Youth Development
What will the consequences be of pushing climate change to the back during this pandemic?
BY PAUL JUNOR
The global coronavirus pandemic continues to unleash its venom with an intensity and magnitude that is unravelled and unprecedented.
In the midst of this crisis, the climate change crisis has not subsided. The realities of hurricanes, floods, droughts, famines, more frequent and intense heat waves, widespread crop failures and rising sea levels are real.
According to the United Nations, “Climate change is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Without drastic action today, adapting to the impact in the future will be more difficult and costly.”
The mental, emotional, financial, psychological and spiritual effects of this global pandemic will certainly take focus off of the climate crisis.
Many activists who are involved in climate activism are concerned that as countries, and states focus on the COVID-19 crisis, climate change will be pushed into the background. As climate justice has grown in environmental work, it has brought much to the public domain. It “Highlights one of the biggest challenges of our time. Climate change while building on the historically evolved concepts of social and environmental justice as concepts of social equity” (July 6th, 2018 Green Transition document). The connection between climate change and social justice is an integral one. Social justice is about, “Fair treatment and involvement of all people and communities in the development, implementation and enforcement of laws, regulations and policies,” according to Green Transition.
The fact that wealthy countries have been expected to take on more direct responsibility for dealing with the climate change crisis is now problematic in the midst of this pandemic. As these countries seek to recover, there will be less incentive to pursue social equity, and help poorer countries deal with the barriers and obstacles to removing structural inequities.
The website Climate Reality Project (run by Climate Reality, a non-profit organization that is involved in climate justice) “Economically, politically and socially vulnerable communities feel climate impacts first and hardest. They have fewer resources to protect themselves against floods and droughts. Climate change can exacerbate the effects of poverty widening the chasm between rich and poor.”
There are two levels in which climate justice operates: at the international level which focuses on the responsibility for treating the burden and the responsibility of ensuring that the climate crisis is lessened, and the community level which focuses on helping lower socio-economic groups. This second level, “Deals less with climate change mitigation and instead focuses on gaining political power and representation in the adaptable process, as well as gaining access to resources to address the effects of climate change.”
There are three types of justice that are involved with respect to climate justice.
Procedural justice involves participation, inclusiveness, and empowerment in decision-making.
Declarative justice involves the spatial and statistical distributions of costs, benefits and risks.
Justice as recognition involving the underlying determinants of procedural and distributional justice (Green Transition).
As the global coronavirus outbreak increases, many climate activists are concerned. The Global Climate Strike, which was scheduled for April 3rd, 2020, had to be done virtually. According to www.wri.org, “Out of the many tragedies of this pandemic, it is how it deepens inequality across society, hitting poorer families and front-line communities hardest.”
How the reality of the global virus outbreak and climate crisis overlaps and interacts is difficult to visualize. It requires creative strategies and tools, which are community driven.
References:
The Climate Reality Project
https://www.climaterealityproject.org/
World Resource Institute
https://www.wri.org/
Youth Development
Understanding the multiple layers involved in navigating education spaces Parents of Black Children launch Navigating the Education System
BY PAUL JUNOR
The work of the advocacy group Parents of Black Children (PoBC) has made a significant and revolutionary difference by bringing issues to the forefront that help Black families at all levels.
For over two years now, it has organized events, workshops and initiatives that have provided important information to the Black community to bring empowerment, knowledge and deep understanding of the multiple layers of the complex dynamics involved in navigating education spaces.
There are five core principles that underlie PoBC understanding of racism:
- Racialization
- Racism is about power
- Critical racial theory
- Our stories matter
- Racism is founded on White supremacy
On Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021, they launched the document “Navigating the Education System,” which was a very empowering, enriching and inspiring tool for diverse Black families. Kearie Daniels, one of the cofounders of PoBC and author of the document, moderated the launch. Furthermore, Claudette Rutherford, one of the cofounders of PoBC and author gave an extensive presentation of the details of the document, sharing useful insights, practical knowledge and interesting information.
