Kelowna hosting town hall discussion on Green New Deal

KELOWNA – The Green New Deal is a concept created in the United States, but it has captured imaginations and sparked action around the globe. Next month it gets some Okanagan exposure. 

Billed as an opportunity for both a major societal and cultural shift to respond to climate change as well as creating potential social and economic advantages, the discussion has quickly moved north. Town hall discussions are being arranged in 150 communities in Canada, including Kelowna.

The Green New Deal movement represents a pledge to cut Canada's carbon emissions by 50 per cent in 11 years, create more than a million good jobs and build inclusive communities.

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Green Okanagan at the Okanagan coLab is hosting the town hall on June 5. Local residents are invited to take part in the discussion with municipal, provincial and federal politicians.

On the official Green New Deal Canada website, activists point to melting permafrost, forest fires and floods as requiring significant action. The Green New Deal has no specific actions prescribed but notes that the conversation must start and it must reach high. 

Among the supporters of the movement are Greenpeace, Indigenous Climate Action, David Suzuki, Neil Young, William Shatner and many others.

Town halls will be taking place in less than a week in all major cities across Canada, all organized by local volunteers.

Kelowna's town hall will run from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Okanagan coLab at 1405 St Paul St. on Wednesday, June 5.

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