Advocacy

Urging government to take meaningful action to address climate change.

Give it up for the Earth! is a national faith-in-action campaign that raises awareness about climate change and mobilizes people across Canada to reduce personal and household greenhouse gas emissions, engage in acts of solidarity, and collect signatures as a demonstration of support for increased federal government action. Give it up for the Earth! runs from February 22 to April 6, 2023.

Give it up for the Earth! 2023 includes three action items:

1. A pledge to reduce your personal and household greenhouse gas emissions.
2. A commitment to learning more about biodiversity and building relationships with the Indigenous communities on whose traditional territories we live, work, and play.
3. Send a letter to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, urging him to set more ambitious climate action targets and expressing support for climate justice legislation.

For the Love of Creation reflects agreement among Canadian faith communities to call on the federal government to:

1. Increase our national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target; reduce emissions by 60 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, making a fair-share contribution to global efforts to maintain temperature rise below 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels.
2. Invest in a just transition and the establishment of a fair, inclusive, green economy that addresses current inequities.
3. Implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including, but not limited to, the right of free, prior and informed consent; incorporate Indigenous knowledge and experience into any proposed policy and program.
4. Commit equal support for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in the Global South.

For the Love of Creation hosted Give it up for the Earth! in 2022, a faith in action campaign, coordinated by Citizens for Public Justice.  The campaign included three action items:

1. Reduce personal and household greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Commit to learning about and building relationships with the Indigenous communities on whose traditional territories we live, work, and play.
3. Write to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, urging follow-through on existing climate action commitments and calling for a legislated just transition that centres Indigenous rights; promotes fairness and inclusion; and creates good, secure, green jobs.

For the Love of Creation's faith-in-action campaign mobilized people across Canada to reduce household GHG emissions and demonstrate support for increased federal climate action.

In addition to engaging in acts of solidarity with justice-seeking communities, we wrote to federal Cabinet Ministers to call on the Government of Canada to:

1. Increase our national GHG emissions reduction target;
2. Invest in a just transition to a fair, inclusive, green economy;
3. Implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including, but not limited to, the right of free, prior and informed consent; and
4. Commit equal support for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in the Global South.

The For the Love of Creation faith-in-action campaign was modelled on the Lenten campaign Give it up for the Earth!, run by Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) from 2017-2020.

House of Commons e-petition (2020)

Over 90 days from July to October 2020, For the Love of Creation collected 2,500 signatures on an e-petition calling on the Government of Canada to:

1. Commit to reducing Canadian GHG emissions by 60 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, and invest in a just transition
2. Honour the rights of Indigenous Peoples
3. Commit equal support for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in the Global South
4. Respond to the pandemic in the Global South.

The petition was sponsored by MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, MP Beaches-East York. It closed on October 6, 2020 and was presented in the House of Commons on November 5, 2020.

Tell your MP how to ensure a green and just recovery after the pandemic

You can help keep up the momentum on these demands by calling or emailing your MP to reiterate the importance of supporting a global recovery to the pandemic that builds a more sustainable and equitable future for all. Members of Parliament have a duty to listen to their constituents. Your words can have a big impact on their party’s positions. The federal government’s response to the pandemic includes addressing the health, economic and social impacts of the pandemic, and your MP needs to know that this is the moment to transform our society and not return the old “normal” of poverty, inequity, climate change and ongoing violations of Indigenous rights. .

How to contact your MP
Find your MP’s contact information and get in touch. You can send an email, leave a message with their office, or request a longer in-person phone or online meeting. If you are meeting your MP online or in person, you can invite a few other members of your church or organization to join you. Consider inviting your local faith leader, for example, to demonstrate that they too prioritize creation care and putting the most vulnerable people first.

What to say to your MP
Here is a sample script for your phone call or email to your MP. Please adapt it to reflect yourself and your concerns:

I am _____________, a resident of your riding, and a member of __________Church. (You may wish to insert here something about who you are or what you do). I am very concerned about the pandemic and climate change. I know that vulnerable people, including those living in poverty, refugees, women and Indigenous Peoples, are facing the worst impacts of the pandemic, and of climate change. Canada is investing billions in responding to the pandemic. These investments should benefit the most vulnerable people both in Canada and around the world.

I am calling you because I would like you to insist on a green and just recovery. I want Canada to respect its climate commitments and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. I want Canada to cancel the debts of the poorest countries. I want Canada to increase international aid for climate change adaptation and pandemic recovery.

Like many other people in Canada, I dream of a greener, more just world. I am asking you, as my representative, to do everything you can to make this dream a reality.

Thank you for listening. You can reach me by email at (spell your email) or by phone at __________. Have a great day!

As we campaign to rebuild a stronger, healthier, and more just world, we can show that people in Canada wish to take a new path. Our vision of a just and green future requires deep cuts to our greenhouse gas emissions by reducing our consumption and extraction of fossil fuels, reducing inequality by honouring the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and enabling countries in the Global South to respond to the pandemic and climate change in their countries by cancelling debts and increasing international aid. The world is at a critical juncture. We must come together to support a global recovery to the pandemic that moves us towards a more sustainable and equitable future for all.

Open Letter to Minister Chrystia Freeland ahead of 2020 Speech from the Throne