A number of Canadian musicians, from Arcade Fire to Feist to Leonard Cohen, are rallying behind author/activist Naomi Klein and her newly delivered Leap Manifesto, which has goals towards creating "a Canada based on caring for the Earth and one another."
The manifesto was unveiled today (September 15). In it, Klein lays out a number of environmental, financial and social initiatives she hopes will guide Canada towards a better tomorrow.
It begins:
We start from the premise that Canada is facing the deepest crisis in recent memory. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has acknowledged shocking details about the violence of Canada's near past. Deepening poverty and inequality are a scar on the country's present. And Canada's record on climate change is a crime against humanity's future. These facts are all the more jarring because they depart so dramatically from our stated values: respect for Indigenous rights, internationalism, human rights, diversity, and environmental stewardship.
A major aim of the manifesto is to fight for Aboriginal rights. As explained, one of the Leap Manifesto's goals is to respect "the inherent rights and title of the original caretakers of this land." This would include, among other things, more treaties, addressing energy and pollution concerns in Indigenous communities and "fully implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."
Under the plan, Canada would use "a far more localized and ecologically-based agricultural system" less reliant on fossil fuels, and enforce limits on corporations looking to exploit natural resources with pipeline construction. It also proposes more taxes on those same corporations.
The full manifesto — which also touches on light rail, the concept of "energy democracy," infrastructure issues, fair trade, developing education and the arts, and more — can be seen here.
So far, famous Canadian musicians on board with Klein's Leap Manifesto include Arcade Fire, Alanis Morissette, Neil Young, the Tragically Hip's Gord Downie, Leonard Cohen, Leslie Feist, Tegan and Sara, Sarah Harmer, Bruce Cockburn and more. Other notable signees include director Sarah Polley; authors Yann Martel and Michael Ondaatje, actor Rachel McAdams; and environmental figure David Suzuki, among others.
You'll find the list of initial signees over here.
The manifesto was unveiled today (September 15). In it, Klein lays out a number of environmental, financial and social initiatives she hopes will guide Canada towards a better tomorrow.
It begins:
We start from the premise that Canada is facing the deepest crisis in recent memory. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has acknowledged shocking details about the violence of Canada's near past. Deepening poverty and inequality are a scar on the country's present. And Canada's record on climate change is a crime against humanity's future. These facts are all the more jarring because they depart so dramatically from our stated values: respect for Indigenous rights, internationalism, human rights, diversity, and environmental stewardship.
A major aim of the manifesto is to fight for Aboriginal rights. As explained, one of the Leap Manifesto's goals is to respect "the inherent rights and title of the original caretakers of this land." This would include, among other things, more treaties, addressing energy and pollution concerns in Indigenous communities and "fully implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."
Under the plan, Canada would use "a far more localized and ecologically-based agricultural system" less reliant on fossil fuels, and enforce limits on corporations looking to exploit natural resources with pipeline construction. It also proposes more taxes on those same corporations.
The full manifesto — which also touches on light rail, the concept of "energy democracy," infrastructure issues, fair trade, developing education and the arts, and more — can be seen here.
So far, famous Canadian musicians on board with Klein's Leap Manifesto include Arcade Fire, Alanis Morissette, Neil Young, the Tragically Hip's Gord Downie, Leonard Cohen, Leslie Feist, Tegan and Sara, Sarah Harmer, Bruce Cockburn and more. Other notable signees include director Sarah Polley; authors Yann Martel and Michael Ondaatje, actor Rachel McAdams; and environmental figure David Suzuki, among others.
You'll find the list of initial signees over here.
