The throne speech Premier John Horgan means to give
In this piece, I once again have some fun writing an imaginary throne speech, this time for the BC government. Here is what a BC throne speech might sound like, if it were to recognize that we live at a time of multiple interlocking crises — the climate emergency, the pandemic, the housing crisis, a poisonous drug supply crisis, and growing inequality — and resolve to govern accordingly.
Our politics must not be about the art of the narrowly possible, but rather, about making possible what yesterday seemed unimaginable. There is only one way to meet such interlocking crises: Head on. Together. With ambition and defiance, creativity and solidarity. Enjoy.
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The case for a Youth Climate Corps
The climate mobilization in Canada has yet to feel like a grand societal undertaking. Among the bold initiatives that would send such a signal — an audacious Youth Climate Corps. As the world has begun to confront the climate crisis, the last few years have seen a burgeoning of youth leadership. As in WWII, youth are once again mobilizing to secure our collective future. But so far, our governments have failed to create public programs to accept and deploy their energies and talents. A new generation of young people needs a way to meet this moment.
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As we emerge from one crisis and confront the next, let youth lead, serve and vote
As the young people in our society come to the end of a school year unlike any before, and those in their teens and early 20s in particular wrestle with what the coming year or two will look like, Canada’s Second World War story has some useful guidance to offer. In the Second World War, over one million Canadians enlisted for military service, a remarkable level of participation, particularly given what those who signed up were prepared to sacrifice. Of the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who went to fight overseas, from all corners of the country and many ethnic backgrounds, the overriding characteristic most had in common was their youth. The good news for today is that the crises we must confront call upon us to help and to heal – both society and the planet – rather than to fight and kill.
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