PoBC shared a pdf document subsequent to the launch, which provided additional details in a fifty-three-page package. It contained relevant, contextual and vital resources. PoBC’s Advocacy Team supported the document, which includes Charline Grant and Xavier McLaughin.
In the introduction to the document the mission of PoBC is to “Provide support to parents of Black children across Canada and the United States. We advocate and work towards change and concrete action in our education system and adjacent systems such child welfare and the justice system.”
The launch of this vital document is a culmination of all the advocacy and activist work that PoBC has been extensively involved in. It serves to remind members of the Black community that there are resources, tools and supports available to ensure that Black children are able to thrive academically, excel mentally and flourish intellectually in spaces that may not be welcoming to their presence.
The document states that the navigate guide is “Geared towards families in Ontario, but the information can be applied to any jurisdiction where there are Black children and families.”
The document “Table of Contents” is useful and helpful. There is vital information on:
- School board terms you need to know
- Education organization you need to know in Ontario
- Black families and the Child Welfare System
- Black families and the education system
- Black students and Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
- Black students in High School.
- Developmental delays in learning exceptionalities
- Supporting students with learning exceptionalities
- Selecting a school system
- System abuse
PoBC presented a webinar on “System Abuse”. The document states,
“The system is not neutral. These systems were designed as part of a colonial framework that must be dismantled.” Furthermore, the document “Serves as a means to demystify the pitfalls within the education system and light a path towards a decolonized education system.”
BY PAUL JUNOR
There have been concerns, fears and anxieties as parents, caregivers and guardians anticipate the possibility of having their children under twelve vaccinated.
The Boston Globe reported on Friday, October 29th, 2021, that the FDA approved the administration of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children between the ages of five to eleven. These children will receive one-third of the dose administered to teens and adults.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention met on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021, in order to finalize details with respect to which children should be vaccinated first. In anticipation of these developments, Team Toronto has initiated a series of outreach and education sessions, as well as town halls in order to inform the Toronto community.
Parents of children between the ages of five to eleven who attend public schools will be receiving an email and an invitation to respond to a survey to “Support vaccine planning.” This invitation will also be extended to parents whose children attend private independent schools as well. The survey will be administered by Toronto Public Health (TPH) and the City of Toronto VaxTO in order to “Better understand parents’ intent to vaccinate their children, how they would prefer to have their children receive their COVID-19 vaccine, and to obtain critical information on socio-demographic factors such as race and income.”
John Tory, Mayor of Toronto, is optimistic and positive about this development. He states in the press release, “While our work to get 90% of eligible residents vaccinated is continuing, we are also readying for when the vaccine will be available to protect kids five to eleven. We want to hear from parents, so we made sure we designed a vaccination program that works for kids and their families. This is just one more example of the outreach we are doing to prepare for this effort. This work is so important and will help us get kids vaccinated so they have the best protection against COVID-19 and so our schools can be as safe and as open as possible.”
Councillor Joe Cressy, Chair of Toronto’s Board of Health who has been at the forefront of advocating for the vaccination of margnizalied and at-risk communities is supportive of this campaign. He states, “At every stage of our immunization campaign, connecting with people on the ground has been critical to our success. Now, as we prepare for the rollout of vaccines to children aged five to eleven, we’re committed to engaging directly with parents, families, and community leaders to have active conversations about vaccinations for kids.”
In addition, Dr Eileen De Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health is a strong proponent of this campaign. She states,” When vaccines are approved for use and when we have supply we will ensure that we bring every resource to bear on this critical component of the vaccination campaign.”
The survey will be available as of Sunday, November 7th, 2021. It consists of fifteen questions that will be available online at s.tphsurvey.chkmkt.com in multiple languages. Parents and guardians will receive them from their children’s public school boards. In addition, there will be town halls for specified multilingual communities as well as neighbourhood-based telephone halls to ensure that the public has access to timely, necessary and relevant information for informed decision-making.
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