VENUE: The Carleton Suite Hotel
Formerly known as the Marriott Residence Inn
161 Laurier Ave W,
Near the corner of Laurier and Elgin in the Parliamentary Precinct
Ottawa, ON K1P 5J2
thecarletonsuitehotel.com
May 13 and May 14, 2019

CCL LOBBY PREP DAY
Monday, May 13, 2019  noon to 5:00 pm
Venue: Sir Guy Carleton Room, 2^nd Floor Carleton Hotel
Light snacks and refreshments provided. 
12:00 – 1:00 – register, receive lobby schedule, socialize
1:00 – 2:30 – welcome, introductions, the leave behind, serious stories and fun things. Moderator – Gerry Labelle, speakers include Terry Hart, and Fridays For Future youth Sophia Mathur and Zoe Keary-Matzner
2:30 – 5:00 – Lobby Preparation with Vince Schutt from Enviromentum
5:00 – 5:30 – orienting to Parliament Hill, final instructions and Q&A for lobbying

EVENING SOCIAL
Monday, May 13, 2019, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Venue and schedule: Sir Guy Carleton Room, 2^nd Floor Carleton Hotel

LOBBYING Day and GROUP PHOTO
Tuesday, May 14, 2019, all day
Venue: Parliament Hill

NOTE THE TIME FOR OUR GROUP PHOTO ON PARLIAMENT HILL:
Arrive at 8:15 at the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill for a 8:30 SHARP GROUP PHOTO.

Registration fees:
$40 for the entire event
$20 for the reception only
$20 for the conference only
Lobbying only is free but you must register.

Karelo is handling the registrations again. Please go here:

http://www.karelo.com/register.php?BID=600&BT=10&Ev=18588

Billing on your credit card will show up as Karelo, not Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

You can get a word copy here.

[Date]

Dear [Representative / Senator / Dr. / Honorable / Councilmember AND Last Name]:

Thank you for giving citizens a voice.

We are in a time of massive change. There is an urgent need to protect the environment we all depend on while ensuring those struggling are not left behind. With the right policies, Canada can help protect the well-being of all while being poised to capture part of the multi-trillion-dollar opportunity that our shifting global economy provides.

It is crucial that we widen our perspectives on environmental policy to ensure that it is equitable and effective. In this spirit, we warmly invite you to engage with CCL Canada volunteers, Fridays for Future youth strikers, fellow parliamentarians, Ottawa NGOs, and motivational interviewer Vince Schutt of Environmentum in a reception from 6:30 to 8:30pm on the 13^th of May at the Carleton Suite Hotel, formerly the Marriott Residence Inn, on 161 Laurier Avenue West in Ottawa.

Through informal but meaningful conversation at this all-party event, cohosted by CCL Canada and Member of Parliament Marc Serré, we would anticipate learning from your perspective, as well as sharing multiple perspectives on Canada’s role in reducing greenhouse gas pollution now and in the long term while protecting low and middle-income households.

Thank you for your time and continued service to our communities.

Sincerely,

[NAME]

Volunteer, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada

Coming soon

Never lobbied before? Don’t worry, we have been lobbying for carbon fee and dividend for almost nine years now in Canada.

You will be surrounded by the best volunteers on the planet. You will get out of your comfort zone and grow as a human being.

We have one over-arching rule: treat politicians with respect and admiration for their service. We will train you.

Here are the key strategies we use.

IMPORTANT

• Photo ID is required to get into all buildings on Parliament Hill.
• Allow at least 15 minutes to get through the airport-like security on Parliament Hill.
• Don’t wear and bring anything that looks remotely political such as flags and CCL swag (Climate Lobby are trigger words it seems) because it may be put in storage while you lobby in the building.
• If your meeting is in Centre Block go through the “Business Door” on the left and not the “Tourist Door” on the right. We will review this at the conference.
• If by chance you get invited to the Parliamentary Dining Hall, men must wear a tie in the Dining Hall.  No Jeans allowed.

