Making our voices heard: Toronto Climate Strike 2019
- Marin Scotten
- Oct 18, 2019
- 3 min read
A child holds a sign that reads "plants more trees" during the Toronto Climate Strike on Sept. 27, 2019 (Marin Scotten/JHR)
On Sept. 27, 2019, tens of thousands of people gathered at Queen’s Park in Toronto to demand climate action. Unified voices could be heard from miles away as Torontonians took to the streets
People of different ages, races and religions came together in cities all over the world to make their voices heard. In Toronto, protestors held brightly coloured signs, some of which read “We are skipping our lessons to teach you one” and “Our house is on fire.” Elementary school students could be seen marching the streets, holding their signs high and their heads higher. Younger generations sent a strong message to those in power.
Before the march began, speeches were given by environmental activists, people from different Indigenous communities, migrant support agencies and others. Speakers made it clear that this is a crucial time in history for the environment. With the federal election fast approaching, they urged protestors to vote for climate justice.
The speakers highlighted the impact that climate change is having on people across Canada. They emphasized that climate change is a serious humanitarian crisis that is taking people’s lives everyday.
Grassy Narrows is an Indigenous community in Northwestern Ontario that has extremely high levels of mercury in their water sources, causing mercury poisoning among its residents. For years, their voices have been ignored by the Canadian government, which has continuously made empty promises. In November 2015, The Department of Indigenous Services Canada promised to end all long-term drinking water advisories by 2021. However, a 2018 report done by The David Suzuki Foundation found that they are not on track to reaching this goal and a high number of communities are still without clean drinking water.
Dianne Saxe, the former environmental commissioner of Ontario spoke at the rally about Grassy Narrows and urged people to demand government action. Saxe said they are one of many Indigenous communities in Canada to suffer from poor water quality. While 87 water advisories have been lifted, there are still 56 boil water or do not consume advisories left in First Nations communities, according to the Government of Canada.
The Toronto Climate Rally was used not only to demand climate justice, but also to shine a light on other issues affecting Canadians and people around the world. Fighting for climate justice will not only save the earth, but also those who are suffering because of it. If we do nothing, soon enough every single person will feel the impact directly, and by then it will be too late.
Between 2030 and 2050 there will be an additional 250,000 deaths per year due to climate change, according to the World Health Organization. Worldwide, people are feeling the effects of climate change. Now is a crucial time in history for us to do something about it and more importantly, demand that those in power use their positions to invoke change.
It seems that finally the time for action has come. The voices of environmental activists are being heard and the science is being looked at. When people come together, they are powerful. That is what I felt at the climate strike. People of all ages put their differences aside and came together to demand climate action. This is only the beginning.
The road to climate justice is going to take more than an individual effort from everyone. It’s going to take people coming together as a collective and demanding change from the government. It’s going to take policy and legislative change. These things won’t come easily, but if enough people come together, it will be impossible to ignore our voices.
In the last century, humans have nearly destroyed the only place we have to call home. It’s easy to feel hopeless, but we have the power to turn things around together. As Greta Thunberg said, “The world is waking up,” and we can all feel it.
With the election coming up, Canadians should make their voices heard sooner rather than later. We must look at the environmental platforms of the parties and take them into consideration when voting. We need a leader who has a clear plan of action for stopping climate change. We need somebody who will hear the voices of the future. If Canadians don’t vote with the environment in mind, we run the risk of leaving the earth in worse shape for future generations. This is exactly what has happened to our generation. Let’s be the ones to turn things around.
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