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Fears about runaway climate change, the cost-of-living crisis, and the future of democratic institutions were top-of-mind for several dozen activists who gathered for a town hall–style meeting at Moncton’s Aberdeen Cultural Centre on Monday.
The event, organized by Sierra Club Canada and dubbed “The Many Vs The Money,” was billed as a response to “billionaires and corporate actors who value profit over collective community wellbeing.”
Michel Nogue, a retired Radio-Canada journalist, moderated a bilingual panel discussion that featured conservationist Moe Qureshi, anti-poverty activist Robert MacKay, and retired legal scholar Michèle Caron.
Watch the full panel from the “The Many Vs The Money” event in Moncton:
The panel was followed by small group discussions and a “barnstorm,” an activity that involves recruiting people as organizers or just as people who want to stay informed about grassroots social movements and campaigns.
Examples included opposition to NB Power’s planned gas-fired power plant north of Moncton, the protection of wetlands in Lorneville near Saint John, and NB ACORN’s campaigns on issues such as affordable housing.
Sierra Club organizer Angela Giles said the barnstorm idea was drawn from campaigning by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who came close to winning the Democratic Party nomination in 2019 on the strength of a national grassroots movement.
She led a similar town hall event in Halifax with the Council of Canadians earlier this year, and another one took place Tuesday in Antigonish, N.S.
At the Moncton event, one participant said that small volunteer-based groups need help promoting their causes as they compete with high-paid corporate lobbyists who sometimes meet with government officials several times a month.
“We usually don’t have the skills that a company representative or lobbyists will have,” said Alonzo Léger, who is involved with the group Citizens for Peace.
“We have found it very difficult to access the media and present our case,” he said, noting that the provincial government at one time offered training for volunteers, coaching them on how to promote their goals.
He noted that a major challenge faced by activists is expanding their numbers beyond the “usual suspects” who tend to show up. Indeed, attendees at Monday evening’s public meeting were mostly familiar faces often present at demonstrations for left-wing political causes.
Chenille Callender, who works for Sierra Club Canada, said the goal was to bring together people who are upset about multiple overlapping crises such as climate change and poverty. “The goal is to really get perspective on how we can do more together,” she said.
“For me, it’s great to know that you’re not alone in feeling this way,” she said. “It’s good to network with not only your peers but the generation before you just to share that knowledge but also to learn.”
The event was co-sponsored by Sierra Club Canada, the NB Federation of Labour, the NB Anti-Shale Gas Alliance, ACORN, the Council of Canadians–Kent County Chapter, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment–NB, the Canadian Labour Congress, the NB Environmental Network, the NB Common Front for Social Justice, and the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
David Gordon Koch is a staff reporter with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).
