Building a Movement for a Just Recovery

Born out of the COVID crisis, A Just Recovery for All is a framework grounded in six principles, a movement for which hundreds of organizations across Canada have been signatories:

1. Put people’s health and wellbeing first. No exceptions.

2. Strengthen the social safety net and provide relief directly to people.

3. Prioritize the needs of workers and communities.

4. Build resilience to prevent future crises.

5. Build solidarity and equity across communities, generations, and borders.

6. Uphold Indigenous Rights and work in partnership with Indigenous peoples.

The premise of this framework is that there must be a new normal, one which takes action on climate and inequality. Building a movement for a Just Recovery for all puts people first and creates transformative change to build a more resilient and equitable society. The webinar dug into examples of how these principles are being applied in practice.

The Chew on This! Dignity for All campaign for a poverty free Canada advocates for upholding and protecting the rights of people experiencing poverty and other intersecting forms of systemic oppression. It also marks The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty which takes place every year in October. The 2020 theme recognizes that we must act together to achieve social and environmental justice for all, and that it is not possible to have one without the other. Many of our Cities Reducing Poverty members have chosen to mark this day, partake in Chew on This! activities on October 17^th and even declared October as Poverty Awareness Month by holding a series of public engagement events.

Another campaign, The People's Bailout, is a call for action rooted in justice and with both short and long term recovery efforts. It emphasizes the crisis response must move from emergency to transformation for people and the planet. This campaign is driven by The Leap which is about addressing climate change by building a more just world.

Advocacy efforts through such campaigns can draw in awareness and collaboration across sectors, and the understanding of interconnections across issues, be grounded in reality, disrupt power imbalances, and build momentum and will for change.

Take Your Learning Further:

• Watch the webinar A Just Recovery For All
• Learn more about:
  • The Just Recovery Framework
  • ChewOnThis Campaign
  • The Leap - People's Bailout
• Check out The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power 
• Watch The Leap's video Message from the Future II
• A Feminist Recovery Plan for Canada