GVAT Newsletter: New Organizer, Nov 8 Training, Wins & More
In this newsletter:
1) Meet Izzy Adachi, GVAT’s new organizer!
2) November 8 GVAT Training with Climate Emergency Coalition.
3) Win - Province amends Motor Vehicle Act to allow wheelchairs and mobility scooters on bike & roll routes!
4) GVAT speaks out for Real Rent Control (Vacancy Control) and endorses National Housing Accord
5) Win–Moving the Dial on Biodiversity.
6) Win: New funding for fair conservation of old-growth forests.
7) Fun for Forests Flashmob - GVAT organized the very successful Flashmob for Forests on the United for Old Growth Day of Action.
8) GVAT letters to editor keep climate justice priorities in public and politicians’ minds
9) Volunteer Profile - John McLaren, Anglican Church of St. John the Divine
1) Meet Izzy Adachi, GVAT’s new organizer!
"Hello GVAT Members! My name is Izzy Adachi. I use she/they pronouns, and I am very excited to begin working as the GVAT Organizer. I have a background in union organizing through leading a campaign to organize Starbucks, as well as in issues campaigns as a Director-at-Large and then Director of Campaigns and Community Relations at the UVIC Students Society. I have also served for three years as a Director At Large for the Worker Solidarity Network, which represents workers in precarious employment conditions. I recently graduated with a BA in Political Science from UVIC. I have lived, worked and studied in Victoria for over 6 years now, and I'm proud to call it home. I look forward to getting to know you all, and making positive, grassroots change together."
2) November 8 GVAT Training with Climate Emergency Coalition.
Please consider attending Engaging your Organization on the Climate Emergency - Wed Nov 8, 2023 7 PM on Zoom. Free. All are welcome.
In this workshop, co-hosted by the BC Climate Emergency Campaign and Greater Victoria Acting Together (GVAT), attendees will strategize on how to use their organizational power to support the Provincial government to address the climate emergency at speed and scale.
Find out more and pre-register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpduyprzwsGtcws2e2fwCfG2OXQnffxY7d#/registration
3) Win - Province amends Motor Vehicle Act to allow wheelchairs and mobility scooters on bike & roll routes!
GVAT recently got confirmation that Bill 23, which passed in the spring, is intended to allow people using wheelchairs and mobility scooters to use bike and roll routes. GVAT will be pressuring the provincial government to pass regulations to put these welcome changes into effect before the provincial election in October 2024.
GVAT also got a letter to the editor published in the Times Colonist, which urges local municipalities to start consulting with people who use mobility scooters and wheelchairs about how bike-and-roll routes can be truly welcoming for all ages and abilities. Background: 2021 CBC and Times Colonist coverage of GVAT’s initial work on this issue.
4) GVAT speaks out for Real Rent Control (Vacancy Control) and endorses National Housing Accord
In September GVAT spoke at a BCGEU rally about the need for vacancy control, real rent control, where the rent is tied to the unit, not the tenant. GVAT was one of many speakers at the rally, adding our voice to the need for real rent control in BC. Real rent control will not solve the housing crisis but it will slow down the number of people - families, youth, and seniors– being evicted. Find out more in this GVAT blog.
In August, GVAT endorsed the National Housing Accord by the Canadian Coalition to End Homelessness. GVAT joined multiple organizations and individuals to tell the federal government that their response to the housing crisis has been inadequate.
5) Win–Moving the Dial on Biodiversity.
GVAT member org, Sierra Club BC, provided training for GVAT and others around the province on understanding and lobbying municipal and regional governments, and then challenged us to get resolutions passed at local councils. GVAT put its muscle behind Sierra’s Resolution 1 at Saanich and Victoria councils plus GVAT member, Metchosin councillor, Steve Gray, brought it to Metchosin council. It passed at all three and went on to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) 2023 Convention where it again passed.
The end result is that UBCM is requesting the BC government create a fund that municipalities and First Nations can access for protection and restoration of local biodiversity. And kudos to GVAT member extraordinaire, Tracey Scott (Sierra’s delegate to GVAT, among her many other GVAT roles) who received the Geraldine Irby Award for Leadership at Sierra Club’s recent AGM, in part because of the immense work she did on the creation of the Moving the Dial training. In 2020 another GVAT member also received an award from Sierra Club for work done on common goals of Sierra and GVAT.
