Seth Klein is an adjunct professor with Simon Fraser University’s urban studies program and the former B.C. director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. His book A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency (ECW Press) was published in September.
His clear analysis of the similarities between this pandemic time of climate crisis and the time when Canada was involved in WWII give a bold path to the actions that could be implemented now to have a just recovery.
This is from his article https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/november-2020/canada-must-adopt-an-emergency-mindset-to-climate-change/
Here are my four markers for when you know that a government has shifted into emergency mode:
It spends what it takes to win;
It creates new economic institutions to get the job done;
It shifts from voluntary and incentive-based policies to mandatory measures;
It tells the truth about the severity of the crisis and communicates a sense of urgency about the measures necessary to combat it.
During the Second World War, the Canadian government did all those things. Likewise, in response to the pandemic, the Trudeau government has passed all four markers. But with respect to the climate emergency – thus far at least – our current federal and provincial governments are failing on all four counts.
Watch the FTFO event with Seth Klein on Youtube.
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