On Wednesday June 12th from 7:00 - 9:00 pm, People's Official Plan hosted an excellent virtual community dialogue to give resources and support for residents to SPEAK UP for accelerated climate action in the City.
Research shows that 71% of Canadians are concerned about climate change, but only about 20% are actually speaking up. This situation can give City Councillors the false impression that most people do not want accelerated climate action.
Last year, when City staff announced that it was substantially off-track from achieving its goals established in the Climate Change Master Plan (CCMP), the tone of the meeting was business as usual. Furthermore, climate misinformation is getting more attention, and it causes doubt, uncertainty and delay.
The June 12th virtual community dialogue event began with a land acknowledgement and opening remarks by CAFES' own Angela Keller-Herzog, followed by presentations and resources on Ottawa's Climate Change Master Plan, tools for addressing climate misinformation, and steps for taking action. These resources were presented by Ecology Ottawa and members of the CAFES Climate Misinformation Team. The dialogue event proceeded with a rich discussion facilitated by breakout groups on creating a personal plan of action.
See the full agenda from the event below.
Thank you to all who attended this meaningful dialogue. Let’s all do our part to make sure City Council knows they have our support to drive accelerated climate action in Ottawa!
Agenda:
1. Welcome & Land Acknowledgement
2. Opening Remarks (Angela Keller-Herzog, CAFES Ottawa)
Resources to Support You
3. Ottawa’s Climate Change Master Plan & Other Resources (William Van Geest, Ecology Ottawa)
4. Addressing Climate Misinformation (Colleen Rollins, CAFES Climate Misinformation Volunteer Team)
5. Take Action (Sarah MacHardy, CAFES Climate Misinformation Volunteer Team)
Community Dialogue
6. Support to Create your Personal Plan of Action (Facilitated breakout groups, followed by sharing)
7. Closing Remarks (Angela Keller-Herzog, CAFES Ottawa)
