Cape Bretoners march against climate change
‘It should be important to everyone — it’s our planet’
SYDNEY — Young children, seniors, dogs, people on bikes and even dinosaurs marched together on Friday, but the message from each was the same.
“Fi Fo, fossil fuels have got to go,” they chanted in harmony during the March for the Earth which began at the Open-Hearth Park in Sydney Friday afternoon and ended at the civic centre on Sydney’s waterfront.
“5-6-7-8,” they continued, “draw the line, it’s not too late.”
Victoria Garnier, 18, North Sydney, marching in a dinosaur costume to represent the threat of extinction, said she saw the event being promoted on Facebook and thought it was important for her to be there. Garnier said its vital to pay attention to the climate crisis.
“It’s important to whether or not I have a future and whether or not my kids have futures when I have them,” she said. “It should be important to everyone — it’s our planet.”
About 150 people took part in the event, many with signs and some with noisemakers. The march was escorted to the civic centre by members of the Cape Breton Regional Police, where they hoped Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Cecil Clarke would address the issue.
Scott Sharplin, a part-time teacher at Cape Breton University and co-ordinator of the Cape Breton branch of Extinction Rebellion, a worldwide environmental action network, was the organizer of the event. He said the goal of the march was to demand immediate action on the growing climate crisis.
The term “climate change” is often used to refer specifically to anthropogenic climate change, which is also referred to as global warming. Anthropogenic climate change is caused by human activity, as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earth’s natural processes.
“Canada is warming two to three times faster than other countries,” he said. “So far, Cape Breton has been spared the worst effects: hurricanes, flooding and wildfires. But if we don’t act now, we could easily be next.” Daunt Lee-Dadswell, 19, of Albert Bridge, chanting and cheering with the crowd, said he constantly lives in a state of anxiety about the climate.
Lee-Dadswell said he has grown up knowing since he was five or six that the world was in really serious trouble and no one was really doing anything about it. He said there is a specific deadline of 20 years to get things fixed. He said we are climbing up on that deadline rapidly and the people in power are dragging their heels in getting anything done on it.
“I know this seems like a pretty small thing to do and it doesn’t seem like this is making much of a difference but it’s what I can do for now,” he said. “I have the hope this might lead to bigger, better things.”
At the civic centre, numerous people, including CBRM Dist. 8 Coun. Amanda McDougall, spoke. McDougall told the crowd the CBRM has passed a proclamation of a state of climate emergency.
McDougall said the intent of the march to the civic centre was for the mayor to be able to address the crowd but unfortunately, she said the mayor wasn’t there.
She said she has had a passion for environmental issues for a long time, adding that she felt elected officials should be there so the people could encourage them to act.
McDougall said there is leadership that does care but there are those who are not listening and encouragedpeople to keep fighting.
Jeff Lee-Dadswell, originally from Ottawa and a physicist at Cape Breton University, was found marching with a dinosaur costume, to represent the concept of extinction,
He said the most important message he was bringing to the event was how science teaches us that everything is connected.
“Our actions and the actions of everyone around the world are connected,” he said.
Sharplin referenced the fact CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke wasn’t at the centre, although he knew about the march and encouraged people to take advantage of the chalk on hand to leave important messages about climate change on the concourse.
When contacted, Clarke said the right to protest is an essential part of democracy.
“It is enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” he said. “It is an It is unfortunate, though, that the demonstration outside of city hall today wasn’t done in a respectful way.”