Map of Parliament Hill which will be included in your conference booklet

Over the next few weeks we will be posting updated resources in here.

• LEAVE BEHIND: Our ask of the Federal Government – May 2019

• Please only book appointments with your MP for either
  -the reception on Monday, May 13
  – reception and lobbying, if you and your MP thinks that is best.
  – just lobbying if they cannot attend the reception on Tuesday, May 14
  You get the appointment you can get.
  If you are brand new to Citizens’ Climate Lobby and do not have a connection with your local CCL group, check with us to make sure someone has not already started booking the appointment.
• NEW THIS YEAR Once you have secured an appointment send the following information by filling in this form.
• Send the MP bio to canada@citizensclimatelobby.org by May 3. Here is the outline in Word.

• Check out the recent CCL Ontario Conference Booklet for more information CCCL 2019 Make Tomorrow Ontario 

The Final Lobbying Schedule

After registration closes on May 3,  the Lobbying Schedule Committee will meet to determine the lobbying schedule. Great care will go into balancing the following elements: putting constituents in the room, past lobbying participants, weighing the skills of the different people, giving everyone approximately the same number of appointments, considering the lobby-lead requests and avoiding schedule conflicts.

That all being said, we have to be nimble. About 15-20% of lobbying meetings change at the last minute because we lobby mostly face-to-face. Thus, it is especially critical you do not change your lobbying schedule on your own. Everyone will get their lobbying schedules by Monday, May 13 at the conference.

Since its inception in 2010, CCL Canada has lobbied relentlessly for Ottawa to adopt carbon fee and dividend, over the years holding over 800 meetings with parliamentarians and generating over three thousand letters to the editors, opinion pieces, editorials, TV ads, radio hits and articles about the climate crisis and carbon pricing.

In October, Citizens Climate Lobby was on Parliament Hill for the 13th time.

Thirteenth time lucky is what the foray onto Parliament Hill will be remembered as. While on the hill, there were indications that carbon fee and dividend was going to be announced as the official backstop policy for pricing carbon pollution. For example, Senator for Edmonton, AB Senator Grant Mitchell said, “You are one of the most successful lobbying groups I have worked with because you are about to get what you lobbied for.”

At Citizens’ Climate Lobby, we’re committed to building the political will for the climate solutions we all need. As empowered citizens, we talk with neighbors, friends, and local officials about how national climate action can help ensure a healthy future while strengthening the Canadian economy.

Our volunteers include high school students and concerned grandparents, a Canadian NASA rocket scientist living in Pasadena, health care workers from across Canada and many other walks of life. Some are PhD’s who have spent careers researching the intricacies of climate change; others are concerned citizens who just want to know how to help. Whatever our  backgrounds, we’re all united by a commitment to making our voices heard as we call for a healthy climate future.

CCL is a non-partisan international organization. Members of CCL’s International’s advisory board include: George P. Shultz, former US secretary of state; Dr. James Hansen, retired Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, Canadian Climate Scientist at Texas Tech University; and others. CCL believes politicians don’t create political will, they respond to it.

CCL believes citizens who are well trained, organized by ridings and with a good system of support can influence the political process. Our volunteers want Canada to lead the fight to save the global climate, and they want to help politicians achieve this noble goal.

There are a limited number of rooms available.
Start booking your room Thursday, April 18. You have until Tuesday, April 23 at noon.
The room cost is $189 for a classic suite – which is a queen bed, a separate living room with a pull-out couch and a full kitchen. This is a complete steal in Ottawa in the springtime during The Tulip Festival.

