Fossil Fuel Treaty endorsement in Mississauga is a win for the city – and the country

By Lana Goldberg, Stand.earth Climate Campaigner

Canada’s seventh largest city, Mississauga, recently endorsed the Fossil Fuel Treaty, joining almost 20 cities across Canada including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Ottawa in supporting the global initiative to transition away from fossil fuels.

And the vote was unanimous! The decision commits Mississauga to do what it can locally while putting pressure on higher levels of government to take bigger, bolder climate action.

A community-driven victory

On the day of the May 13 meeting at City Hall, half a dozen people — mostly residents — made presentations in support of endorsing the Fossil Fuel Treaty.

Local youth activists talked about the flooding impacts on their neighbourhoods, their desire for good green jobs in the city, and the real experiences of their immigrant families who faced climate chaos in their home countries.

When the vote was taken, every single council member voted in support! The mayor even said this was a “no-brainer” — and we couldn’t agree more.

A supporter with star power takes on role of Treaty advocate

Donna Grantis, a Mississauga-born-and-raised electric guitarist with a star on the Mississauga Music Walk of Fame, set this motion in motion.

She says it all started when she heard an interview with the Fossil Fuel Treaty Founder and Stand Co-founder Tzeporah Berman.

Grantis explains: “I was inspired to compose a song highlighting Tzeporah Berman’s words after hearing an interview in which she spoke about the continued extraction of fossil fuels, the resulting impacts on people and the planet, and how change happens.”

Grantis proceeded to write the song titled “A Drop In The Bucket” featuring the voice of Berman from her TED Talk, and performed and recorded it live at the first Canadian Music Climate Summit presented by Music Declares Emergency.

Grantis continues: “After performing the song live and releasing it in partnership with EarthPercent, I was eager to be a part of the movement on a municipal level.”

She got in touch with her council member, presented to the City’s Environmental Action committee, and got the motion on the agenda at a full council meeting.

Our team at Stand then supported Donna by reaching out to local groups, inviting our community to send supportive emails to the council, joining her to meet with council members, and making a presentation at City Hall on the day of.

Local support ladders up to larger action

While the endorsement may seem like a symbolic commitment, it’s actually an influential signal to higher levels of government.

Mississauga is doing a lot of what it can do within its local powers. But many decisions lie with the provincial and federal governments. And unfortunately, both of those governing bodies are moving in the wrong direction. This makes it hard for municipalities like Mississauga to not only make progress toward their emission-reduction goals, but also to continue meeting even the basic needs of their residents amid escalating climate impacts locally.

Municipalities are on the frontline of the climate crisis. Local communities are the ones experiencing and addressing firsthand the impacts of extreme weather events like heatwaves, flooding, and wildfire smoke — all of which require resources to mitigate and manage.

However, it’s the federal and provincial governments that have the power and financing to meaningfully drive the transition toward a clean-energy economy — which would help alleviate climate impacts on communities and augment local climate efforts.

When municipalities endorse the Fossil Fuel Treaty, it’s a local commitment to be as green as possible but it’s also a ringing of the alarm bell, demanding that higher levels of governments put out the fire.

It will be nation-states that work on the international agreement to phase out fossil fuels. But the pressure for them to participate comes from the bottom up.

So, the “yes” vote was a big achievement for Mississauga and beyond!

You can start by asking local leaders to endorse the Fossil Fuel Treaty by signing this petition.

We are eager for a wave of these motions to erupt and force higher levels of government to finally act on climate and protect our communities.