Pour Nos Enfants/For Our Kids Montreal is a team of many spirits and directions. Over the late summer and fall, the team has taken part in a lawsuit application, a school tree planting day and a continuation of political discussions on the need for a green and just transition from fossil fuels.
Trees and MPs: Pour Nos Enfants Update
Trees, Kids & Dirt
On October 16, 2021, the team got their hands dirty at a local school in Villeray. Dozens of people planted trees and bushes alongside Soverdi, a local organization working to increase urban green spaces and tree canopy.
Schools are a critical place for all kinds of learning. Not only did the tree and bush planting help the kids learn about the growth cycle, the growing saplings will shade the school facade to reduce heating and cooling costs and create more sheltered play areas. Access and exposure to nature is also a deeply important part of development.
Team member Alexandra has also been engaging kids, families and teachers at her daughter's local school. They secured funding from the city to create a pollinator garden project as part of her school's green committee. Parents planted shrubs, perennials and over 500 bulbs that will appear in spring. Several compost bins have been installed that kids are filling with autumn leaves to compost over the winter. The garden will continue to be a site for connecting to nature, learning about ecosystems and discussing hopeful actions to curb climate change.
For Our Kids/Pour Nos Enfants has an active awesome Facebook page here. Click to learn more about them, get climate news, propose projects or come join us!
Green and Just Transition
The fossil fuel sector has been suffering some heavy hits as the climate crisis deepens. Pour Nos Enfants has been meeting with government leaders for months to advocate for a green and just transition from fossil fuels. It was a commitment from the Liberal government and no one is prepared to let them off the hook.
After gathering signatures, Dr. Kelly Marie Martin and Jennifer Smith from For Our Kids Montreal met with Rachel Bendayan, MP for Outremont-CDN-Mile-End to present a parliamentary petition for the Canadian government to implement just transition legislation.
The team celebrated a victory when MP Bendayan agreed to table the petition as soon as parliament resumes!
La Rose Lawsuit
In early 2020 parents and grandparents of Pour Nos Enfants/For Our Kids led the national network to apply for intervenor status in support of a lawsuit launched by fifteen Canadian youth. The LaRose lawsuit charged the country with failing children and youth by stalling action on climate change.
Both the case and our application to intervene was dismissed in late 2020 and though the team appealed the decision, the application for intervenor status was rejected by the Federal Court of Appeal. The good news? The youth's lawsuit remains standing. The court will makes its decision in the next few months. The team will continue to support the youth as their case heads through the appeal courts. More detail on the case can be found here.
