Hundreds of protestors marched in frustration and determination from Confederation Park to Parliament Hill in Ottawa Sept. 23 as part of a co-ordinated climate strike to demand climate action from federal politicians.
The protests followed warnings from scientists that countries aren’t doing enough to meet the 2015 Paris Climate Accord’s target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels.
At Parliament Hill, protesters who had gathered separately in Confederation Park and the Maison du Citoyen in Gatineau, Que., joined forces to create an inter-provincial rally organized by Fridays for Future Ottawa and environmental conservation organization Climat GO.
Together, the two groups of protestors urged the federal government to do more to meet the 1.5 C target with three calls to action: Stop all fossil fuel projects, invest in renewable energy and affordable electric transit and move Ottawa toward zero-emission heating systems.
“I’m fighting for my great-grandchildren. I’m fighting for them to have a world to grow up in.”
Carolyn Herbert, a great-grandmother, wore a sign and shirt that together read, “Respect your [Mother Earth], because there’s no Planet B.” She said she stood with the younger generations to advocate for government action on climate change.
“I’m fighting for my great-grandchildren,” she said. “I’m fighting for them to have a world to grow up in.”
Activism group Decolonial Solidarity also made an appearance, holding signs that condemned RBC for funding the Coastal GasLink pipeline (CGL) to be built on Wet’suwet’en First Nation land in B.C. without Indigenous consent. Decolonial Solidarity said, if built, the CGL will threaten a salmon-bearing river that provides food and water for the Wet’suwet’en.
The rally brought reminders of environmental concerns close to home as well. Protesters at Confederation Park chanted, “Think globally, act locally” after a speaker encouraged them to fight the demolition of trees in Ottawa’s Hunt Club forest.
Sarah Kohut, an event organizer and Fridays for Future member, said she was attending the strike “to have the government on all levels begin listening and begin to take positive steps for remedying a lot of issues we are facing today.” Also a third-year University of Ottawa law student, Kohut called on other students who want to get involved with climate activism.
“There is no effort too small,” she said. “I think that a lot of students feel they don’t have time with their schedules and they can’t dedicate a meaningful amount of time, but even just an hour each week—for example, a Fridays for Future meeting—that’s more than enough.”
This article was last updated Oct. 5, 2022.
Featured image by Nicole Dainty.
