From police technique to the organization of a debate on the environment

When she was studying police techniques, what especially interested Laurélie Dubé were the criminology courses. The psychological aspect, the human dimension. Intervention, yes, but in the long term. At the time, Laurélie was already aware of the environmental cause. “I was the one who encouraged the others in my class to take reusable cups,” summarizes the resident of Saint-Hyacinthe.

Catherine Handfield
The Press

At the end of her studies, while several of her colleagues were heading to the École nationale de police du Québec to complete their training, Laurélie Dubé felt the need to take a step back. She went to work for a year in Western Canada thanks to the Au pair program. She was babysitting two little boys. We were then in the midst of a pandemic.

“Over there, nature is so exceptional that I reconnected with it,” says the 22-year-old young woman. Every weekend I went for a walk. It was my escape. »

Returning home to Saint-Hyacinthe, Laurélie Dubé knew one thing: she would not become a police officer. Biology interested her, but she finally opted for her other passion, psychology. She is finishing her second session of the baccalaureate these days.

Laurélie Dubé still wanted to do something for the environment, something that would go beyond everyday actions to reduce her carbon footprint. It was while surfing Instagram that the idea came to him. The Vire au vert movement – ​​a citizens’ initiative – offered accessible instructions for organizing debates on the environment in Quebec cities, in view of the municipal elections of November 2021.

Have the desire to participate

Even though she had no experience in the matter, Laurélie Dubé decided to take the plunge. With a small group of people, she organized the debate and even co-hosted it on October 20 at a high school in Saint-Hyacinthe. Candidates for mayor of Saint-Hyacinthe were able to share their ideas on waste management, sustainable mobility, agriculture and urban planning. Several thousand people watched the debate on television.

This first adventure gave a taste to Laurélie Dubé, who continues to get involved in the Citizens’ Committee for the Protection of the Maskoutain Environment. Today, it defends a wood in Saint-Hyacinthe threatened by a building construction project.

“My boyfriend has already asked me if I didn’t have the impression, somewhere, that it wouldn’t change much on a large scale,” she says. I don’t see things like that. Me, I think it’s the addition of all these little actions that together will make a difference. »

His involvement also helps him to calm the eco-anxiety that has been in him for several years. “I don’t have the absolute power to change things, I’m not Prime Minister of anything, but I still have a little more power than if I did nothing at all,” she says, smiling.