If you need bigger accommodation, you will have to pay extra.
Wi-Fi, Hot Buffet Breakfast, Coffee maker, HDTV, kitchen

Book by Tuesday, April 23, 2019

MEDIA RELEASE: Citizen Lobbyists Bring Non Partisan Message to Solve the Most Urgent Challenge of Our Time

For Immediate Release: May 27, 2019

Ottawa ON: For the 14th time Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) volunteers lobbied together on Parliament Hill on May 14, 2019. Among the 31 lobbyists included eight newly trained climate leaders, and three Fridays For Future youth strikers. Together these citizen lobbyists met with 19 of parliamentarians from all four political parties and brought solutions to solve the most urgent crisis of our time – the climate crisis.

On May 13, the volunteers participated in five hours of training and community building. The real life consequences of climate catastrophe  were vividly described when a CCL volunteer told the harrowing story of  her  adult children and grandchildren that were trapped on a Caribbean Island after Hurricane Irma. They dodged pirates, and escaped machete-wielding convicts for weeks while searching for food, water, shelter and rescue from their dire circumstances after their entire island was flattened and complete social breakdown reigned around them.

Three Fridays For Future youth gave speeches, led adults in a participatory dance and held their ground in a mock media interview – thereby showing adults who were the leaders in the room.

Lawyer Josh Ginsberg from Ecojustice walked the volunteers through the details of the Saskatchewan Ruling and how the federal government’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act is constitutionally valid. Two key rulings were that the “GHG pricing is regarded as essential” and “Climate change is doubtless an emergency in the sense that it presents a genuine threat to Canada.”

Recent reports, such as the IPCC 1.5°C Report, Canada’s Changing Climate report, the UN 1 Million Species Extinction report and the latest Mauna Loa CO2 reading of 415 ppm, highlight the need for urgent action.

Communicating the urgency of the climate crisis effectively was paramount in the minds of all the volunteers. Vince Schutt from Environmentum expertly guided to new levels of communication with Motivational Interviewing techniques.

Youth, scientists, local governments and citizens worldwide demand major changes to keep global warming below 1.5 °C and to have a chance of protecting our future from worldwide ecological collapse. Recent reports, such as the IPCC 1.5°C Report, Canada’s Changing Climate report, the UN 1 Million Species Extinction report and the latest Mauna Loa CO2 reading of 415 ppm, highlight the need for urgent action.

As of May 6, 2019, climate emergencies have been declared in 382 Canadian communities, covering over 10 million people. In August 2018, teenager Greta Thunberg from Sweden sparked the global Fridays for Future movement by striking from school to demand that leaders protect her future. On March 15, May 3 and May 24 thousands of Canadian youth are part of these Fridays For Future climate strikes. An international week of climate strikes is set for the week of  September 20.

“Our present challenge calls for a whole suite of beneficial solutions. With the right policies, including pricing carbon as a core component of a cost-effective climate plan, we can help save lives, improve health, conserve nature, promote equity and be poised to capture part of the 26 trillion dollar opportunity in climate smart growth by 2030,” said Cathy Orlando, CCL Canada’s national director.

Politicians were specifically lobbied for the following:

1. Increase the national carbon price past 2022 as part of a plan for Canada to do its fair share in reducing worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 45% below 2010 levels by 2030, as per the IPCC 1.5 °C report.
2. Immediately identify and phase out federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry that distort the market signal a carbon price provides.
3. Establish CO2 equivalent fees for other GHGs, including measurable methane, nitrogen trifluoride, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), nitrous oxide and perfluorocarbons, at a minimum.
4. Study the replacement of the output-based pricing system for large emitters with border carbon adjustments to protect businesses that are genuinely vulnerable in the international marketplace.
5. We need science-based, legally binding greenhouse gas targets, transparent progress reporting and cross-party cooperation. Please use the United Kingdom’s Climate Change Act (2008) as a model, which was the recommendation of Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner in: Climate Action in Ontario: What’s Next?

“Our volunteers went to Parliament Hill to help make sure that Canada continues to improve its commitments to protect civilization and all life from climate catastrophe. We want Parliamentarians to treat the climate crisis as the nonpartisan issue that it truly is,” said Orlando.

