People's Climate Mandate - What is it?

On October 28th Manitobans will go to the polls to elect their next municipal government! We get very excited about municipal elections here at Green Action Centre because it’s at this level of government where we see the most impact on people’s lives. From public transit to waste collection, street design to sewer management, electing the people needed to ensure we are moving toward sustainability is crucial at the municipal level. 

In June, Green Action Centre put out our Municipal Wish List! 

As members and followers of Green Action Centre know, we are all about joining with like-minded organizations for collective impact. Earlier this spring, we joined a coalition of organizations to work toward a mandate for the upcoming election, led by Climate Reality Project. The result: The People’s Climate Mandate!

READ THE TEN POINT PLAN! 

This project was initially focused on the environment, but we quickly recognized the common barriers that all of our organizations face in regards to the budget process and city planning.  

HOW WAS THE MANDATE DEVELOPED?

As a coalition, we decided on three key steps to develop this mandate. 

1. The first was a Town Hall in June. We had experts from each topic area on hand to present and facilitate discussions around the many topic areas for the mandate. The town hall was well attended by a diverse audience. Each presenter kept notes on policies and ideas from their discussion groups. 
2. Next, we had conversations with groups and organizations focused on each subject area. Many viewpoints were represented on the coalition, but not all. We wanted to ensure our mandate aligned with the key asks being made by like-minded organizations. When you speak with one voice, you’re a lot louder!
3. Finally, we reviewed the city's plans and policies. We did not reinvent the wheel with this mandate. Many of the key asks in this mandate are ALREADY approved by the city, and just unfunded.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE PEOPLE’S CLIMATE MANDATE?

Now that the mandate is developed and “out there”, we need YOU to get behind it. 

1. Endorse the campaign as an individual. We want to get as many people as we can behind the coalition from all across the city. If you sign-up, please send the invite to five (or more) of your contacts and ask them to join too!!
2. Endorse the campaign as an organization. If you are part of an organization that shares the values as the PCM, endorse it! We want to get as many businesses, community groups and non-profits involved as possible. Encourage your industry colleagues to do the same!

SPREAD THE WORD

The PCM recently surveyed mayoral and council candidates! We released the first wave of results on October 5th, and we’ll keep updating as new responses come in. Be sure to push all candidates in your ward to complete the questionnaire!

Visit the PCM website and select your ward to view the responses. 

Over the coming weeks you’ll have lots of candidates knocking on your door and leaving flyers behind. We encourage you to ask them about their position on the mandate! 

Once the election wraps up, we hope to turn the mandate into an evaluation tool to measure how the next council does on achieving the platform. 

Questions about the People’s Climate Mandate? Reach out to Mel Marinet, our representative on the coalition, at mel@greenactioncentre.ca

‍