The holiday season is approaching — a time to slow down, gather and rediscover the joy of giving and sharing.
Yet it’s hard to ignore the broader context: cuts to public services, weakening of climate policies and the growing sense that our social safety nets are fraying.
Precarity is rising, and the most vulnerable are the first to feel it — struggling to afford food, to get around at a reasonable cost or even to offer gifts to their children. None of us are entirely sheltered from this reality. Strengthening our collective resilience means rethinking how we do things and better protecting the essential resources we all depend on.
In the face of social, environmental and democratic fragility, we still hold tremendous power: the power to act, to connect and to resist.
Climate policy
A transition put to the test by economic decisions
Due to lack of funding, we were unable to attend COP30, which has just wrapped up in Belém, Brazil. Canada nonetheless made headlines… by receiving a Fossil Award — a stark reminder of the country’s worrying delays on climate action and its continued deference to the oil and gas industry.
In this context of environmental backpedaling, Steven Guilbeault's resignation from the federal cabinet sends a powerful message.
Within this context, it is no surprise that the 2025 federal budget focuses on a “climate competitiveness” strategy centred on industrial innovation. But after the weakening of carbon pricing, one question remains: how will these measures actually reduce the country’s emissions?
In Quebec, the pillaging of the Green Fund is yet another troubling action from a disinterested government, whose Minister of the Environment, Bernard Drainville continues to refuse — despite a well-noticed campaign — to meet with us. The government’s new economic strategy aligns with Ottawa’s, leaving us increasingly discouraged by the series of poor decisions piling up.
On the ground, municipal election results paint a more nuanced picture, revealing economic and social priorities that vary widely from one region to another. Housing, mobility, food security — all climate issues that are felt locally first - reinforce that policies must align with the needs of communities.
Food
How can we address food insecurity in our schools and campuses?
Food insecurity is rising, especially in CEGEPs and universities — institutions that often lack food education programs.
We recently completed an extensive survey of 650 university and CEGEP students. It will guide our actions in the year ahead to improve access to healthy, affordable food on campuses. Several challenges are already clear: lack of funding, rising food costs and the isolation of student-led initiatives.
During this festive season, when food takes centre stage, let’s remember that many people — young and old — lack access to healthy and nutritious meals.
When possible, cooking responsibly (planning meals, reducing waste, favouring simple, local and affordable recipes) can help relieve pressure on both our budgets and our shared resources. For inspiration, here are 12 recipe ideas for an affordable holiday menu.
Consumption
Unsold goods: let’s keep up the pressure!
Between Black Friday and the holiday season, the push toward overconsumption leaves behind a wave of seasonal inventory — most of which risks being destroyed rather than redistributed. A troubling thought when so many families struggle to afford food or housing. Quebec is (slowly) moving in the right direction, but several federal programs are moving backward, encouraging companies to destroy brand-new goods — an absurd and unacceptable practice that must end.
To ban the destruction of usable goods, we must continue to pressure our governments. At home, we can also choose not to fuel the cycle of overproduction by limiting the purchase of new items. When possible, second-hand, repaired or non-material gifts offer a concrete way to avoid the trap of overconsumption — a local service, a cultural outing, a class, a refurbished object, an artisanal creation…
So many options that support our communities instead of wasting resources.
Destroying brand-new goods should be illegal. Let’s keep pushing until it is.
Against the seas: Saving civilizations from rising waters
Mary Soderstrom
Montreal-based author Mary Soderstrom offers a powerful and deeply human reflection on one of the defining challenges of our century: how societies adapt — or fail to adapt — to rising seas.
Blending history, science and on-the-ground storytelling, she takes us from the St. Lawrence Estuary to the Sundarbans and Jakarta, showing that while climate impacts are unevenly distributed, our responses to them can reveal the best of what communities are capable of: cooperation, ingenuity and solidarity.
With a clear-eyed yet hopeful perspective, Soderstrom reminds us that resilience is not only a matter of engineering — it also depends on collective choices, climate justice, and our ability to act together. An illuminating read for anyone seeking to rethink the future of coastal communities — and our own.
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