Young activists win 'badge of honour' with civil disobedience in Ottawa

Ninety-nine young environmental activists achieved their goal on Parliament Hill on Monday by carrying out acts of civil disobedience. The boisterous group climbed over restricted-area police barricades near the Peace Tower.

Those arrested were part of a group of 200 protesting the possible construction of the Alberta to B.C. Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline.

Some carried a giant banner reading: “Climate Leaders Don’t Build Pipelines.”

The 99 arrested were taken to a police station where they were issued citations and told not to appear on Parliament Hill for three months. They will not have criminal records, but police took their personal information. It’s unclear whether the information will go into a police database.

Protest spokeswoman Amanda Harvey-Sanchez, a third-year University of Toronto student, told media that pipeline approvals are a deal-breaker for many younger voters who helped propel the Trudeau Liberals to a majority government in last October’s general election.

One of the 99 protesters arrested in Ottawa. 

Fully intent on breaking the law, many of the 200 protesters on the Hill had been schooled in what they should and should not do during their law-breaking task. Called Climate 101, the protest was specifically for young people. It was organized by 350.org, a leading climate change fighting group.

Facing protesters on Parliament Hill is a routing activity for police – some 25,000 people were on the Hill a year ago to oppose climate change.  http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/organizers-say-over-25-000-at-ottawa-rally-for-climate-change-1.2679364

But for most of those arrested, Monday’s experience was their first brush with the law. When police officers placed a hand on their shoulder, there is no doubt their stomachs were churning.

However, it’s likely that many of those arrested will be ready to take part in future aggressive actions to protect the environment and slow climate change. They’re angry that the battle to slow global warming is being lost.

They don’t trust Trudeau 

First of all, environmentalists do not trust the Trudeau government to do the right thing and stop approving fossil fuel related projects. A go-ahead for Kinder Morgan is their biggest fear.