6) Win: New funding for fair conservation of old-growth forests.
One of GVAT’s key campaign issues has been fair financial support for workers and communities, particularly First Nations communities, to transition off old growth logging. In October, the province took a significant step in that direction with the announcement of a historic conservation financing mechanism. GVAT member group Sierra Club BC’s media release states that this could “fund the establishment of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)... and the development of new, sustainable businesses to support healthy communities and intact forests."
On November 3rd an even more significant step was announced. Sierra Club BC states that the agreement between “the First Nations Leadership Council and the governments of B.C. and Canada . . . directs new and existing government funds totaling over $1 billion to the goal of protecting 30 percent of the lands in B.C. by 2030, supporting implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and helping address the biodiversity and climate crises.”
7) Fun for Forests Flashmob - The Climate ART organized the very successful Flashmob for Forests on the United for Old Growth Day of Action. Bet you didn’t know GVAT could dance! Check it out here (and subscribe to GVAT’s Youtube channel). The flashmob got lots of media attention. Footage from the flashmob has also gone out province-wide via GVAT member group Sierra Club of BC.
8) GVAT letters to editor keep climate justice priorities in public and politicians’ minds
In 2021, Greater Victoria Acting Together asked the Capital Regional District to prioritize public transit, walking, rolling and cycling over highway expansion. And they voted unanimously to do so. That same year the provincial government set a target of reducing vehicle kilometres travelled by 25 per cent by 2030. GVAT’s letters to the editor over the summer helped to keep the pressure on politicians to follow through on their commitments:
Writing your own letter to the editor is a great way to advance GVAT’s campaigns. Getting more involved and helping draft GVAT letters is even better!
9) Volunteer Profile - John McLaren, Anglican Church of St. John the Divine
Name John McLaren
Organisational connection to GVAT Through membership of the core group (the social Justice and Action Group) at the Anglican Church of St. John the Divine (a founding member of GVAT)
Roles within GVAT Representative member on Strategic Hub
What keeps you awake at night or is of special concern to you these days? Almost everything on the morning news, but particularly human-induced climate change, the breakdown of social support systems, and the myopia of politicians who find it difficult to see beyond their noses and the next election to addressing honestly long term systemic breakdowns that could well be catastrophic
What gives you hope or gets you up in the morning? The individual, but especially the collective work of civil society and social justice organizations.
What is one possibility you see in a future built on the success of GVAT and other groups working for the common good? That they can increasingly insinuate themselves into the discussions and thinking of politicians and bureaucrats at all levels (as business and commerce, and in some instances organized labour have done for eons), and to make sure that the broader public know this, and know clearly what we stand for
Tell us about a hobby or interest you have. I am a long standing (until recently) Morris dancer (a good way to tip the hat to the English part of my heritage, a way to exercise, and to keep interesting company). Because of back problems, I am now, at least temporarily, on the musicians’ bench banging the drum. This means still being part of the culture and indulging my rhythmic potential.
What motivates you to leadership in GVAT? Leadership in my case would be overstating it, but my attraction to GVAT reflects a longstanding interest and some activity on social justice issues, and the conviction that “united we must stand” if we are to build a truly “just society” and one that is sustainable.
What is one favourite action you have taken as a result of being involved with GVAT? Working on a forum sponsored by GVAT, the Sierra Club and St. Johns on Climate Justice - Protecting Old Growth Trees
Any special thoughts to share with other newsletter readers? Let us get off our collective butts and away from armchair griping (both postures to which I am personally prone) and work together, while recognizing that we bring different talents and capacities to the table.
We recognize GVAT conducts its business on the lands of First Nations across this region: Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees) and Xwsepsum (Esquimalt) Nations in the core area, the W̱SÁNEĆ Nations {W̱JOȽEȽP (Tsartlip), BOḰEĆEN (Pauquachin), SȾÁUTW̱,(Tsawout) and W̱SIKEM (Tseycum)} on the Saanich Peninsula and Gulf Islands, Sc'ianew (Beecher Bay), T’Sou-ke, and Pacheedaht in the west , and MÁLEXEȽ (Malahat) in the north.
