Indigenous delegations from around the world opened the Great March for the Living in Montreal, which began at the foot of Mount Royal on Saturday. For the occasion, thousands of people and more than a hundred civil organizations from across the country gathered in the metropolis.
Hundreds of students, seniors, families and organizations gathered at the foot of Mount Royal in favor of biodiversity, as part of COP15, which is currently being held in Montreal.
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PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The start of the demonstration was at the foot of Mount Royal.
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PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
A banner carried by the protesters read: “We are one with nature. Protect her! »
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PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The indigenous presence was clearly visible in the demonstration.
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The co-spokespersons of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Manon Massé, as well as the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, were on hand for the event. “We want François Legault to be consistent,” said Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois before the start of the march. In the process, he denounced the choices of the Coalition avenir Québec to continue the project of the third link between Quebec and Lévis, and for not having protected caribou habitat. “Fair words don’t save biodiversity,” added Mr. Nadeau-Dubois.
Québec solidaire’s priority in terms of biodiversity? An immediate temporary moratorium on mining claims in southern Quebec.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Manon Massé, co-spokespersons for Québec solidaire
“It is important that civil society is here, also announced Valérie Plante in the press scrum. The seniors, the families, want concrete action, that’s what stands out. »
The Mayor reiterated the new commitment of the Montreal Metropolitan Community to protect 30% of the territory by 2030. A commitment that will not be easy, given the pressure on agricultural areas and green spaces for construction, she pointed out. “But we have to protect our territory!” »
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal, was present at the march.
A little further, Martine Ouellet, head of Climat Quebec, believes that the Quebec government must protect territories in the south of the province. “There are 83 areas to be protected already planned by communities, it would be a minimum to protect them, there is no reason not to do it! “, she is indignant.
Indigenous delegations in the front row
The march set off around 1:30 p.m. heading downtown in the bitter cold. Pterodactyl, caribou, tree, planet Earth… giant costumes gave the demonstration an air of parade. At the front of the gathering, Aboriginal delegations from Quebec and Western Canada, but also from South America and Africa, led the way.
“We must come together in our struggles,” explains to The Press Domingo Peas, Elder of the Achuar Nation in Ecuador. “It is the heart of our planet Earth that is in danger,” he adds, saying he is happy to see the number of people who have come to demonstrate.
“We can always count on the First Nations to demonstrate, despite the cold! “, also launches the production and Innu host, Mélissa Mollen-Dupuis.
All the issues are connected: missing women and children, boarding schools, loss of biodiversity. Because we, [les peuples autochtones] we were on the way to the economy.
Melissa Mollen-Dupuis
The march concluded at Place des Arts in downtown Montreal, where speeches by Aboriginal delegations were held. Some people from the Amazon rainforest have notably denounced the violence of Canadian mines on their ancestral territories. Others highlighted the importance of including human rights in the agreements negotiated at COP15, so that the protection of the territory does not have deleterious effects for local communities.
Civil society at the rendezvous
About a hundred civil society organizations from Quebec and Canada, including Équiterre and Greenpeace Canada, were also present.
“We are very interested in saving the planet! “says Lise Bernier, an almost 80-year-old lady and member of the Montreal Ragging Grannies (Enraged Montreal Grandmothers). A little further on, Kristen Lalla, 26, is holding a Quebec Bird Protection sign. “Birds are just one symptom of the loss of biodiversity,” explains his colleague, Christiane Tremblay.
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PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
A giant structure in the shape of a reindeer accompanied the demonstrators.
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PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The demonstration, at the intersection of Sherbrooke Street and Park Avenue
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PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
A sign made with a hockey stick
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The parade brought together 3,500 people, according to the COP15 Collective, the CBD Alliance and the Global Youth Biodiversity Network, as well as Greenpeace Canada, responsible for the event.
“While COP15 has been the most important global meeting on biodiversity for more than 10 years, world leaders have a responsibility to rise to this historic moment”, indicated the organizers in a statement on Saturday. Their main demand: “a Global Biodiversity Framework strong enough to reverse the loss of biodiversity and guaranteeing respect for the fundamental rights of communities and individuals, especially indigenous people, who protect the planet’s ecosystems. »
“To the leaders gathered at COP15, we have a message: you have no right to fail, and we will not let you fail. The future of humanity depends on it! said Anne Céline Guyon, climate expert project manager for Nature Québec, to the crowd at the end of the march.