Member Profile: Ontario Clean Air Alliance
What issue is your organization looking to address? How are you working to address it?
Our goal is to move Ontario to a 100% renewable electricity system. We’re building support to phase out Ontario’s 18 working nuclear reactors when they come to the end of their lives, and phase out our gas-fired electricity by 2030. We understand that the way to accomplish this is by replacing our high-cost, high-risk nuclear and gas plants with energy conservation, made-in-Ontario wind and solar, and water power (hydroelectric) from Quebec.
We work to bring this vision to reality by developing rational policy, educating and mobilizing the public to reach out to their policians, and passing municipal resolutions.
What are some of your organization’s strengths?
For a small organization, we’re very ambitious in our goals. Being small has some limitations, but it also means that we’re super flexible and not beholden to directives from funders.
What is your organization most proud of?
The Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA) successfully led the campaign to phase out the use of dirty coal power in Ontario. And this past year we led provincial efforts to oppose a new Enbridge pipeline planned through Hamilton to import fracked gas from Pennsylvania. At least for now, Enbridge has pulled their application. And we got unanimous support from Pickering City Council to call for OPG to immediately decommission the 8-reactor nuclear station on their waterfront after shutdown.
What are you looking forward to in the next year? What are some of your goals in the next year?
We’re building momentum for the gas plant phase out by 2030. To date, 63 groups, 21 municipalities including Toronto, the Ontario NDP and Green Party of Ontario have all signed on. Please sign on your group and/or sign the petition.
We’re pushing the government to expand the transmission line near Ottawa to import more low cost renewable water power and storage from Quebec.
We’re building support in the Pickering region to oppose OPG’s planned extension of the Pickering Nuclear Station beyond 2024, and instead plan for immediate decommissioning of the station once closed.
We are building a campaign to oppose OPG’s plan to build an SMR (small nuclear reactor) in the GTA (at Darlington). We are targeting provincial politicians as well as federal.
What support do you need to help you reach your goals?
We need volunteers distributing our leaflets door-to-door in mailboxes, and sharing our petitions: OntarioClimateAction.ca and ReclaimOurWaterfront.ca and NoNewNuclear.ca We’d love help ramping up our social media presence. We also need more funding and donations.
What have been some of your most valuable lessons learned as an organization?
Think big! We can win big. Strategic organizing and persistence pays off. And don’t kill yourself for the cause – find the joy. If you’re not having fun, it’s not sustainable.
Where can I learn more?
FB: https://www.facebook.com/CleanAirAlliance
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoNukeBailouts and https://twitter.com/oncleanair
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/ontariocleanair/
Sign up for our bulletins here or drop me a line at Angela@cleanairalliance.org