Thousands join worldwide climate marches on Trump's 100th day in office
The Associated Press | Posted: April 29, 2017 2:31 PM | Last Updated: April 29, 2017
Hundreds demonstrate in downtown Toronto, speaking out against Trump, the oilsands and Justin Trudeau
Thousands of people across Canada and the United States are marking U.S. President Donald Trump's 100th day in office by marching in protest of his environmental policies.
Participants in the Peoples Climate March say they're objecting to Trump's rollback of restrictions on mining, oil drilling and greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants, among other things.
In Washington, D.C., large crowds on Saturday were making their way down Pennsylvania Avenue, where they planned to encircle the White House. Organizers say about 300 protest marches are taking place around the country, and dozens more in Canada and overseas.
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North of the border, marches were held in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton and Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.
Hundreds marched in downtown Toronto, expressing concern about the impact Trump's policies will have on Canada's environment.
"Donald Trump has really gutted the Environmental Protection Agency, which is really bad news for us given that we share the Great Lakes together," Kim Fry, one of of the Toronto protesters, told CBC Toronto.
She had harsh words for Canada's prime minister, too.
"Justin Trudeau, who campaigned on environmentalism, has really gone backward on a lot of his key campaign commitments to reducing greenhouse gases," Fry said.
"He's greenlighted all kinds of pipelines, he continues to give subsidies to the oil and gas sector, and he hasn't come up with a a really good strategy for a green infrastructure program."
Mona Mohebbi, 18, who volunteers on her Toronto high school's environmental council, says she showed up because she's worried about environmental policies on both sides of the border
"It seems like there isn't enough awareness about it, especially with people denying climate change," she said. "It's just continuing and it's not getting better."
Around 200 people marched from Churchill Square to the Alberta legislature in Edmonton, calling for action to combat climate change.
Edmonton march organizers said Canada should be doing more when it comes to climate change and transitioning to a renewable energy economy.
"The climate crisis, it's really critical right now. To sit around and do nothing is not really an option," organizer Hannah Gelderman said.
"It's quite scary when you look at the science, to be honest. For me, that's compelling enough to get out there and be doing stuff and be organizing and doing whatever things I can in whatever way to work towards solutions."
Waves of protests
Since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, there have been national and international protests focused on issues ranging from abortion rights to immigration and science policy.
Last weekend, thousands turned out for the March for Science, a de facto protest against what activists call a denial in Trump's Washington of evidence-based science.
Trump's administration is considering withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, which more than 190 countries signed in hopes of curbing global warming. Trump has also proposed deep cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency.
In his campaign, Trump called climate change a hoax. Last month he kept a promise to the coal industry by undoing climate-change rules put in place by his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama.
Trump representatives had no immediate comment.