great focus, thanks.

"if we don’t have a solid community-centred accountability behind the green jobs movement it could very much become a greenwashed movement that just says all these industries are going to be all of a sudden green employment, green jobs, and they’re going to escape the scrutiny just because they get some sort of label..."

on how to do things differently, along with examples provided,

"create a movement that will be able to bring about significant contributions by the government, the financial backing to really create the impetus for this program."

this latter statement brought to mind other elements of a conversation the other day.

we sat around a table and the question was, "how to support the real alternatives that do exist in communities?"  These are often efforts where young people of diverse backgrounds are involved in work, but not receiving pay.

Some options that were raised were better funding for Community Futures programs along with different criteria (criteria which didn't force projects to structure around private business models), use of public Housing Development bank funding, with similar changes to promote more diverse structures, as well as training funds for youth leadership and participation in these areas, and integration of these models in college funding, and in the kinds of fair transitioning needed to make ecologically sane and community-rooted changes to grey industries.

some of the funding suggestions, around community futures etc. were i think mentioned in one of the NDP's policy papers, can't remember which.

anyway, it was really great to read your interview here.