Organizers hope that September 8 mobilizations will force party leaders to focus on climate emergency
Toronto, ON – Across Canada, communities are planning marches and rallies on September 8th to draw attention to the need for emergency level climate action proposals from political parties as Canada moves into the final weeks of the 2021 federal election. The events are scheduled to take place on the eve of the federal leaders debate in an election where climate change hasn’t been a major focus.
“This summer, wildfires and heat ripped across Canada, forcing evacuations, burning communities and killing hundreds of people, and yet, politicians haven’t really been talking about climate change,” Amara Possian, Campaign Director with 350 Canada said. “Climate change is a top issue for voters, which is why more than 60 communities are planning to mobilize on September 8th.”
Earlier this summer more than 40 communities mobilized in response to ongoing climate impacts across Canada. Many of those organizers are taking action again to focus attention on the urgent need for big, bold climate action.
“Canada has been on fire all summer, and we just saw the IPCC release a report declaring a “code red” moment for humanity, but you wouldn’t know it looking at our politicians,” Carter Gorzita, an organizer in Edmonton explained. “With less than half this election campaign left, that needs to change, we need to know who actually has a real plan to meet the climate emergency.”
Organizers hope these rallies taking place just ahead of the Leaders’ Debates will focus necessary attention on climate change, and who actually has a plan to deal with it.
“We’re well past the point where it’s enough to just believe in climate change and say you want to solve it, we need action that meets the scale of this crisis,” Possian said. “That means a moratorium on fossil fuel expansion and a just transition that supports workers and communities in making the shift away from fossil fuels.”
More information: www.350.org/still-on-fire
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Contact: Cam Fenton, [email protected], 604-369-2155