk7 All information gathered will be used only for the purpose explained.

If a group wishes to connect with other groups to plan a joint action, you can contact WE-CAN, and we’ll help you arrange that.

We hope Climate in the Riding groups will be formed by folks from a wide range of ages and organizational affiliations. Each group will be free to arrange its own meetings with its MP or MLA, and to undertake any other local activity it wants.

We are hoping that groups will work in conjunction with BC’s climate advocacy groups. Our only expectation is that they focus on the central issue of climate and its many solutions, and not stray too far into other policy issues. In addition to the political benefits, creating riding-based groups will reaffirm that we have allies, interesting neighbours we had not previously met, and good reason to carry on working.

If you have questions, or want to send an enthusiastic “YES – We want to participate!”, email our volunteer project co-ordinator, Avi Dolgin, avi@westcoastclimateaction.ca

Thank you.

Avi Dolgin and the WE-CAN Board

DRAFT LETTER TO BE SENT TO MEMBERS OF YOUR ORGANIZATION.  FEEL FREE TO MODIFY:

Climate in the Ridings, A WE-CAN Initiative

Calling all climate-concerned people!

Many of our MPs and MLAs are behaving as if what’s happening with the climate doesn’t matter to the majority of Canadians. Would you be interested in participating in a new initiative to help them see that they are wrong?

The West Coast Climate Action Network is launching an initiative to form a climate-oriented lobby group in every riding to meet with our elected MPs and MLAs, and bring new people to meet them.

There are always many issues to discuss, but our focus is clear – to reduce the production and use of fossil fuels and accelerate the transition to renewable energy, and not stray too far into the myriad other public policy issues.

We invite people who are willing to put in the time to arrange meetings with your MP or MLA. WE-CAN and the Climate Emergency Campaign will help you to get a riding group going, and prepare for your meetings.

And you will get to make new friends in your riding! To join in, register at the link below. We’ll get back to you quickly.
http://bit.ly/4oZMvk7


“What support mechanisms can we put in place so these random collections of individuals can become effective local lobbyists?”

  1. People who volunteer for ‘Climate in the Ridings’ are encouraged to find two or more other people, so that they are not alone; volunteers will be put in touch with others. Decide among yourselves how to allocate the tasks that need to be done, and/or choose a coordinating leader. Each team needs one person to communicate with Avi. The more tasks are shared, the happier it will be for all.
  2. We would write a ‘Climate in the Ridings’ agreement, and ask the volunteers to sign on, so there’s agreement on what this is all about, and some shared standards. This needs some thought.
  3. With that in place, we’d give them a name, such as the Burnaby North Provincial Climate in the Riding Team (for MLAs), and the Burnaby Central Federal Climate in the Riding Team (for MPs),
  4. They would watch the training videos on how to meet your MLA or MP.
  5. They would actively ask themselves “How can we find different kinds of people who could form groups of three to meet their MP or MLA?” Farmers, school kids, business people, scientists, doctors, etc. They’d keep a spreadsheet of the people on their list, which would be private to them, and bound by terms in the agreement they had signed. Avi will also put people in touch with each other.
  6. On a regular basis, WE-CAN would host a Zoom meeting where new people who the teams recruit could learn about current climate priorities, key messaging that we need to get to our MPs and MLAs, and the best way to do a 30’ meeting. Teams would have the chance to share how recent meetings went.
  7. The leaders of each team could – if they chose to – participate in a shared Google group, where they could share ideas and experiences.
  8. Every so often, team leaders would be invited to attend a ‘Climate in the Ridings’ discussion and feedback session on Zoom, to share how it’s going, and make adjustments.
  9. Teams would be encouraged to share how their meetings went in a shared Google Doc and in the Google Group, while understanding that they might want to keep some discussions with the MLA or MP private.
  10. WE-CAN would create a permanent place on our website where people could join a team, have access to resources, be able to see what the current climate priorities are, and download one-sided messaging sheets, which we would have to write.
  11. WE-CAN would form a distinct ‘Climate in the Ridings’ Team, so that an entire meeting could be devoted to this, not ten minutes squeezed into the Provincial Team’s agenda.