Several young activist groups in Canada came together earlier this month to announce an upcoming strike on September 25th. The campaign and event, named #NotGoingBack, is an action to let politicians know they are not going back to a pre-COVID normal until they “win economic, racial and climate justice; with young, racialized, poor, disabled, queer and trans communities who are most impacted at the forefront”.
While the coalition named in the press release is led by Climate Strike Canada and Our Time, they are also joined by the Vancouver group, Sustainabiliteens.
“On September 23rd, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will give a throne speech to explain the Liberals’ COVID-19 recovery plan,” they write on the Sustainabiliteens Facebook event page. “He has the power to decide what comes next: a just recovery, or a shove back to the status quo.”
September 25th marks the global climate strike originally inspired by youth activist Greta Thunberg, of which Sustainabiliteens participated in 2019 along with 100,000 other Vancouverites who took to the streets. This year’s campaign coincides with this day of global action and also takes it a step further to make specific requests of the Canadian government and Prime Minister Trudeau.
Beyond climate action, the organizers are demanding that Trudeau’s economic plan “invests in people, not corporations”, “dismantles racism and colonialism”, and “treats the climate crisis like the emergency it is.” They’ve outline further details under these three items that can be seen on their page, https://wearenotgoingback.ca/
Due to the risk of spreading COVID-19 this year, concerned citizens will be pleased to hear there are physical distance guidelines in place, with gatherings split into 4 areas and mandatory mask use to keep everyone safe.
