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October 4, 2021 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
#Uprootthesystem
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Protestors demand climate justice in Montreal Zoe Lister News Contributor
six main points of concern are vaccine injustice, climate refugees, Indigenous peoples, n Friday September 24, varying climate responsibilities, thousands of protesters climate reparations, and social filled the parks and impacts on minority groups. streets of Montreal in the first major climate strike since the start of the pandemic. The Global Protest of Climate Justice march, held at 1 pm at the Sir George Etienne-Cartier Monument near Mont Royal, was one of the many #Uprootthesystem strikes that occurred in over 1,500 cities across the world. #Uprootthesystem is a campaign against the climate crisis under the Friday For Future movement, founded by the Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg in August 2018. It aims to take down the systemic roots of the climate crisis, while cutting emissions and establishing protections for people against the climate crisis. Uprooting the system is a targeted approach to solving the climate Montreal’s march was orgacrisis that deals with recognizing the intersectionality of the nized by the Racial Justice Colclimate crisis. The campaign’s lective, Solidarity Across Borders,
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Coming in at number ten overall for greenhouse gas output, and warming at twice the global rate, Canada has far to go in terms of reducing emissions.
Pour le futur Mtl, and Coalition étudiante pour un virage environnemental et social. The protest’s Facebook page reported 5.1k people attending the event, with another 16k interested. At the march, protesters held signs with slogans such as “There is no Planet B” and “Our Home is on Fire.” Climate activists gave speeches in front of the monument before joining fellow protestors on a march down Parc Ave. and Sherbrooke St. The Montreal police (SPVM) reported three arrests: one for mischief, one for the assault of a police officer, and another for making threats. This is not the first large-scale climate protest to happen in Montreal. In 2019, over 500,000 people, led by Thunberg, marched across Montreal demanding climate reform. The question remains, however, of whether environmental protests will be effective in pushing elected officials to create reform remains, attendees claimed. One protester, Sophia Martucci, commented on this: “That’s tough to say. The
Alice Finta | Illustrations Contributor effects [the protests] have won’t necessarily lead directly to climate action. But I think it’s saying a lot and people will take it into consideration. The more that we talk about it, the more it will come up, and people will think about the effects it is having [on the environment].” When asked what she would say to someone considering attending a protest or getting involved in climate activism, Martucci said, “I think you should definitely go for it. It’s so wonderful to see so many
people working together.” Canada being among the highest per capita emitters in the world increases the sense of urgency to establish reform. Coming in at number ten for overall greenhouse gas output, and warming at twice the global rate, Canada has far to go in terms of reducing emissions. Some of the promoted goals of the march, outlined on the march’s Facebook page, included carbon neutrality by 2030 in Canada, divesting in fossil fuels, and
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