"We've hitched our future to the wild wagon of the boom and bust economy, punching holes in our social safety net all along the way. We need to make different choices about what we build, what we support and who our economy is meant to serve."

This is how change happens - regular people, across generations, stubbornly standing together to push for a better world. It was an honour to speak at your launch and be in such good company💚Safe travels, my friends. You can learn more about the Seniors Climate Caravan here: seniorsclimatewitness.ca

Want to join or form a union? Learn how here: bcfed.ca/join-union. Want to understand your rights at your workplace? Learn about them here: workbc.ca/employers-industry/train-employees/workplace-rights. Want to join the party fighting for working people? Join the BC Greens here: bcgreens.ca/join/.

It always seems impossible until it’s done. My friends, as long as we stand in solidarity together, we will get it done.

We must not be under any illusions — the challenges ahead of us are daunting — but so was the fight for universal healthcare, the fight against child labour, the fight for the weekend.

In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold,
Greater than the might of armies, magnified a thousand-fold.
We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old
For the union makes us strong.

Yet the words of the workers’ anthem, Solidarity Forever, ring as true today as when they were written in 1915:

The rise of AI and tech oligarchs has left us in a vulnerable position that, if left unchecked, poses a profound danger to the rights for which our movement has fought for the past century.

These solutions are not without obstacles. Working people are left with a BC NDP that has abandoned its labour roots to appease the corporate class, and a Conservative party that wishes to divide workers with culture wars and leave our movement in disarray.

This is the inspiration the BC Greens have taken to continue our fight for change, like a wealth tax to fund public programs like universal childcare, sectoral bargaining to give everyone the chance to join and form a union, and a good green jobs program to take on BC's unemployment crisis.

Striking, defying back-to-work orders, mutual aid on the picket line — these are some of the many tactics working people are using to take back our economy from the 1%.

In the past year, I’ve had the honour of standing up with British Columbians from all walks of life — nurses, farmers, service workers — who recognize the paralyzing unfairness of our economy, and bravely fight for a vision of what must be done to fix it.