The events were part of the Fridays for Future movement inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. In Montreal, activists unfurled a red and yellow banner reading “Land Back” along the statue at the base of Mount Royal in view of what he described as a “teacher” for the decolonization and domination of the natives. As it rained lightly, 21-year-old Ryder Cote-Nottaway, a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, urged those present to protect the Earth for future generations. He said climate change was affecting indigenous communities’ ability to exercise their “traditional, ancestral, inherent rights”. Climate activists protest in Calgary on Friday. (Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press)
“In my territory, you see a lot of forestry, clean cuts,” he said in an interview on the sidelines. “Animals are leaving. Rivers and waters are polluted.” Dozens of other events are planned in cities across Canada, such as Quebec, Calgary and Vancouver. Other climate demonstrations took place around the world, including about 300 in Germany alone. Attendees at the Canadian protests were there to denounce the role of colonialism and capitalism in contributing to climate change, as well as more local issues, such as the $ 6 billion highway expansion in Ontario and the decision of the government to caribou. In Montreal, the crowd was diverting young people and included many students, including 19-year-old Juliana Saroop. The Dawson College student said that at times she feels “crushed and paralyzed” in the face of the climate crisis, but seeing the global protests makes her feel a little more hopeful. “There is a big difference between individual and global change and at the moment we are trying to fight for a bigger change,” Saroop said. A protester dressed in an oversized green dinosaur uniform appears in Ottawa on Friday. (Justin Tang / The Canadian Press)
In Ottawa, protesters carried placards reading “Do not be a fossil fool” and “Every decision matters now.” Dozens rallied to support the climate protest, including a man dressed in an oversized green dinosaur costume posing for photos and carrying a sign saying “Do not choose extinction.” Protester Linda McCourt said she would like to see the government speed up investment in renewable energy. “We should have done it already,” he said. Organizer Sarah Scott said she was participating in the climate strike because she was disappointed with the action taken by different levels of government on climate change. He said he was also concerned about the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the climate through subsidies for oil markets. In British Columbia, about 150 protesters gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery and then marched a few blocks to a branch of the Royal Bank of Canada. LISTEN The fight for “climate change compensation”: 25:28 The fight for “compensation for climate change” The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is caustic: it shows the sharp gap between the ability of rich and poor nations to withstand the worst effects of global warming. This, just months after COP26 in Glasgow, where many advocates and activists called on wealthy nations responsible for greenhouse gas emissions to pay for the losses and losses already experienced by many developing nations from climate change. Claims for a specific compensation fund were not met. Today, Canadian human rights lawyer Payam Akhavan is here to explain how some small island nations see how they can use international law to pay rich countries. He is a senior fellow at the University of Toronto’s Massey College and a former UN war crimes prosecutor who has served in genocide tribunals investigating the genocide in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. He has now assisted in the creation of the Small Island Commission on Climate Change and International Law, and serves as the group’s legal advisor. 25:28
The group claims that RBC is one of Canada’s largest funders of fossil fuels. Organizer Naisha Khan said protesters were calling on the bank to withdraw fossil fuels. “Banks and financial institutions have a very big role to play in financing the climate crisis,” Khan said in an interview. “We are using the opportunity today, on the subject of ‘people do not win’, to call on banks, especially RBC, to be held accountable for their role in financing climate change.” CLOCKS The UN climate report warns of a “quick closing” of the window:

The UN climate report warns that the window for action is “closing fast”.

People are lagging behind in adapting to the climate crisis as natural disasters become more frequent and serious, according to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Extreme weather conditions in Canada show that the consequences of inaction are already here. 2:06
RBC said in a statement that it “believes that climate change is one of the most pressing issues in the world” and that it is working with governments, its customers and other stakeholders to reduce their carbon footprint in line with the global financial institutions. “Traditional energy sources, such as fossil fuels, are still essential to support our daily lives,” RBC said. “They are an essential bridge as we move to, and the world develops, more sustainable energy sources and builds the necessary infrastructure to support a greener future.”