Climate Breakdown Rally - December 2018

[The following is a post by Hamilton 350 member Ute Schmid Jones that she originally put on Facebook.] 

As COP 24 continues to unfold in Poland, more than 40 climate activists gathered in #Hamont in front of the office of Member of Parliament for Hamilton-West-Ancaster-Dundas to reinforce the pressure on our Federal Government to act with #GlobalResponsibility on our national commitment to reduce our carbon emissions.

The rally, was to coincide with Filomena Tassi's scheduled meeting with a local climate advisory committee, in order to put media pressure on the MP. Unfortunately the meeting was cancelled earlier this week and so the activists were not given a public statement on the outcome of that consultation and meeting.

Each rally participant was instead encouraged to fill out a "visitor" information document that described their reason for "visiting the MP's Office". It is hoped that not only will Tassi read each submitted document, but that she will also respond to each in a timely matter. It is after all, the eve of an election year, and these Canadians are making it clear that they want to see their locally elected representatives step up on #climateaction.

Thank you to each community member who came out to stand in the cold today. Thank you to those who spoke at the microphone with passion... you inspire me. Thank you to those who drove by our rally and honked in solidarity.

This series of photos opens with a video introduction by Don McLean, the current chair of Hamilton 350 and concludes with some words from Grant Linney, the current chair of Hamilton Blue Dot. We will continue to demand better from our elected representatives.