Once again environmental advocates have found a message that everybody can agree on, and took it to the streets in many cities across the world on the same day.
About 250 people gathered at the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Victoria to demand an end to reliance on fossil fuels and better overall environmental protections.
The event was organised by a coalition including Climate Justice Victoria, Elders for Ancient Trees, the Better Transit Alliance, and the Council of Canadians. It rallied as diverse an array of supporters as Greater Victoria Acting Together, The Salt Spring United Church, Socialist Alternative Youth, and Friends of Fairy Creek. Just like for the United for Old Growth rally earlier this year, the coalition chose a message that struck a chord with most people, and if this rally was in fact smaller, it may only have been because it was held in conjunction with events in cities all over the world, including nearby Vancouver.
Once again David Suzuki was among those invited to speak at the event, and focused on the unhealthy influence of the economy and politics on energy policy. Others, like Wet’suwet’en Marlene Hale, would instead portrait the devastation on their lands caused by colonialist policies. The message was as diverse as the speakers and organisers’ backgrounds, and would link energy policy to climate change, deforestation, highway expansions, fracking, foreign wars, indigenous rights, and veganism. The holistic aspect of the platform was insightful, although at times I felt the speakers veered off-topic as a result.
The participants then took their grievances to the streets, all the way to City Hall then back to the Legislature, chanting “The forests are burning down! Climate Justice Now!”, “We can no longer wait! No more petrol state!”, and “No more fossil fuels!” as hundreds of bystanders alongside the road watched with curiosity and approval. There was a bit of tension between the mandatory 10-strong police escort and the participants, but no incidents occurred.
Sadly, I would describe the mood as fatalistic rather than defiant. Suzuki himself said that he felt defeated after what he described as a lifetime of failures, and the other speakers likewise didn’t look to the future with any kind of optimism. The protesters had come hoping to hear of solutions and hope, but may have left the event feeling despair instead at the lack of direction, as little had been proposed in terms of public engagement that could turn the tides in this conflict against uncaring powers ravaging our planet for short-term monetary gain.
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Although the event was a relative success, its outcome leaves me most apprehensive. Regretfully, we had to end it early.
