An interview with Van Jones

Van Jones is an American environmental advocate, civil rights activist, attorney, CNN commentator and best-selling author. Also an adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama in 2009 on Green Jobs, he is in demand as a speaker on his views on the environment, jobs and the economy. He is the keynote speaker this weekend, October 3-5 at The Good Jobs Summit in Toronto. "We think that Van Jones will make an incredible contribution to the conversation that we need to have here in Canada about how we create quality employment opportunities, particularly for young workers and students," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. "We know that the economy is churning out an increasing number of part-time, temporary and precarious jobs, which many cannot even afford to live on -- we need to have a serious conversation about solutions." The Summit is sponsored by Canada's newest labour union Unifor, the Canadian Federation of Students, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the CAW-Ryerson Social Justice Chair, with the goal of sparking a national conversation about the quality of work in Canada and creating good jobs -- particularly for students and young workers. Ryerson's Centre for Labour Management Relations will host the event. Invitations are going out to other organizations and industry groups to participate -- with the objective of hosting a dialogue between government, industry, students, academics, post-secondary institutions, NGOs and unions. "Creating good jobs is a non-partisan issue and one that all Canadians should care about. To design a good job takes no more effort than it does to design a bad job and because of that, there really are no more excuses for why bad jobs should continue to exist," said Dr. Maurice Mazerolle, Director of the Centre for Labour Management Relations. The Good Jobs Summit, which is expected to draw at least 1,000 people, will take place at Mattamy Athletic Centre at the Gardens (formerly Maple Leaf Gardens), October 3-5. Regional activities and events will also be organized across Canada -- locations and format to be determined. In this episode of Needs No Introduction, Claudio D'Andrea spoke to Van Jones in advance of his appearance this weekend. They started by talking about last weekend's Climate March and what was accomplished.