SACKVILLE, N.B. — They may have been fewer in numbers but their message still rang out loud and clear.
“The youth of the world are school striking for the climate to wake people up to the urgency of the situation seeing as it is our futures that are at risk,” said Grade 9 student Quinn MacAskill during Friday’s latest climate strike, organized by the Sackville Youth Climate Change Coalition.
MacAskill’s statement was one of many the coalition included in a letter to the new federal Minister of Environment Jonathan Wilkinson, which calls on him to take responsibility for this issue and “insist that Canada become a global leader for climate action.”
The letter also asks the federal government to: honour its commitment in the Speech from the Throne to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner if possible; reject all new fossil fuel projects; transition to a 100 per cent renewable energy economy; uphold and advocate the rights of environmental migrants; and hold large corporations to the same GHG emissions reductions targets as Canada.
This is the fifth time this year Sackville youth have walked out of class and taken to the streets to make their voices heard, part of a student-led movement around the globe that has seen millions do the same.
Although other such strikes have attracted several hundred students, only about 50 took part in Friday’s event, perhaps slowed down by the time of year and upcoming exams for Mount Allison University students.
MacAskill said the timing of the strike, however, gave the students a chance to focus their theme around consumerism and big corporations.
“Let’s face it, the way we currently celebrate during the holidays is terrible for the environment and climate,” she said during the rally. “Everything is centered around consumerism and more material objects, often none of which are crafted locally and must be transported from far away, creating a lot of carbon emissions in the process.”’
MacAskill pointed out that many corporations are “almost always terrible polluters and hold way too much power in our governments.”
“Youth may not be able to vote for our political leaders, but we can vote with our dollar.”
She said if each of the students at Friday’s rally chose to use their money to purchase environmentally-friendly products, it would make a significant impact.
The rally was followed up with a march downtown to the post office, where Tantramar Regional High School student Tess Cameron listed a series of demands the Sackville Youth Climate Change Coalition (SYCCC) put together, calling for action from all three levels of government.
The students then mailed cards to corporations such as Sobeys, Costco, Walmart, Lululemon, Roots Canada, Tim Hortons and Loblaws, asking for a concrete plan from each on how they propose to reduce carbon emissions in the very near future “so that we may hold you accountable.”
Derrick Dixon, owner of a vintage clothing store downtown, also spoke at the event, relating information on troubling facts related to ‘fast fashion,’ such as: by 2030, humans are set to consume 102 million tonnes of clothes per year; and for every one kilogram of fabric produced, 23 kilograms of greenhouse gases are released.
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