We created our constitution in 2021 to have a structure that would allow us to work for change over the long term while staying true to our principles.
The constitution can be read here.
City & Climate Townhall – December 7
The world’s climate attention is focused on the national leaders at COP15 & COP27, but much of our emissions are under municipal control.
How can Kingston meet the 50% by 2030 target required by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change?
What can we do to respond to the climate crisis at the municipal level, as the provincial government decimates local planning and conservation?
Just Recovery Kingston and Kingston Youth Climate Action are sponsoring a City and Climate Town Hall online, December 7, with these great panelists discussing opportunities and obstacles for climate justice at the local level:
-Ian Borsuk, Environment Hamilton
-Alison Gu, Burnaby city councillor
-Mary Jane Philp, 350 Kingston
Registration is required for this free event. Click here to register.
This event is cosponsored by the Providence Centre for Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation
Municipal Election Toolkit
We have an election for mayor and city council coming this October. Just Recovery Kingston members have created a toolkit for you, the local person who might be wondering how a local election could matter. We’ve done the research, talked to others doing similar work, and created a list of some of the policies that would make living in Kingston better. We want you to read them, talk to people about them, share them — and ask anyone who wants your vote what they think about them.
Click here for your copy of the Just Recovery Kingston election toolkit.
If you want to help make these ideas Kingston’s reality, email us at justrecoverykingston@gmail.com
Updated members list
Hello JRK members!
We are updating our member information so we have accurate data and can contact you about Just Recovery Kingston news, actions, and opportunities. We would be very grateful if you shared some contact information with us. We will never share it with anyone outside the group.
Kingston Transit/Access Bus survey
Survey:
Comm. Gardens Letter Writing Campaign!
!!CALL TO ACTION!!
Help improve access to community gardens in Kingston and your community!
Why community gardens?
Community gardens play an important role in increasing access to fresh food, improving air and soil quality, and supporting wellness. However, existing equity barriers reduce the ability for communities in Kingston to start and maintain community gardens.
What can I do?
Just Recovery Kingston is asking residents during the months of May and June to copy and paste the attached template letter into an email and send it to their District Councillor. The letter calls on the City of Kingston to address ongoing financial barriers that make starting, operating and accessing community gardens inequitable.
| District 1 – Countryside | Gary Oosterhof | goosterhof@cityofkingston.ca |
| District 2 – Loyalist-Cataraqui | Simon Chapelle | schapelle@cityofkingston.ca |
| District 3 – Collins-Bayridge | Lisa Osanic | losanic@cityofkingston.ca |
| District 4 – Lakeside | Wayne Hill | whill@cityofkingston.ca |
| District 5 – Portsmouth | Bridget Doherty | bdoherty@cityofkingston.ca |
| District 6 – Trillium | Robert Kiley | rkiley@cityofkingston.ca |
| District 7 – Kingscourt-Rideau | Mary Rita Holland | mrholland@cityofkingston.ca |
| District 8 – Meadowbrook-Strathcona | Jeff McLaren | jmclaren@cityofkingston.ca |
| District 9 – Williamsville | Jim Neill | jneill@cityofkingston.ca |
| District 10 – Sydenham | Peter Stroud | pstroud@cityofkingston.ca |
| District 11 – Kingstown | Rob Hutchison | rhutchison@cityofkingston.ca |
| District 12 – Pittsburgh | Ryan Boehme | rnboehme@cityofkingston.ca |
[1-PAGE LETTER TO COUNCILLORS – Copy and Paste this into the body of your email.]
Alternatively, use this word file to write your letter:
**Please CC justrecoverykingston@gmail.com for tracking purposes**
Email subject line: Improve Access to Community Gardens
Dear Councillor ________,
[Optional 2-3 sentences about who you are and why this campaign matters to you].
One of the stated priorities in Kingston’s Strategic Plan 2019-2022 is to “provide better support to community-led initiatives that support local food production”. We heartily endorse that objective and ask that you consider our proposals.
With hundreds of would-be food growers on waitlists for community garden plots, it is imperative that the city remove barriers to expanding community gardens as soon as possible. Here are some of those barriers:
- Inadequate funding for the community garden grants budget.
- Costly liability-insurance premiums that still leave individual volunteers on the hook for the deductible.
- A raised-bed requirement, even where there is no evidence of soil contamination.
To help the City of Kingston achieve its stated priority of supporting local food production, and addressing the listed barriers, we suggest the following solutions:
- Increase funding for community garden grants from $5000 to $50,000 annually. (The City of Victoria — population 92,000, compared to Kingston’s 137,000 — maintains annual funds of $160,000 for community garden start-up and volunteer coordination grants).
- Cover the cost of the $2 million liability insurance, required under the Community Gardens Development and Operations Policy, for all community gardens operating on city-land.
- Adjust the Community Gardens Development and Operations Policy to allow in-ground, as opposed to only raised bed gardens, where appropriate and proven safe.
Thank you for considering our ideas. We look forward to any additional suggestions you may have, and to hearing that you support a program that helps build friendly, co-operative communities, while providing fresh vegetables to both the growers, and the recipients of their in-kind donations.
Warm regards,