A 'War Room' to Beat Kenney’s War Room
We’re a group of young climate justice organizers writing from Jason Kenney’s Alberta. Alongside other terrifying promises like repealing overtime pay, outing gay kids in schools, cutting healthcare funding by 25%, and tying funding for Indigenous nations to their stance on energy projects, our newly elected premier has promised to spend $30 million of public funds to build a “war room” spreading propaganda about Alberta’s oil sands and the people fighting for a transition away from them. He’s also promised funds to spy on and litigate work like ours.
SO, we wish weren’t writing this, but we’re building our own "war room" and we’ll need your help. We’ll use the funds to grow our work having face-to-face conversations with other Albertans about the need for a just transition to 100% renewable energy, training other organizers, and staging creative direct actions for Indigenous rights and climate justice.
Kenney and his United Conservative Party have stoked hate by spreading a conspiracy theory that climate justice work like ours is funded by a shadowy network of competing foreign oil interests. But Indigenous-led efforts to stop oil sands expansion aren't working because we have a lot of money from rich people (though seeing as that’s how Mr. Kenney’s work is funded we can understand his confusion). They’re working because of regular people like us all across the world who are desperate for a future with a liveable climate, good work, and Indigenous rights. They’re working because we see OUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE and since the early 2000s our governments have responded to that fact with a plan to triple oil sands production instead of one to transition our energy system.
We have so much work ahead of us, and Kenney is going to make it as hard as he can. Help us fight back!
Our "war room" > Kenney’s war room
Jason Kenney’s war room will be $30 million dollars. We think we can build ours for a fiscally conservative $30 *hundred* dollars instead.
For $3,000 we’ll be able to hold trainings for a 100 young people, talk to 1000s of other Albertans by canvassing and holding town halls on how to build a Green New Deal here for this province, and work with the Beaver Hills Warriors to build an Indigenous food sovereignty movement and hold ongoing actions in this city.
For $10,000 we’ll be able to reach twice as many people, restart our People on the Path land art project to do creative direct action against the Trans Mountain pipeline, support 1000s of Alberta based high-school climate strikers , and start a rapid-response fund to protect our allies and frontline communities as they come under attack from Jason Kenney’s politics of austerity and hate.
For $30,000 we’ll be able to do all of the above, reach thousands more people, and rent a physical ‘war room’ -- a climate justice action centre to share with a dozen allied community groups and multiply our efforts to fight Kenney’s agenda.
Whatever level we reach, it will make a big dent in this government’s plans to let fossil fuel corporations sous-vide the planet as fast as they can. We know that offering an alternative vision that meets the scale of the overlapping crisis of economic inequality, climate change, and white supremacy is the best way to fight the growing wave of far-right petro-nationalism Jason Kenney is stoking in our province. They may have the money, but we have the benefit of being on the right side of history.
Who are we?
Climate Justice Edmonton is a grassroots collective of climate organizers based in Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton) on traditional Cree, Blackfoot, Dene, Nakota Sioux, Saulteaux, and Métis Nation territory. We are educators, workers, students, parents, and community organizers. We’re fighting for a just transition to 100% renewable energy with strong communities, good work, and Indigenous rights. We work closely with the Beaver Hills Warriors, a collective of Indigenous youth here in Amiskwaciy.
Many of our members, partners, and families make their living from the oil sands, but we know that the cost to frontline communities, our environment, our economy , and our collective future is too great to continue. We can build a brighter future by transitioning to a new economy.
In the past year alone, we’ve knocked on thousands of doors to talk about just transition, held a round dance blocking traffic in downtown Edmonton in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en, disrupted Morneau’s TransMountain purchase announcement in Calgary, held a sit-in in Minister of Natural Resources Amarjeet Sohi’s office, held rallies in solidarity with Beaver Lake Cree First Nation’s land rights trial, and helped grow an AB-based student climate strike movement. We’re about to launch a campaign calling for a Green New Deal for Alberta. Join us!
Want to help without donating? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Note: Funds will be going to Bronwen Tucker, Climate Justice Edmonton organizer, before being transferred to Climate Justice Edmonton.