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Climate activists protest outside MP's office

Teen protesters worried there won't be much of a planet left for them and future generations if governments don't take swifter action to combat environmental issues.
Climate Rally at Hajdu Office
About 30 people gathered on Friday, May 3, 2019 outside the constituency office of Liberal MP Patty Hajdu to raise awareness about climate change and call on the government to act to fight it. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY – Linnea Granberg and Asha Dunn say they’re fighting for the future of the planet.

The Grade 11 students joined a group of 30 activists on Friday afternoon at a climate-change rally in front of Liberal MP Patty Hajdu’s Red River Road office, calling on all levels of government to take environmental issues seriously before it’s too late.

“We don’t have this planet for that long. If we keep continuing on the path that we’re on, we’re going to destroy the environment and people my age and people younger than me won’t have an actual future on this planet. That’s why it’s important,” said Granberg, a 17-year-old student at Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute.

Classmate Asha Dunn said it needs to be dealt with now, something too many politicians seem to be willing to put on the back burner – if they even believe in the science to begin with.

It’s easy to feel helpless, she added.

“It is pretty scary because as two high school students, you kind of look around and say, ‘I don’t know if there’s anything I can do.’ That can be scary looking up to the people who do have power and who are making the big decisions for us – and we can’t even vote, right now,” Dunn said.

The two teens were rallying as a result of a challenge put forth by Swedish teen Greta Thunberg, who last year held a climate strike outside the Swedish parliament and has gone on to speak at the United Nations, inspiring students worldwide to join the 16-year-old’s climate-activism movement.

Friday’s rally in Thunder Bay was organized by Lakehead University student Maya Bishop, who said the Friday’s for Future Movement is a way to urge the federal and provincial governments to declare a climate emergency.

Unfortunately there are too many governments in power that don’t think that way.

“Ultimately climate change and the degradation of the environment will affect us all. So the main purpose of this movement is to bring awareness to that and say it’s happening. It’s serious. It’s an emergency and we need to do something about it,” Bishop said.

“And a lot of people are starting with their local governments. That’s why we’re outside Patty Hajdu’s office today.”

By rallying along a busy road, she’s hopeful members of the public will take notice and present their elected officials with their own two cents worth.

“I also think that it’s important as a population not to be ignorant. I think that that’s dangerous. I think that it’s really important to see the truth, which is the changing shape of our planet and to be prepared for that, so that we can be resilient in our communities and so that we can grow together and not be divided by politicians.”



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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