A Municipal Movement is taking shape in Montreal that will see global issues brought to your doorstep. The idea is to have fun and bring about change with family and friends.
The proposal: Social movements are best initiated from the grassroots. So let’s take issues to the town hall instead of parliament. At least you get to talk to those elected officials to their face.
The war in Afghanistan - take to the suburban streets in protest so that local media start to cover the issue. The Canada-Columbia FTA - hold an information session at town hall or in the park to tell parents what the Canadian government is doing. The disconnect between Canadians and their politicians is only widening. Municipal movements can help close that gap and remind Canadians of larger issues that don’t directly affect their communities. While raising issues of serious import, the group would also be fun. Barbeques, sporting events and wild fundraising parties would all be part and parcel of bringing about the change Montrealers so desperately desire.
The purpose: The problem with current social movements is they are concentrated political masses. The idea is to counter power with numbers. But instead of concentrating a protest downtown or on parliament hill, break activists into groups in their immediate region. Instead of being covered by one daily newspaper, events would be covered by all of the surrounding weekly newspapers along with the daily paper.
Suddenly a local newspaper wouldn’t just be covering council meetings, it would be covering issues of global significance. Municipalities could be prompted into taking actions that their citizens believe in.
I hope to start this project in one municipally in Montreal in the summer of 2009, and slowly expand it to see how far it will go.
The next step is building membership and raising funds. Donate your thoughts and dollars, and join this movement! Translators, website developers, organizers and people interested in the proposal are encouraged to contact Matthew Brett to get this project moving.
Please share this post! To make a donation, lend a hand or offer advice contact Matthew Brett at: Email: matthewjamesbrett@hotmail.com
Matthew Brett is the Canadian Dimension weblog editor and a Montreal-based journalist at a weekly newspaper. Read other posts by Canadian Dimension.
