By Diane Drak Alsibai – Contributor

Friday, Sept. 29 marked the annual Climate Walk organized by the Coalition Étudiante pour un Virage Environnemental et Social (CEVES) from the Université de Sherbrooke. Various environmental organizations, students, and residents around Sherbrooke gathered to protest for the climate and social justice. This was under the context of a climate action week – Semaine de la Rage Climatique – where various activist groups held similar events throughout the week.

Students from Bishop’s University also attended and showed support, as well as the Sustainable Development (SD) office and the Environmental Club. The SD office also distributed free single-use tickets to encourage sustainable modes of transportation. The Environmental Club made sure to send out instructions on the meeting place at Bishop’s University and the protest’s destination. 

Along with our signs and passion, we met the crowd at Parc Jacques Cartier where speeches were being presented. A lot of people expressed their rage that action is still not being taken to reduce carbon emissions and prevent biodiversity loss. According to the COP 27, Canada was supposed to end fossil fuel consumption and become carbon neutral by 2050. As we are approaching 2024, we are failing to meet this goal. 

Once the heartfelt speeches were given, we began our walk from Jacques-Cartier to L’Hôtel de Ville on rue Wellington. Plenty of people held up signs related to environmental awareness as we all shouted and expressed our rage to be heard. Some chants included “What do we want?” – “Change!” and “When do we want it?” – “Now!” 

Along the way, we protested near the CIBC which is one of the five major banks in Canada (others being RBC, Scotiabank, TD, BMO, and RBC) investing in fossil fuel companies. Once we made it to the Sherbrooke Town Hall, young students expressed their sadness about no longer being able to live out their lives normally as global warming continues intensifying. Pandemics, diseases, forest fires, natural hazards, poor air quality and other climate change outcomes might be our cause of death. There was smog the day the walk was held. 

Attending this event was truly eye-opening and made me realize that there is still a lot to be done, as Fridays for Future walks have been happening since 2018, and we are still not being heard. However, it was inspiring to see such a diverse group of people from different ethnicities, educational and professional backgrounds and ages come together in solidarity for the same goal: a greener planet!