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There has been a tremendous outcry in recent weeks over plans for bike paths and pedestrian lanes in Montreal. We’ve also seen increasing pushback against the Quebec City tramway project, which until recently had solid public support. As an environmental activist of nearly 30 years, I see these types of reactions as very concerning. Projects and initiatives such as these are no longer mere wish-list items for activists or politicians. In 2020, at a time when new and increasingly dire health, social, economic and political crises are upon us, they have become necessities.
Where seldom is heard an encouraging word…
These are the changes we were calling for a year ago, almost to the day. In September 2019, we were a half a million Quebecers in the streets for the climate, calling on our elected representatives to enact significant changes in order to prevent worst case climate scenarios and to ensure a bright future for our youth.
And yet, those driving some of the desired transformations have recently come up against intense opposition, and too seldomly receive messages or signs of support. Far too seldomly.
If we get a punch in the face or a roadblock thrown up every time we try to take a step forward, do we have the strength to keep pushing on?
As said by director Pierre Falardeau (translated): “it’s the people who are going nowhere who always think that we’re going too far.” Although a somewhat contemptuous simplification, this statement is an apt description of the inescapable attraction of inertia and the path of least resistance – forces that serve as significant impediments to changemakers.
Even in difficult times like these, it is our collective duty to help (or at least to encourage) those fighting for a shared vision of a sustainable world.
Moving past “for” and “against”
The keys of success to chip away at this wall of resistance while at the same time trying to avoid divisiveness are the ability to listen and to communicate with empathy.
When science and experts are on our side, and when our activism is guided by the urgency of preserving the common good, we sometimes forget to explain why we’re doing what we’re doing. And yet, crisis or no crisis, we must never lose sight of the need to explain our actions.
It’s a small price to pay for progress. We must take the time to listen, explain, re-explain and, ideally, convince enough people to ensure that our progress is sustainable.
Unfortunately, time is a nonrenewable resource – a cruel truth indeed when an unpredictable future is tightening like a vice around our communities.
More than ever, those fighting for progress will have to overcome these many obstacles in order to bring about change sooner than later. And they need all the support we can give them.
Thankfully, courage, conviction and resilience are themselves renewable resources!
Colleen Thorpe
Director General