Saskatoon students flex their social muscle in environmental protest

The next generation of voters came out to speak publicly about climate issues at the Vimy Ridge Memorial in Saskatoon on Wednesday.

Approximately two hundred and fifty students from elementary through high school showed up for the event. The speakers had the chance to try out their activism while also practicing their public speaking skills in front of their fellow students.

Teacher Michael Prebble says he helped organise the event because young people are the most important voices in the climate debate.

“These guys are honestly the people who are taking it most seriously, the younger generation. Our generations, including adults and policymakers in positions of power, have hesitated for too long,” Prebble said.

Student Summer Williams wants the provincial government to meet with the youth once a month to discuss these issues.

“Basically we want to give the government ideas about what the youth want, rather than them focusing on themselves,” Williams said.

“We wanted to give everyone a chance to speak. Especially for the children — this is our future; we are afraid of it.”

As the next generation, Williams feels responsible for implementing the changes they want to see.

“Climate change is being passed on to younger generations to deal with. In a while, we won’t even have time to fix it. It’s our future that we’re working for, so if we really care and want to live our lives the way we want, we need to focus on climate change now instead of putting it off,” she said.