Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein
During a press conference today, author and filmmaker Naomi Klein released The Leap Manifesto: A Call for a Canada Based on Caring for the Earth and One Another. "This is a document that was written collectively," Klein said. Accompanying her were a bevy of celebrities and environmentalists, including actor Tantoo Cardinal and David Suzuki.
The manifesto, which has been translated into eight languages, begins: “We start from the premise that Canada is facing the deepest crisis in recent memory. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has acknowledged shocking details about the violence of Canada’s near past. Deepening poverty and inequality are a scar on the country’s present. And Canada’s record on climate change is a crime against humanity’s future."
The manifesto calls for the Canadian government to honor native rights and focus on moving towards using environmentally-friendly energy, as well as universal child-care and a universal basic annual income for all Canadians.
Klein's bestselling book has been made into a documentary of the same name: This Changes Everything, directed by her husband Avi Lewis, which is screening at TIFF this year. ~Alexandra Heilbron