FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 3, 2015 Sudbury, ON: Cathy Orlando is travelling to Ottawa this Wednesday for the first day of what could be the largest act of climate civil disobedience in Canadian history. Every day from November 5-8, First Nations and Metis Indigenous people will lead a march to 24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada, where participants will stage a sit-in to demand that newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commit to a freeze in tar sands expansion and begin the transition to a justice-based, clean energy economy. “There are less than 40 days until the Paris climate talks, and it’s past time that Canada was on the right side of history when it comes to climate change, and certainly in its relationship with First Nations Peoples” said Clayton Thomas-Muller, ‘Stop it at the Source’ campaigner with the global climate change campaign 350.org. “We think Justin Trudeau can step up and lead on this, but to do it he needs to take bold, ambitious action.” Scientists say that 85% of tar sands reserves must stay in the ground to keep within the 2C limit for a safe climate. The world is currently on track to blow well past the 2C limit of warming by the end of the century and Canada is one of the countries yet to put forth significant national legislation to meet our national targets. Cathy Orlando explained why she’s risking arrest at the Climate Welcome. “The Election 2015 results showed that Canadians of all walks of life are Idle No More,” says Orlando. “The politicians need our help. All we lack to transition away from fossil fuels is political will. PM Trudeau needs us, the grassroots, to create political will for a livable world for the sake of our children and the First Nations directly impacted by tarsands exploitation.” ‘Welcome Gifts’ will be delivered to the Prime Minister for every day of the action to show the moral, economic, scientific and Indigenous rights reasons for freezing tar sands expansion. The gifts include scientific reports and broken treaties, millions of anti-pipeline and anti-tar sands petition signatures, and solar panels to incorporate into the renovations of 24 Sussex Drive. The actions come just a few weeks before Justin Trudeau is scheduled to appear at the UN summit on climate change.
Contact: Cathy Orlando, 705-929-4043, email: cathy@citizensclimatelobby.ca
Sudbury Woman Risking Arrest in Climate Welcome Sit-in at 24 Sussex
Hundreds of activists in Ottawa to demand Justin Trudeau show bold action on climate ahead of UN climate summit.
Cathy Orlando has been working as the National Manager of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada since September 2011. When she asked if it was a good idea to partake in the Climate Welcome, the founder and president of Citizens’ Climate Lobby International, Marshall Saunders said, “You don’t have any street cred unless you have been arrested.”
