Vernon students strike for climate action - again

It’s the second strike in less than a week for Earth Strike Vernon.

Students gathered at city hall early Friday morning and, carrying protest signs, made their way to the steps of the Vernon courthouse. The group, most of whom are high school students, are calling for action from the government to hold corporations accountable for “significant contributions to climate change”.

Last Saturday, over 100 protesters also took the courthouse steps to strike for the same cause.

Grade 10 student Kieran Grandbois, spokesperson and organizer for the movement’s local chapter, said that the protest on Saturday was for all members of the community, while today’s protest was almost entirely student led.

“It’s really a sign of the students banding together to fight for our futures,” said Grandbois.

Grandois said that students are protesting because they don’t yet have representation in government or the ability to vote, and there is no time to waste.

“This is a definitive turning point in history,” said Grandbois. “Which side will you stand on? The one that stood for our right to a clean planet or the side that stood idly by?”

This is one of several protests put on as part of the global Earth Strike movement, which began in November 2018. Since its conception, the movement has spread to over 60 countries. Demonstrators have said they want climate change to be recognized as a crisis and, according to their website, are “demanding immediate climate action from governments and corporations worldwide.”

Earth Strike protests continue in #vernon “we want change” said students â¦@VernonNewsâ© pic.twitter.com/rOYEVGQhzn

— Laryn Gilmour (@LarynGilmour) May 3, 2019