Climate Welcome and Gifts for Canada's New Prime Minister

From November 5th – 8th, Canadians will be welcoming Justin Trudeau the new Prime Minister of Canada. This welcome calls for climate action including freezing the tar sands and accelerating a transition to a clean energy economy. The ‘Welcoming Committee’ will convene outside the Prime Minister’s residence at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa to remind him that the people expect leadership on climate change. Canadians will deliver a series of “gifts” to the new Prime Minister

On Thursday November 5th, the PM will be provided with scientific reports explaining why we must keep tar sands under the ground (Canada will need to leave 85 percent of the tar sands in the ground if the country is to meet its global climate obligations). There will also be a “basket of broken treaties” and documentation of the hundreds of violations of Indigenous rights associated with the tar sands.

On Friday November 6th, a petition with millions of signatures of those that oppose the tar sands pipelines will be delivered to the new PM.

On Saturday November 7th, the efforts of grassroots climate movements across Canada will be highlighted. The “gifts” on this day will include water threatened or already tainted by the tar sands. This will include water from the rivers, lakes and coastlines that tar sands pipelines would put at risk. It will also include water that have already been poisoned as a result of the tar sands.

On Sunday November 8th the PM will receive a set of solar panels to underscore the technological solutions that can help the nation to transition to a clean energy economy.

The event will be covered on social media using the hashtag #climatewelcome.