Climate collectives harnessing the power of community

05/13/22 • 27 min

This episode jumps into the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss and how the climate movement in Ontario stays agile. Our guest Tim Gray of Environmental Defence shares why the election window is such an important time to advocate for policy, the message collectives are hoping to get across to politicians this cycle, and the work that comes after election day.

Guest biography: Tim grew up on the shores of Lake Huron and acquired his love of nature there. He has over 25 years of experience developing and implementing environmental policy change efforts. These have included major shifts in land conservation, forest practices and climate change. Starting out his career as a biologist and policy analyst, Tim has spent a lot of time learning skills that move complex environmental issues toward resolution.

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Coalition building through Queer Vote Ontario

Queer Vote Ontario is an historic coalition of 2SLBTQI+ organizations with an action plan to ensure queer and trans issues and solutions are on the agenda this election. Join us as the coalition’s co-founder Fae Johnstone shares the behind-the-scenes of how one tweet got it all started, and why we speak better and louder when there are more of us in the room.

Guest biography: Fae Johnstone is executive director and co-owner of Wisdom2Action (W2A) and based on unceded, unsurrendered Algonquin territory in Ottawa, Ontario. She is an experienced community engagement expert, diversity and inclusion consultant, and project manager. Over her past two years working with W2A, Fae has led local, provincial, and national initiatives focused on 2SLGBTQ+ community health and wellness, youth mental health, meaningful community engagement, and gender-based violence.

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Engaging Black communities during elections and beyond

The next provincial government is hopefully going to lead us to the other side of the pandemic. But are parties bringing an anti-Black racism lens to their policy commitments? Velma Morgan of Operation Black Vote Canada joins us to talk about why it matters to bring party hopefuls to Black communities to hear issues directly, and why all nonprofits need to get political.

Guest biography: Velma Morgan has experience in creating and implementing public policies and programs in the Ontario provincial government. For over 10 years she advised Cabinet Ministers in 5 Ministries. Her comprehensive knowledge of government and public policy processes allows her to quickly decipher and analyze complex issues and positively contribute to a solution. As an advocate for gender and cultural representation and inclusion in government, she ensured that the voices of marginalized communities were reflected in the government's policies and communications.