Statement from the General Coordination Committee in Response to the Announcement of Solon’s Closure
It was with great sadness that we learned this morning that Solon was ceasing operations.
Transition en Commun would first and foremost like to acknowledge the extraordinary work Solon has done over the past 10 years. This includes, of course, countless innovative projects in mobility, energy, and the creation of community spaces, but it is also—and above all—a rigorous approach rooted in democracy, participation, horizontal governance, and the development of collective agency. It is also a culture of collaboration and responsibility, which, incidentally, has enabled the emergence of the Transition en Commun alliance. Solon’s influence on the transition in Montreal cannot be overstated.
Like the Solon team, we believe that this legacy will live on in countless ways, and that fills us with joy. However, it won’t happen on its own, and we’ll have to fight for our socio-ecological transition project. Transition en Commun will do its part, through its various working groups on reducing car use, housing transition, community resilience, and local democracy, as well as by directly addressing the issue of funding the socio-ecological transition in Montreal. A collective day will be dedicated to this on April 30, during which structural solutions will be put forward. We hope these solutions will become the subject of public commitments during the upcoming election season.
We cannot conclude this message without a broader observation. The following paragraph from Solon’s press release should give us pause. We are living in dangerous times and are seeing historic democratic and social gains crumble. We must fully realize the magnitude of the challenges before us, but also our power to act collectively. As Fauve sang: “We must sound the alarm, come together, unite, embrace one another, and be billions tomorrow, standing on the shoulders of billions, to…” To what end? To resist, to build, and to win. May Solon’s passing at least contribute to that.
Long live all those who fight for the common good.
“We are dismayed by the lack of awareness regarding the severity of the social, ecological, and democratic crises that are besetting us and that will only worsen in the future. Solon’s work was, however, particularly relevant to addressing these crises, yet our governments continue to perpetuate the status quo by funding the development of technological solutions, extractive industries, highway infrastructure, and countless other projects that are deadly to living beings.”