LIVE: Teen environmental activist Greta Thunberg in Vancouver
Credit to Author: Tiffany Crawford| Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2019 14:15:09 +0000
International teen climate activist Greta Thunberg has reached the Pacific Ocean.
The 16-year-old Swedish environmentalist is in Vancouver Friday for a post federal election climate strike at the Vancouver Art Gallery, starting at 11 a.m, followed by a march downtown.
I reached the Pacific Ocean! pic.twitter.com/Qp1r2nARfV
This latest demonstration is organized by Sustainabiliteens, the Vancouver youth group that has been staging Fridays for Future rallies inspired by Thunberg, who began going on strike from school on Fridays to protest government inaction to deal with the climate crisis.
The are a couple of pre-strike events planned in Metro Vancouver Friday. Ocean Wise is hosting a “We stand with Greta” pre-rally and sign-making event at 9 a.m. on the plaza outside the Vancouver Aquarium.
At 10 a.m., Sustainabiliteens will also hold a news conference about a lawsuit being launched by youth to sue the Canadian government for climate change related harms and discrimination.
The announcement, at the art gallery, will be attended by climate activists David Suzuki and his daughter Severn Cullis-Suzuki, who, like Thunberg, gave an impassioned speech to a group of leaders at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 when she was a child.
The David Suzuki Foundation, which is acting as a partner in the lawsuit, says it is being filed Friday by 15 youths, who allege they have suffered “specific” injuries due to climate change.
The court challenge calls on Ottawa to stop conduct that violates their charter rights and to implement a plan that reduces Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions “in a manner consistent with what best available science indicates is needed for the federal government to protect young Canadians, do its fair share to stabilize the climate system, and avert the catastrophic consequences of climate change.”
#Vancouver! Are you planning to attend Friday's #ClimateStrike w/ @GretaThunberg? We're hosting a public sign-making pre-rally and offering transportation to the strike to show our support. RSVP here: https://t.co/VPDqUFzYXV pic.twitter.com/ZTxvldEmBE
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Before Greta, there was Severn, the B.C. girl who silenced the world
Samantha Lin, an organizer with activist group the Sustainabiliteens, hopes Thunberg will pressure federal leaders to work harder to reduce emissions.
Samantha Lin near her home in Vancouver, BC, October 23, 2019.
Thunberg arrived in the U.S. in late August after crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a sailboat. She has since been travelling across North America in an electric Tesla Model 3, provided by Arnold Schwarzenegger, to meet with leaders and support local climate activism.
Greta Thunberg arrives in New York after her 15 day boat trip across the Atlantic Ocean.
Thunberg joined a the global Sept. 27 climate strike in Montreal which drew an estimated half a million people. That same day more than 100,000 marched through the streets of Vancouver. Millions more joined the global strike in cities around the world.
The teen has braved several adventures so far in Canada, including a trek to a snow-covered glacier in Jasper National Park to learn from the scientists who study the ice, and a rally in Edmonton at the Alberta Legislature, where she was met with an estimated 10,000 supporters. There she also faced a counter protest from the pro-pipeline group United We Roll.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg, left, and John Pomeroy, director of the Global Water Futures program at the University of Saskatchewan, are shown during a visit to the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks outside the Alberta legislature in a climate strike in Edmonton on Friday, Oct. 18.
On Friday, there could be a large turnout as several of B.C. largest school districts, including Vancouver and Surrey, are closed for a professional development day.
ticrawford@postmedia.com
-With files from Nick Eagland and The Canadian Press