York Region residents join Global Climate Strike

'I try to show support in my own backyard'

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 30, 2019
Dina Al-Shibeeb

It’s not just the major cities in Canada that took to the streets to make their voices heard Friday.

Hundreds of people from across York Region showed up in Richmond Hill, marching from the intersection of Major Mackenzie Drive and Bayview Avenue to the St. Mary Anglican Church carrying their signs.

“We’re all working together because this is all one problem,” said Carrie Tai from an organization called Neighbours for the Planet.

Other organizations such as Drawdown Richmond Hill, Extinction Rebellion Richmond Hill, and St Mary's Anglican Church joined the protest.

High school students were also invited to talk about climate issues outside the church.

North of Richmond Hill, Newmarket saw some “last minute” protest as well.

“(The protesters) were coming and going,” Toby Hatch told yorkregion.com, estimating that about 50 people have attended the protest at Newmarket’s City Hall.

Hatch couldn’t join her daughter in Toronto as protests took over its downtown core of the big city mainly because of work and her “aged dog.”

People at Fairy Lake in Newmarket have also made their disdain heard.

Hatch was checking the Global Climate Strike website days before but didn’t see anything scheduled for Newmarket, but she stumbled upon the local protest that seems to have been organized “last minute.”

“I try to show support in my own backyard,” she said. “I thought it would be a bigger crowd, it was put in the last minute.”

Initially, the website showed only King and Richmond Hill as hot spots for those wanting to join the global protest, but it seems other municipalities have caught on, including Aurora, where "Fridays for the Future" organized their own meeting and protest to coincide with the global strike.

“We need to keep the pressure on,” Hatch said. “Greta (Thumberg) is helping us to have a voice and if everybody makes a small change, it makes a big difference.”

The Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg who gave a fiery speech at the U.N. has ignited the global strike.

Thunberg even met with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau Friday, telling him that he didn’t do enough to protect the environment from the threat of runaway climate change.

Hatch, who is driving a hybrid car, urged everyone to have solar panels on their houses or cottages.

“I wish if they can take more steps for sustainable fuel and get away from oil. Right now, a purely electrical vehicle is next to impossible since there aren’t many stations to recharge them,” she said.

Hatch said passing drivers showed their support by honking.

In Vaughan, Mbabazi Okafor, a high school student, has planned a rally with her colleagues at the intersection of Major Mackenzie and Keele Street.

It was supported by Okafor’s high school's environmental club, called The Maple High School Eco Team.