CCL Canada’s Pledge for 2019
 In 2016 our volunteers made a pledge: I acknowledge that there is a risk of losing political resolve on the gains we have made to secure a healthy climate in the lead up to the federal election in 2019. Thus, I am making the following pledge: I want to live in a democracy where all politicians of all stripes can get elected for pro-environmental policies not in spite of them. Thus, in my riding, I pledge to generate the political will for a liveable world. Specifically, I pledge to do my best to keep the discussions around the climate crisis and carbon pricing factual, respectful and non-partisan in my local media while doing community outreach and communicating with local leaders. All politics is local after all.

Please click here for the Make Tomorrow Conference Photo Album on Facebook.

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CANADIAN CIVICS 101

For the benefit of our American Guests

OVERVIEW: The USA is a democratic republic whereas Canada is a constitutional monarchy. The President is the elected head of state in the USA. Queen Elizabeth II is our head of state and she is represented in Canada by our Governor General, David Johnson. Our head of state is also called “the Crown”. Canada has a bicameral system, just like the USA, with lower and upper houses.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: In Canada, the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons forms the government and the leader of that party becomes the Prime Minister (PM). The executive branch of the Canadian government is led by the PM and he/she appoints senior Members of Parliament to the executive in a cabinet adhering to the principle of cabinet collective responsibility. The Privy Council is the non-partisan, public service support to the PM and Cabinet and its decision-making structures.

HOUSE OF COMMMONS: Our lower house is called the House of Commons and it is the Canadian equivalent of the US House of Representatives. Our federal representatives are elected in electoral districts which we call ridings. We have 338 electoral districts for 35 million people.  Our federal representatives are called Members of Parliament or MPs. Until 2009, governments could call an election at any time within five years of being elected. Since 2009, we have legislated set election dates every four years, unless there is a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons which defeats the government and forces an election. This usually happens when we have minority governments.

MINORITY GOVERNMENTS A minority government happens when the ruling party does not have a majority of the seats in Parliament. Currently, we have a majority government under the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau (and yes, we add “u’s” to a lot of words up here). These recent governments were all minority governments: 2004-2006, 2006-2008 and 2008-2011. Canada is predisposed to minority governments because we have three major political parties and compared to the USA, a significant Green Party which garners about 5% of the popular vote and a regional party: the Bloc Québécois which currently holds 10 seats. Like in the USA and Britain, Canadian MPs are among the last representatives elected using a first-past-the-post ballot which many Canadians hope will change to some form of proportional representation.

THE CANADIAN SENATE: The Canadian Senate, unlike in the USA, is not elected. It is an appointed senate. Most senators hold their seat until the mandatory age of retirement. There are three types of senators in Canada: Independents, Liberals and Conservatives. Currently, Independents and Liberals combined in the Senate are in a majority. The Canadian senate is undergoing a reformation currently. The Senate is divided equally amongst four geographic regions: 24 for Ontario, 24 for Quebec, 24 for the Maritimes (10 for Nova Scotia, 10 for New Brunswick, and four for Prince Edward Island), and 24 for the Western provinces (six each for Manitoba, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta). Newfoundland and Labrador, which became a Canadian province in 1949, is represented by six senators. Further, Canada’s three territories—the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut—are allocated one senator each. An additional four or eight senators may be temporarily appointed by the governor general, provided the approval of the Queen is secured, and the four divisions are equally represented, thus putting the maximum possible number of senators at 113.

THE DOMINATE BRANCH: The House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament with the Senate and the Crown rarely opposing its will. The Senate is meant to take a second sober look at bills before they pass into law. The Senate reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint and the Governor General provides the necessary Royal Assent to make bills into law.

POWERS OF A MAJORITY GOVERNMENT: The Canadian Prime Minister in a majority government has powers that a US president could only dream of because she/he has complete control over the executive and the House of Commons for four years (we don’t have mid-term elections in Canada) and they are rarely opposed by the senate or the Governor General.