For the third time this week, environmental activists from the Last Generation group blocked the exit of the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport on Friday. Police officers are trying to limit the disruption to traffic as a major traffic jam has begun to form.
“The role of citizens is to respect the rules and that of politicians is to protect citizens, but when we ignore the vulnerable people who will be most affected by climate change, we have no choice but to protest,” testified to the DutyLuisa, one of the seven activists sitting in the middle of the road.
On site, other activists glued one of their hands to the asphalt of the landing stage using sand and super glue.
The disruptions were not long in coming. “I had to cancel two trips. A client was supposed to go to Trois-Rivières, I just lost $350. I have nothing against their demands, but an airport is not the place to protest,” said Beaubour Romulus, a taxi driver we met on site.
Around 1:30 p.m., police officers began approaching the protesters to try to get their hands off the ground. “We can confirm that the police have begun an intervention, but for now there have been no arrests,” said Véronique Dubuc, spokesperson for the SPVM.
The action is part of the international Oil Kills coalition, which has carried out disruptive actions in at least eight European countries to force governments to sign a “fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty.”
In a statement earlier this week, environmental group Last Generation called on “the Canadian government to sign a legally binding treaty to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.”