Over two hundred community members gathered outside of Kingston’s Courthouse for the Global Climate Strike.
Kingston joined over 1,200 communities participating worldwide in the climate action demonstration on September 25.
The event itself was thrown for a loop, with plans that included a march to Confederation Park being nixed in conversation with public health just hours before the event.
The strike was organized through the collaboration of Queen’s students and a number of climate activist groups like QPAC, 350 Kingston and Just Recovery, and tried to relay the message that everybody has a place in the fight against climate change.
Jeremy Milloy, an organizer with 350 Kingston, says finding how you can apply your skills and passions to the fight for climate justice is one of the best ways to get involved.
He added that the diversity of the crowd outside of the courthouse continues to demonstrate that climate change is a top priority issue.
“I think the diversity of the crowd and the size of the crowd reflects the fact that over 70% of voters in the last election here in this riding voted for parties that promised climate action,” Milloy said.
“I think that shows the community in all walks of life wants climate justice and we expect climate justice in the forthcoming parliament.”
Milloy encourages people to engage in conversations around climate justice to keep it at the forefront, which organizer and master’s student Emily Cervenka echoed.
She says she hopes a rally like Friday’s acts as a spark for the action of participants.
“The most important thing is to stay engaged and to talk about it. We hope that this was a spark to get everybody to think of it,” Cervenka said.
Organizers say their central demands for the government are ending subsidies for fossil fuels, stopping Trans Mountain pipeline and putting forth the Just Transition Act.
With the intersection of colder weather and COVID restrictions looming, organizers are aware that large gatherings like Friday’s will no longer be possible.
Milloy says, however, that has not and will not impact the movement.
“We’ve been organizing during this pandemic the entire time, we’ve been doing the events we can do safely we’re not going to stop, we’re not going to go away.”