We are facing the most severe public health crisis in a century, a plummet in the global price of oil, and the closures of entire economies. But this unprecedented crisis is unveiling the deeper, and slower-moving crises of inequality and precarity of work facing many people.
In Alberta, large corporations and our regressive government are taking advantage of the situation, with mass layoffs, handouts to corporations, subsidies to the oil and gas industry, and the threats of a “day of reckoning” when the crisis has passed. This agenda will ensure the status quo remains or worsens for working people.
Progressives need to be using this time to organize and demand better. We need to demand a People’s Bailout, where the workers who run the economy are taken care of, not wealthy CEOs and shareholders. We know that we need to transition to a low carbon economy in a way that leaves no one behind. We need to demand a Green New Deal for Alberta. We need to have a serious discussion about Treaty implementation, Metis rights, and land restitution. We need to band together to fight for a future in which we all not only survive, but thrive.
The Council of Canadians and Public Interest Alberta held an interactive webinar on June 24, 2020 featuring four dynamic speakers who showed us that a better world is not only possible, but absolutely necessary.
Panelists include:
- James Hutt, Senior Manager of Programming at The Leap
- Emily Riddle, nehiyaw writer, researcher, and library worker, member of Alexander First Nation, and member of the Yellowhead Institute advisory board
- Roland Schmidt, President of Canadian Union of Postal Workers Edmonton Local 730.
- Batul Gulamhusein, Digital and Communications coordinator at The Leap, and organizer with Climate Justice Edmonton
- Moderated by Joel French, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta.
