“Change happens whether you like it or not. It was with these words that Greta Thunberg concluded her speech in front of a human sea of half a million people in Montreal, three years ago almost to the day.
Posted yesterday at 11:00 a.m.
On the same day, the youth of Quebec descended by the tens of thousands on the streets of Quebec, Rimouski, Saguenay, Drummondville, Rouyn, Gatineau, Sherbrooke or Victoriaville. With her, thousands of parents and grandparents cherished the hope of a viable future. Despite a pandemic that broke this wave, hope still burns in the hearts of young and old. The march resumes today.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, during her speech on the sidelines of the great march for the climate in Montreal, in September 2019
It is still too early to know beyond any doubt who will win the Quebec elections, but we can already worry that young people and their future will be the big losers. In a world on the edge of the precipice, when we learn that tipping points have already been reached and the Secretary General of the United Nations speaks openly of “madness” and “collective suicide”, the sense of urgency that inhabits young people weigh very little in this electoral campaign marked by short-term promises and political clientelism. Fortunately, there is still time to reverse the trend and live up to the aspirations of young people who still hope to be heard.
The march resumes today, but walking will not be enough. Young people must make themselves heard by all available means, starting with the exercise of their right to vote.
Since the last elections in 2018, more than 300,000 young people have acquired the right to vote. The young people who swept over Quebec in 2019 are now full citizens and they constitute a significant electoral force. They represent an average of 2,500 votes per constituency, a sufficient number to tip the scales in their favour. While their future is being played out in these critical years, young people cannot deprive themselves of this lever of power.
Damaging vicious cycle
Unfortunately, the participation rate of under-35s barely exceeded 50% in 2018, 20% less than their parents and 25% less than their grandparents. Unsurprisingly, political groups rarely address them, which feeds their disengagement into a vicious circle that is damaging to our democracy and unfair since it favors the short-term interests of older voters over the long-term interests of younger. Without a strong signal, we will collide with the youth who will drop even more of our democratic institutions. Already that the Supreme Court refuses to hear their case, what will happen if our democracy is deaf to their aspirations?
This is why a new alliance between the generations is necessary. I recently recalled the 1989 elections when I was 17 years old. Disillusioned by the last two mandates, my father had offered me his vote, saying to me: “you will live with the consequences longer than me”. A space for discussion had then opened up which had helped me to make my choice, which had become his. I will do the same this year for my son and daughter who will turn 18 three days after the election. I feel the urgency to give them a voice.
Imagine for a moment the strength of the message of solidarity sent to young people if tens of thousands of parents and grandparents contacted young people under the age of 25 to tell them that they are putting their voice at their service.
Imagine all those young people, one in two, who have turned their backs on democracy, who could discover that democracy and citizenship are superpowers, provided they are used. Now imagine the impact on the political formations forced to react to such a movement. Could they, in solidarity for the youth, agree to set aside their partisan interests for the climate crisis as they have done for the pandemic or medical assistance in dying? Is it too much to ask for our children?
Hurry up
For decades we have worried about polar bears or “next generations”. The cause of the future of our planet today has a face, that of our children and grandchildren. Each of us knows a young person for whom we would be ready to lay down our lives. And yet, we fail to protect them. Who would look away when they saw their child cry? Are we now going to refuse to hear an entire generation screaming? As the song says: “We brought someone into the world, maybe we should listen to them…”
The question at the ballot box in 2022 is: are you willing to put aside your short-term interests to ensure a viable future for your children? This is the only issue for which our decision will be final and irreversible.
The future is not yet written. It’s up to us to do it with our children.