Real change for whom?

Real change for whom?

A young, working-class immigrant’s Open Letter to Canada’s new Prime Minister

Canadian garbage, mining injustice, family reunification, immigration roadblocks, PH human rights abuses propped up by Canadian military training, are some issues awaiting Trudeau to address.

TRUDEAU

Dear Mr. Justin Trudeau,

I am astonished that you are so quick to move forward with an ambitious agenda with your incoming government.

As I write to you on the eve of your swearing-in, two years have passed since super typhoon Haiyan tore through central Philippines. We commemorate how peoples’ lives were disrupted by this natural disaster that has arguably man-made aspects.

Deeply concerned with the humanitarian crisis that besets our country, it compels me to do more than passive reminiscing. But in case there is more dedicated forgetting, I want to share a few thoughts with you to raise some points.

We’ve spoken loudly but to no avail, our voices have not been heeded. The main link between our two countries rests on the 600,000 or so Filipinos who’ve tried to keep their families together by leaving their homes. We ask you that you fulfill your promises to undo the harm done by the roadblocks the Harper Conservatives have added to the immigration system.

As you have reminded us “governments offer permits but only communities grant permissions.” We cannot easily receive “sunny ways” for this country, unless 2,500 tonnes of garbage are resolved to be repatriated. Let’s start the process of clean-up so urgently needed as two years is too long for toxic relationship.

If Ottawa is set to have a new tone, mining injustice ought to be stopped as Canada’s foreign policy. As an alternative to the current system driven by profit and accumulation, we can move forward with science-based solutions of reduction of resource consumption within a broader sustainable agenda for the people and planet.

Climate change is not only an environmental issue. It all starts with justice by producing a clear plan on how to achieve the globally agreed-upon ceiling for warming of two degrees Celsius.

Your place in Rideau Hall is one of the places where subtle pressures could be brought to bear. There is an opportunity to shine a light on the bleak culture of impunity caused by corporate extractive mining and constant supply of military equipment. Human rights is yet to be brought about concomitantly with Canadian forces implicated in gross abuses, formalized under a military co-operation program to train Filipino soldiers.

When you come to Manila for the 2015 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit, expect that it will be a November to remember. Peoples’ movements will welcome you steadfastly and with a collective effort for solidarity to demand accountability.

Finally, real substantial change is possible only when we redefine who is the change for. Our immediate responses should benefit the poor foremost.

Sincerely,

Ysh Cabana, Toronto
November 4, 2015