CWC candidates insulted and pressured to leave climate march

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Outgoing Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette and other candidates from the Coalition Avenir Québec were insulted and told to leave when they tried to join a march against climate change in Montreal on Friday.

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Accompanied by outgoing CAQ cabinet ministers such as Pierre Fitzgibbon and Chantale Rouleau, Charette was abruptly heckled by protesters, including some protest organizers, as he attempted to hold a press conference to brag about his government’s environmental record at the end of the march.

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Protesters chanted “You’re not welcome” and “Out with the CWC” as Charette tried to speak in Jeanne-Mance Park at 12:15 p.m.

Asked if he still intended to take part in the rally despite the tumult, the outgoing minister said: “Yes, of course,” adding that he had attended several marches since 2019.

A heavy police presence surrounded the CAQ candidates, who then headed towards the George-Étienne Cartier monument across the street at the foot of Mount Royal.

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The insults and shouts of the protesters became louder and the CAQ politicians left around 1:20 p.m.

Several protesters then chanted: “Na na na na, hey, hey, bye-bye.”

Protest organizers said they had warned politicians in advance not to show up if they did not back the climate demands of the coalition demonstrating on Friday.

“If these politicians do not share our demands, no, they are not welcome,” he said. François Geoffroy, spokesperson for Workers for Climate Justice, which is part of the coalitionduring a press conference on Friday morning.

“When you participate in a protest, it’s usually because you support the demands,” added Véronique Laflamme, a spokeswoman for the housing group FRAPRU and a member of the coalition.

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The coalition of unions, student associations and community groups calls for a “complete exit from oil and gas by 2030.”

Geoffroy said the demand is “radical” because it would require a complete end to fossil fuel use and production by 2030. That would mean stopping the use of gasoline vehicles by 2030.

“But this is the speech that we want to present because, unfortunately, we have been dragging our feet for 30 years in the transformation of our societies and here we are facing a wall,” said Geoffroy.

Coalition spokeswoman Marie-Josée Parent said in an email to Presse Canadienne the night before the march that politicians were also asked not to attend if they disagreed with the demands and to walk at the end of the march. row at the protest “as a sign of humility in the face of the magnitude of this crisis that must go beyond partisanship.”

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Québec Solidaire co-spokespersons Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Manon Massé, and several people waving the party’s flag were present at the march.

Nadeau-Dubois said he was not surprised by the treatment of CQA politicians, since the party and its leader, François Legault, are promoting the tunnel project, or “third link,” in Quebec City.

Liberal Party leader Dominique Anglade, who did not have the protest on her campaign calendar, received a mixed reception. Some youths asked to take a selfie with her, while others accused her of using the event to score political points, telling her, “Let’s walk alone!”

“It was important for me to be here,” Anglade said. “When I make a commitment, I keep it. I have been coming for years. I usually come with my children. This time it is not possible, but it is very important for me to be present”.

Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon had also planned to attend the protest, but announced in the morning that he had to cancel his activities for the day due to “flu symptoms”.

The protest ended around 4 pm after student leaders made speeches at the Place du Canada.

Protests were also planned in other Quebec municipalities.