Third day of disruption at Montreal-Trudeau airport, environmental protesters block access
Posted July 26, 2024 3:00 pm.
Last Updated July 26, 2024 6:23 pm.
Environmental activists have once again disrupted access to the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport on Friday.
Members of “The Last Generation Canada” have glued their hands to the road and blocked Roméo Vachon Blvd. towards the airport arrivals area.
“Sorry for the inconvenience – again! Our message is clear: oil kills and we need our governments to endorse the Fossil Energy Non-Proliferation Treaty,” the group wrote on social media around 1:30pm on Friday.
Just a few moments earlier, the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport explained the ongoing situation on X:
“Concerted action by a group of individuals is causing delays exiting the YUL airport site. Measures are in place to remedy this situation as soon as possible. We invite users to use the Express Landing facilities located at the car parks.”
According to a press release, protesters started blocking the road towards the airport’s arrivals section, with banners saying, ‘Oil Kills.’
“The action follows Wednesday’s hours-long disruption at the airport, where supporters blocked access to the departures area, and an additional action yesterday, when two supporters threw washable pink paint at a door towards the departures area,” reads the press release. “The actions are part of Oil Kills, an international uprising in support of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, with simultaneous actions happening across North America and Europe.”
The group wants the government to sign a treaty to stop extracting and burning oil, gas, and coal by 2030, and to support and finance other countries to make this transition.
“I’m afraid that I’m afraid to be breaking the law, to be in the middle of the street blocking traffic, stopping people from getting to their homes and the places that they’re going,” said a protester who was there, named Jennifer. “I don’t like being here. I don’t want to be here, but I woke up yesterday and there was news that Jasper, Alberta was on fire. We are dealing with the effects of climate change all over the place right now and not enough is being done about it.”
They also want the government to create a permanent national firefighting agency that employs 50,000 full-time firefighters and create a citizens’ assembly with the legal power who can choose how to tackle the ongoing climate crisis.
“We are here to put pressure on the government to sign the fossil fuel treaty and put an end to fossil fuel extraction,” said pharmacist Vincent Lacombe who took part in the protest. “We need a National Firefighting Agency with 50, 000 firefighters because Canada is burning. Just in the past week, we’ve seen Jasper burn to the ground, and floods hit Montreal and Toronto.”
Ben Welchner is an office worker who participated in the demonstration.
He said that the wildfires last year are devastating and show no signs of slowing down.
“Three out of four Canadians support a national firefighting agency, and in a healthy democracy that would be enough. It clearly isn’t,” explained Welchner. “Instead, they’re fueling the fire by expanding the fossil fuel industry. We’ve tried being polite, and we’ve tried keeping our disruptions out of ordinary Canadians’ way. Now, if we want to survive, this is what we have to do.”
Airport officials diverted travelers to nearby parking lots and said traffic was restored around 3pm, as Montreal police (SPVM) arrested three people.
Third demonstration
A small group of protesters from the same organization sprayed paint on the outside windows of the airport on Thursday.
Montreal police reported that a 25-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman were arrested for the offences and were released on the promise to appear in court.
On Wednesday morning, environmental activists had first disrupted access to the airport by gluing their hands to the ground on one of the lanes leading to the Montreal airport’s departures landing area.
Three demonstrators were arrested at the time.
The organization describes itself as a group that advocates non-violent civil resistance.
The airport said blocking access is unacceptable -and that they’ll be taking legal action.
-With files from La Presse Canadienne
