Join us as we invite On 2 Ottawa to discuss direct action for the climate crisis. On 2 Ottawa is a non-violent civil disobedience campaign designed to encourage Canadian governments to take urgent and meaningful action on the climate crisis. The climate crisis is real, and it is now. We face the consequences daily. Canadians are dealing with Fire, Flood, and drought because our governments have failed us for decades. Until we zero our emissions, it will keep getting worse. When our governments don’t take action, then it’s up for us to action and demand that they do because we are the last generation.
Speakers: On 2 Ottawa members Francine and Gillian:
- Francine Portenier is a Systems Design Engineer, who worked as a Senior Management Consultant improving Business Processes with an emphasis on Sustainability. After retirement, she offered Mindfulness Meditation training to individuals to increase their emotional resilience, to equip them to cope in a world experiencing Climate Crisis.
- Gillian Graham is a recent University of Ottawa graduate with a degree in political science, conflict studies and human rights.
Actions
- Support On2Ottawa and sign the commitment form.
- Try to increase the cost of disruption, the more costly the disruption the more likely you will be noticed and force the government to act.
- One method is through the high costs of arresting numerous people
- Citizen assemblies
- Allowing for more public/diverse opinions, gathering and direct actions on local/national scales
- Climate change specific assemblies are called Climate assemblies
- Enacting change that people will notice and be grateful for
- When you are protesting, make sure you are in the public eye
- Handing out flyers, especially in ways that are deemed illegal to increase disruption
- Coordinate action with On2Ottawa at Carleton
Resource List
The following is a list of resources recommended by attendees at our event.
You can find On2Ottawa at: https://on2ottawa.ca/
Erica Chenoweth’s work is a huge resource for On2Ottawa. They have done research into political violence and its alternatives. They are particularly interested in how people effectively resist authoritarianism and push for systemic change, and in using social science tools and evidence to support movement-led political transformation. Most relevant to our conversation is their book: Why Civil Resistance Works: The strategic logic of nonviolent conflict. Check out all their works at: https://www.ericachenoweth.com/
Learn more about climate tipping points:
- Armstrong McKay, David I., et al. “Exceeding 1.5°C Global Warming Could Trigger Multiple Climate Tipping Points.” Science, vol. 377, no. 6611, Sept. 2022, p. eabn7950. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn7950.
See these articles for more information on some of the conversations we had:
- John Ivison: Ottawa fiddles around on firefighting while wildfires burn
- The Government of Canada Provides Update on Firefighter Training and Support for Canadians Through the 2023 Wildfire Season
- Citizens’ assemblies: are they the future of democracy?
- European database of citizen assemblies