sḵwx̱wú7mesh, sel̓íl̓witulh, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Vancouver) – On Friday, a coalition of local youth groups, including members from UBCc350 and the UBC Social Justice Centre, held a sit in at Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould’s constituency office, as part of a cross-country youth action in anticipation of the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24), which begins on December 3 in Katowice, Poland.
The sit-in at the Minister of Justice’s constituency office was one of many actions that took place across the country on Friday organized by a climate justice collective called Youth Rising. The Vancouver coalition was joined by other climate justice groups who occupied the offices of six MPs, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Montréal and Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna in Ottawa. Kate Hodgson, an action organizer with UBCc350, explained the impetus for a national action: “In 2015, many young people voted for Trudeau because he promised to take real action on climate change. Today, in the lead up to COP24, youth across the country are rising to address the Liberal government’s climate failures. We demand that our government develop a clear and ambitious plan by creating 1 million climate jobs by 2030 and starting the urgently needed just transition away from fossil fuels.”
The youth arrived at at 10 a.m. and held the office for the entire day, requesting that a list of demands be presented to the House of Commons by December 14. Action organizer Gabby Doebeli with the UBC Social Justice Centre explained what brought her to get involved. “We are here today because the federal government has been ignoring climate change and violating Indigenous rights. The government must uphold its promise to effectively implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and immediately stop the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. This project does not have consent from Indigenous nations on whose lands it would be built, and as such, constitutes a continuation of colonial violence.”
UBCc350 and the UBC Social Justice Centre are grassroots student groups advocating for climate justice on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm homelands.
Press contact for national inquiries: Avery Shannon, (604) 441-0693, averyshann@gmail.com
For local inquiries: Alyssa Yu, (250)271-7044, alyssaclaudineyu@gmail.com,
