Time is running out, but there is still time to take concrete action to limit the effects of the climate crisis and to stem social inequalities. This was the message of some 300 demonstrators who gathered in front of the Place d’Armes metro station on Friday morning.
Co-organized by the Regional Table of Voluntary Organizations for Popular Education (TROVEP) of Montreal and Pour le Futur Montréal, the march was the culmination of a week of strikes and militant actions in which some 200 community groups took part. across the province since Monday.
Demanding a reinvestment in the social safety net and Quebec’s exit from fossil fuels, the demonstrators left the corner of Saint-Urbain and Viger streets around 11:45 a.m. to travel a route of less than a kilometer that took them in front of the tower. de la Bourse, in Square Victoria.
A destination that was not a coincidence, confirmed Jérémie Dhavernas, spokesperson for TROVEP.
“For us, it’s a symbolic place,” he explains. We talk a lot about the responsibility of the state in the climate crisis and in social inequalities, but it is also because of its lack of will to regulate the banking and financial system which continues to invest massively in fossil fuels. »
Some demonstrators had arrived from Joliette by bus to join their voices to those of the organizations present.
“Social issues and the climate emergency must be tackled immediately,” argues Catherine Pouliot, of the Lanaudière Autonomous Popular Education Movement. The causes are similar and the solutions are similar. »
For the most vulnerable
Many of the demonstrators represented community organizations working with vulnerable populations. Most said there is a close link between climate change and social injustice, while the most vulnerable are the first to be affected by the environmental impacts of fossil fuel consumption.
“It is often the most vulnerable who are the most affected by the consequences of climate change which contribute to increasing inequalities,” says Mr. Dhavernas. The loss of biodiversity, epidemics and heat episodes are the people who are poorly housed, the elderly and the poorest who suffer the most.
“Agriculture is suffering from climate change and this has an impact on rising prices,” continues the spokesperson. People are hungry and those less fortunate are turning to food banks. »
Community organizations were in the best position to see the living conditions of the most vulnerable deteriorate, in particular during the pandemic, notes for his part Simon Ambault, present for the Carrefour populaire de Saint-Michel.
“Apart from health care, we were the service most in demand to inform and help people,” he recalls. However, we often come last for funding. We are historically behind by something like $450 million, to keep pace with the cost of living. We deserve better. »
“Put your foot on the accelerator”
A delegation from Quebec solidaire was on site, including the deputies Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, Ruba Ghazal and the candidate for the by-election in Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard.
The co-spokesperson for the opposition party believes that the CAQ must do much more to improve its environmental record and meet the expectations of Quebecers.
“There are many people who do not feel represented by the government, which does not take the climate emergency seriously, alleges Mr. Nadeau-Dubois. It takes mobilizations like the one today to remind Mr. Legault that he must do more, that his plan does not allow him to reach the targets in the fight against GHGs and that we must set foot on the accelerator. »
This dispatch was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta Exchange and The Canadian Press for the news.