A coalition of activist groups will convene this Saturday the 26th of September in Montreal to call for the realization of a shared societal project connecting climate action with social justice

The new movement is calling for : 

• Net-zero emissions in 10 years, by the year 2030. 
• Status for all migrant persons. 
• The defunding and demilitarization of police. 
• The full and unconditional recognition of Indigenous solidarity. 

MONTREAL, Sept. 22, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Debout Pour La Dignité, la Coalition étudiante pour un virage environnemental et social (CEVES), La Planète s'invite au parlement, Climate Justice Montreal, XR Youth Québec, Pour Le Futur Montréal, Defund The Police Coalition, and Solidarité sans frontières announce a joint demonstration on the 26th of September 2020, at 1 :00pm, starting at the Place du Canada. 

The movement is calling for a shared social project : 

• Attaining carbon neutrality by the year 2030 by means of a just transition privileging the wellbeing of individuals and preserving social and economic security for workers.  
• Affording status to all migrant persons such that they may receive permanent residency and benefit from the same rights and services as Canadian citizens. 
• Defunding and demilitarizing police and the decolonization of police services which are, since their inception, anchored in racist ideologies. Reinvesting the resulting funds in communities with a view to offering a preventive and not punitive approach to crime, with the long term project of police abolition. 
• The full and complete recognition of Indigenous sovereignty, including the respect of both land rights and the inherent right to self-determination. 

"We are marching because we have the privilege of doing so, and because, in line with the French idiom, we have always been told that those who do not speak out consent. There is no chance that we will allow the government to believe we agree with their politics. And so I protest," explains Tamara Proulx from Extinction Rebellion Youth Quebec. 

"We are marching today because there's work to do. Our world is in danger, our communities are in danger. If we don't make systematic changes to the way we heal our trauma, deal with issues such as climate change, racialized people, migrant workers, and our most vulnerable communities, we won't have a future we can recognize. We can't sit here patiently and pass this Rubik's cube of problems unsolved to the next generation. Let's do our jobs and make sure the government does theirs." Says Elijah Olise co-spokesperson for The Racial Justice Collective and Defund the Police Coalition.

"All around the world, anxiety in the face of catastrophic global warming increases. They ask us to be realistic, to be patient. The truth is that the climate emergency will not wait for us. The youths of today are ready to take up this challenge, no matter how spiteful governments prove to be," adds Lylou Sehili, co-spokesperson for the student movement, CEVES. 

"One year after September 27, governments are proposing measures that are downright insulting. They can no longer pretend ignorance. They know very well what they are doing. The message they are sending us is that they don't care about the conditions in which our children will grow up." says François Geoffroy, spokesperson for La Planète s'invite au Parlement.

"COVID has taught us that it is difficult to preserve values such as liberty, justice, equality, and hospitality without defending our planet and allowing its inhabitants to live in it free and equal. Equal status for all is presupposed by climate justice, because the crisis is global. Many countries have already done so!" concludes Aimé Claude. 

SOURCE Coalition étudiante pour un virage environnemental et social