I had travelled up to be part of a public presentation of the names of 100,000 Canadians who want Canada to get its act together on climate change. We had all their names on a letter, and also on four 50-foot banners. They were kind of hard to hold in the wind on the Hill.
But our intrepid youth contingent managed to give voice to those 100,000 people.
What a typically Canadian scene this is, orderly protestors in between the Confederation flame and the Houses of Parliament, a motley assortment of cups from Timmy's their only comfort. As I took this photo, I sensed a sudden movement behind me and turned around to find myself surrounded by a flock of Japanese tourists taking pictures. It was really hard, but I stopped myself from taking their picture.
After the photo op, three of us walked over to the Prime Minister's office to deliver the letter. Not surprisingly, we weren't allowed up. Neither were we allowed to leave it with the reception desk. We had to walk outside around the building to drop it in a steel box. It hit the bottom of the box with a loud THUNK before we even thought to take a picture. That's the sound of democracy.
We then went into Parliament's West Block to sit in on the Environment Committee's hearings on Bill C311, the Climate Change Accountability Act. There was some grandstanding -- a lot from the government, less so from the Liberals, Bloc, and NDP. And there was lunch -- though once the committee chair saw our group of about 10 youth come in, they put up a "members only" sign on the sandwich tray, and called in a security guard. Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!
All this aside, it is still amazing to me that you can walk off the street into our Houses of Parliament, hand over your ID and have your bag x-rayed, and then walk right into committee hearings where you can buttonhole an MP and have a good chat.
That's really not so bad.
1 comment:
No I guess we haven't got it so bad. You guys must have reallllly looked hungry though to warrant security on the sandwhich tray!
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