Snow removal, waste, sewers, the “welcome” tax. For many of us – of whom I imagine hundreds of thousands of voters who shunned the ballot box last Sunday – the municipal arena comes down to a series of uninspiring tasks. Vote or not, what can it do?
However, this year, despite high absenteeism, we felt the wind picking up: more diversity, more young people and many more women are now part of the municipal landscape. A sign of a huge leap forward, 5 of Quebec’s 10 largest cities will be led by women. Although neither gender, age, nor skin color is a guarantee of a profound change in itself, these elections were still able to warm hearts and kindle spirits. We like to see things moving, especially at a time when, elsewhere in the world, the politician is looking at a major issue – the future of the planet -, but without our having the impression, this times, that it moves a lot. Despite the importance of the Glasgow summit, nothing tells us that a solution is in sight.
There are several reasons behind this stagnation. The absence, first of all, of two of the biggest polluters on the planet, China and Russia, the lack of binding commitments and consensus on the measures to be taken, not to mention what the Sunday revealed on Sunday. Washington post : The data on greenhouse gas emissions submitted to the UN by several countries are in fact incorrect. Globally, between 8.5 and 13.3 billion tonnes of CO have been underestimated2, enough to force us to take even more restrictive measures.
“The plan we are using to find a solution to climate change is data driven. However, these data are inaccurate, ”summarizes the survey by Washington post.
Hello depression. No matter how much we want to give the runners a chance, to be more optimistic than the young environmentalist Greta Thunberg and her “blah-blah-blah”, the future is darkening day by day. However, the more the adults of this world are unable to find solutions, the more the children find their place at the table. It has been said for a long time: democracy is weakened today because of outdated political institutions. The concept of the nation-state, with its citizenship, its borders, its territorial legislation, is ill-suited to the problems of the XXIe century – pandemic, terrorism, migratory waves, environment – which, for their part, know no borders. Our way of thinking and organizing dates back to 400 years ago, but our problems are decidedly more modern.
In an increasingly urban world – 78% of the inhabitants of industrialized countries and 50% of the world population today live in cities – we must return, say several political scientists, to the very cradle of democracy: the city. Where not only do people have “proximity” with their rulers, but where we are continually “in solution mode”. Compare, moreover, the speed with which the mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante, got back to work with the extreme slowness with which the Trudeau government resumes parliamentary work. Quite a contrast. Cities demand less blah-blah, that’s clear, and a lot more action. “Spare me your sermons and I will fix your sewers,” famous Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek once said in front of citizens of various faiths demanding more access to holy places.
According to political theorist Benjamin Barber (If Mayors Ruled the World), the city is the place where humanity will lead the fight for its survival. 80% of carbon emissions come from urban centers. The city is therefore an ideal place to tackle the climate challenge, the number of women and young people elected last Sunday is there to remind us.
Despite a far too high abstention rate linked to the ballot, it is true, the newly elected officials have a golden opportunity: they can finally give new meaning to municipal politics. They can build networks, create alliances, here as elsewhere in the world. They can choose action towards the environment rather than sticking to vague promises and beautiful feelings. They can keep us up to date, for example, on everything that is going on in green energy – the kind of information that is sorely lacking, in my opinion – by offering us the best avenues. They can take innovative, courageous actions and, in doing so, give us a little more hope for the future.
As such, I have one wish for the (courageous) mayoress of Montreal: that she hold, as soon as possible, a referendum on the REM. If there is one example of a project focused not only on an outdated urban development proposal, but on “old politics”, focused on behind closed doors rather than citizen participation, it is the Network. metropolitan express. There is still time to inform Montrealers well about this pharaonic project and to finally know what they think about it. It is not too late to demonstrate what “doing politics differently” really means.
On Twitter: @ fpelletier1