For Mother’s Day, the members of the Mères au front collective do not want flowers or chocolate, but rather that their environmental demands be heard.
They are organizing political and artistic rallies in Saguenay, Quebec and Montreal this weekend to challenge the different levels of government and raise public awareness of the issues that are important to them.
One of the instigators of the movement, Laure Waridel, explains in an interview with La Presse Canadienne that the objective of these demonstrations is “to remind the government of the climate emergency so that elected officials truly take their responsibilities and protect the environment, to the good of our children.”
This is not a date chosen at random. “Usually, we listen to moms on Mother’s Day. We congratulate them and thank them for what they do. It’s not thanks, flowers or chocolate that we want, but rather political courage,” adds the eco-sociologist, who says she is “concerned” for the health and safety of children if governments continue to “not not listen to the opinions of scientists.
“Unfortunately, elected officials are deeply in denial. They are not ambitious enough and do not go far enough on climate. They are not making the necessary decisions to allow us to reduce our ecological footprint. We must commit to making a real ecological and social transition to protect the future of our children. As a society, we have nothing more precious than our children. It’s their health and safety that is at stake.”
PHOTO HUGO-SEBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Laure Waridel in 2019
In the hope of making a difference, the Mothers at the Front movement invites the population to three distinct events. In Quebec, a “sit-in” will take place until 9 a.m. Sunday morning in front of the National Assembly. The participants will take turns rocking each other throughout the night, reminding us that they are watching over the well-being of the children. On Sunday, a large mobilization is planned at Frédéric-Back park in Montreal from noon and at Rivière-aux-Sables park in Saguenay from 1:30 p.m.
Mme Waridel fervently hopes that these gatherings will encourage the different levels of government to act “by putting concrete solutions into action”.
“It is imperative to increase citizen pressure. We know that governments move when the population demands it and puts pressure on them. Right now, they are clearly not doing what is necessary. We organize these large gatherings to increase the pressure on them. We know the problems and the solutions. What we want as mothers is for governments to put forward these solutions now, not in 10 years. »
No magic solution
She is well aware that “a single mobilization will not change everything”, but emphasizes that an accumulation could lead to “a global awareness”.
“We are confident that it will have an impact, but it is a set of individual and collective actions that ensure that society changes. »
She also recalls that “women’s rights, civil rights, the abolition of slavery and other collective advances were not achieved just by a gesture, a gathering or an action, but by a set of measures taken by lots of different people.”
In Montreal, several public figures, including Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, Salomé Leclerc, Évelyne Brochu, Ève Landry and Isabelle Blais, will take part in a show full of words and music, under the artistic direction of Brigitte Poupart.
To close the day, a flight of 500 kites carrying the demands of Mothers at the Front and the wishes of the children is on the program. In the coming weeks, these will be given to elected officials “to share with them our concerns and the solutions that we wish to put forward”, specifies M.me Waridel, who “regrets that the solutions put forward by governments are technological, when it is much deeper systemic changes that we need. »
“It doesn’t happen by pressing a magic technological button, it requires much more than that. We need to question ourselves more generally about greater energy and material sobriety,” she continues.