Our Guiding Principles

We are building a movement led by young people that…

• Confronts climate change and builds a more just and equitable world in the process.

  We are organizing to combat the worst effects of climate change by making a Green New Deal for Canada politically possible. We unite to make transformational climate action an urgent priority in the 2019 election, to end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, to uphold Indigenous rights, and to elect leaders who stand up for the dignity and well-being of all people.

   

• Lifts up the resistance of Indigenous peoples and their voices in our movement.

  We acknowledge that colonialism is an ongoing, violent, and oppressive process, and that the settler-colonial government of Canada has not lived up to their obligations to Indigenous peoples. With this, we strive to come into a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples by respecting Indigenous leadership and fighting for Indigenous sovereignty. Especially in struggles for climate justice, we recognize that a victory is not a victory unless it is consented to by Indigenous peoples who are at the forefront of this movement both locally and globally.

   

• Listens to our communities and those on the frontlines.

  We grow our power through talking and listening to our networks and communities. We engage with our neighbors, families,  faith communities, unions, classmates, teachers, and friends in order to spread our movement. Our strength and work is rooted in both our national networks and our local communities.  We are committed to getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. We listen to and build connections with those beyond our everyday networks, especially those on the frontlines, to build power and deepen our movement.

   

• Stands with other movements for change.

  Limiting climate change and its impacts requires winning and holding power at every level of government. This is a huge job and we can’t do it alone. We see our movement as inseparable from movements for racial, migrant, social, and economic justice.  We work with these movements to grow our collective power and build the world we need.

   

• Embraces difference, seeing it as our greatest strength.
  

  We come to this movement  from all walks of life. We are of many genders, races, and backgrounds. We have many stories and live in many places— from the Prairies, to the mountains, to the coasts. We find strength in our differences and are united in a shared struggle for a society that works for all of us.

   

• Is non-violent in action and word.

  We uphold nonviolence to restore community and resist systems of injustice. Remaining nonviolent allows us to win the hearts of the public and welcomes the most people to participate. We need mass participation in order to achieve our goals.

   

• Honours everyone.

  We tell our stories and we honour each other’s stories. We all have something to lose to climate change, and something to gain in coming together. We tell our individual stories to connect with each other and understand the many different ways this crisis impacts us.

   

• Values everyone’s contributions.

  We each have something to offer this movement. We share our skills, networks and resources. We take the time to reflect on exactly how we can best contribute and ask for help when we need it. Some of us give organizational or institutional support. Some of us give money. Some of us donate housing or meeting space. We grow this movement by valuing everyone’s contributions.

   

• Takes initiative.

  Anyone is welcome to organize with Our Time if they follow these principles. We ask for advice — not permission — from each other to make this happen. We prioritize skill-building and the training of new and young organizers, recognizing we are in this fight for the long-term. To make decisions, we ask ourselves, “does this bring us closer to our goal?” We consult and check in, with a focus on doing the work that is exciting and makes sense for our strategy.

   

• Is creative, experimental and solutions-oriented.

  We embrace experimentation and we learn together. We welcome imperfection, share innovations, and learn through honest mistakes followed by honest conversations that help us move forward together. If we see something we don’t like, we contribute with something we do, modeling an alternative.

   

• Centers care– of ourselves, one another, our communities, and our shared home.

  We know that this work is hard so we make space for ourselves and one another to step forward or back as needed. But we also acknowledge that doing this work requires community care. We are intentional about creating community spaces that promote our social, spiritual, mental and physical health.

   

• Is clear-eyed in its goals and how to get there.

  We are not looking to the right or left. We look forward. We are not affiliated with any party but seek Green New Deal champions from all parties (and beyond!) who have the courage to stand up to the political and corporate élites holding our futures hostage.

   

• Is irresistible.

  Tearing down our broken system to build a new world isn’t easy work. But we give ourselves permission to feel the joy that can come from organizing together. We laugh, play, sing and dance to make this movement one that is irresistible