2024 Advocacy Campaigns In Review

In 2023, a committee of Hub volunteers and Board members convened to create goals for several advocacy campaigns that would serve to focus our organizing efforts, volunteer participation and climate action activities for the coming year. In this post, we will review those campaigns ahead of the announcement of our 2024/2025 campaigns, coming soon.

First, I’d like to take a moment to thank all the volunteers who took part in this campaign process. Whether you attended a zoom workshop, our in-person Engaging Albertans and Advocacy Campaigns training workshop, or even helped run one of the events, you can be proud of your contribution to community organizing and climate action over the past year. None of this is possible without you!

Kananaskis Logging Slowdown Campaign

This campaign launched into action quickly thanks to the dedicated efforts of several organizers who were passionate about halting clearcut logging in the Highwood area of Kananaskis. Through partnerships with Take A Stand for Kananaskis (TASK), The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and The Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) our organizers brought media attention to the situation, which doubtless contributed to the temporary moratorium on logging in the area announced in Feb 2024.

Photo by Howard May, Cochrane Eagle

The team organized several rallies, including a snowbound protest on a bridge built by the logging company in the Highwood. In addition, they submitted letters to the City and Town Councils surrounding the highwood area, asking that the councils sign on to support our call to request a moratorium on clearcut logging activities, which several did.

With an insightful social media presence, which was primarily hosted through their Instagram account, the team brought the public into the Highwood area for first hand experience of the area at risk and the preparations for logging. This year’s work culminated in launching an online petition and letter-writing resource, Save our Slopes which will be a launching off point for further activities in the coming year and supported the launch of a new organization, The Land Lovers Bioregional Regeneration Network. Join their mailing list here.

Housing Affordability & Climate Campaign

April 2024 saw the largest public hearing in the City’s history, with a marathon 2-week session on the topic of Zoning Reform. Our Housing Affordability & Climate campaign undertook the massive task of mobilizing Calgarians to advocate that Council vote in favour of zoning reform for a variety of climate reasons - to reduce urban sprawl, increase density on the existing city footprint, and ultimately contribute to building more climate friendly communities over time.

Our popular Speak at City Hall training session gathered over 70 participants who were keen to be trained on how to ensure their voices were heard. Those participants joined the marathon public hearing in person, by phone, and through written submissions in favour of zoning reform.

Hub member Steve Bentley's presentation to City Council on Zoning Reform, April 2024

Ultimately, zoning reform was passed despite considerable opposition, in a substantial win for our organizing efforts and forward-thinking, climate-smart policies for our city.

Rally in support of Zoning Reform, April 2024. Photo by Willem Klumpenhouwer. Licensed CC-BY (cropped)

Active Transportation Network Advocacy Campaign

Active transportation is an important tool in reducing GHG emissions coming from personal transportation, and this campaign took on the challenge of advocating for greater investment in Calgary’s 5A Network. By offering training on how to speak at City Hall, we mobilized a group of dedicated active transportation enthusiasts to speak at the public hearing on the 2023 Service Plans and Budgets adjustment.

In addition to advocating for increased investment in active transport infrastructure, the Hub continued our annual Hub & Spokes Group Ride event, and even increased our offerings to include an All-Electric Group Ride for the first time. In partnership with the City of Calgary, Bow Cycle eBikes, Gasonic, Bird eScooters and Bullfrog Power, this event gave Calgarians a chance to test-ride ebikes and escooters, and to help grow their confidence and skills in riding on our existing cycling infrastructure.

Clean Electricity Regulations Campaign

In a first for the Hub, this campaign took part in a series of Campaign Organizer Training Workshops, where the group worked through a range of activities designed to identify campaign goals, targets, strategies and tactics. Through collaborative brainstorming, discussion and voting, our campaign was focussed on activities to increase public awareness on the benefits of renewable energy, the hidden costs of fossil fuels, and the unique situation that the deregulated energy market creates for Alberta.

The team has been working together for several months now, attending Action Meetings to work on an Renewable Energy informational flyer for public distribution in the near future.

Municipal Indoor Temperature Regulations Campaign

Did you know? The City of Calgary has municipal bylaws ensuring the provision of adequate winter heating for rental properties, but no such bylaw exists to ensure adequate summer cooling?

That simple bylaw change was the goal of this campaign, and in its largest action, several Hub staff and volunteers joined up with ACORN Alberta to rally in support of renters’ rights to safe, cool living environments in Calgary. This crucial bylaw change would begin to ensure safe living environments for all Calgarians, but primarily for renters, who may not have the ability to add air conditioning to their rental properties. Maximum indoor temperature regulations would contribute greatly to personal safety, health and comfort of Calgarians in record-breaking summer heat waves, and would go some way to helping avoid unnecessary deaths like occurred in the 2021 BC Heat Dome event.

That concludes our summary of our 2024 Advocacy Campaigns. We cannot express how proud we are of all of the work done by our volunteers on these crucial issues. Thank you to all of our volunteers who organized, showed up, hosted and helped out to make these advocacy campaigns a reality.

We look forward to 2025 and our ongoing campaign-based climate work. Pay attention on October 9th for the official launch of our 2025 Advocacy Campaign Goals, and be sure to sign up, get involved, and take collective action on climate issues.

Written by Daniel Smithies