They marched, chanted, waved flags and indicators, and handed out pamphlets on the problems pricey to their hearts, in hopes the G7 leaders would take discover.
A whole bunch of protesters rallied in downtown Calgary on Sunday as leaders from world wide started arriving for the beginning of the G7 summit within the Rocky Mountain resort of Kananaskis, Alta., about an hour west of town.
With the positioning of the summit closed to the general public, organizers have arrange three “designated demonstration zones” in Calgary and one in Banff and have promised that stay video feeds of the protests can be broadcast on huge screens in Kananaskis to the leaders in attendance.
Except for some site visitors disruptions, Sunday’s protests had been largely peaceable.
A big group of Palestinian protesters marched by means of downtown Calgary, blocking site visitors and forcing police to intervene to get it flowing once more.
Calgary police
Carol and Mike Schmidt held a small Canadian flag as they stood in entrance of Calgary metropolis corridor — one of many protest zones in Calgary — to denounce Donald Trump’s need to make Canada the 51st state.
“We’re never becoming the 51st state. We’re proud Canadians and that’s a very loud message we want to give,” mentioned Carol Schmidt.
“We’re very proud to live in a democratic country that’s free and that we can come and use our voice today and that can be heard like this.”
These feedback had been echoed by Lesley Boyer who described the protests as “a once in a lifetime opportunity, to put myself and mark myself on the right side of history.”
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“Both of my grandfathers fought fascists and I’m very disturbed about the 51st state comments,” mentioned Boyer. “I am very afraid that he might actually try something, so this is my way to just say, in a Canadian way, go away. We’re not interested in being your 51st State. Go away Trump, we don’t want you here.”
A lot of those that rallied in entrance of Calgary metropolis corridor on Sunday needed to ship a message to U.S. President Donald Trump, that Canadians haven’t any need to be the 51st state.
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The atmosphere and Indigenous rights was additionally a spotlight for a lot of protesters.
“Water is life, water is very important. Without water we wouldn’t be here,” mentioned Josie Augr, from the Bigstone Cree First Nation.
“Our planet is composed of water, our bodies are composed of water — without water, we would cease to exist as people — with the scarcity that’s happening with water throughout the world and the drought and the climate change that we’re experiencing, it’s making it more precarious for us to think about the needs of our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren and our great great- grandchildren,” added Augr.
“Climate change is largely absent from the agenda,” mentioned Jared Blustein, govt director of Calgary Local weather Discuss. “You know it’s there in a nominal form but I don’t think the leaders are going to take meaningful action on climate change.”
“We’re experiencing more and more of the impacts of climate change, more severe storms, more severe heat domes — our world is changing and we need to take a collective stand to make sure that we’re not destroying our world for future peoples and for us today,” added Blustein.
Whereas the protests had been largely peaceable, apart from some site visitors disruptions, safety was very tight with officers available additionally seen taking images of the folks in attendance.
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With world affairs such because the wars in Ukraine and the Center East anticipated to function prominently within the G7 leaders discussions, there have been additionally a number of bigger protest teams available so as to add their voices to the debates.
They included a loud pro-Palestinian march round downtown Calgary that disrupted site visitors, forcing police, who had been conserving a detailed eye on the protesters, to intervene so site visitors stream might resume.
With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Mod, additionally invited to the summit by Prime Minister Mark Carney, a gaggle of individuals calling for an impartial Kashmir — which has been the main target of not too long ago renewed navy battle between India and Pakistan — additionally gathered in entrance of Calgary metropolis corridor.
“We need the right of self determination, whether we are going to India or Pakistan and remain independent,” mentioned Asif Nazir.
A big group of individuals calling for an impartial state in Kashmir was amongst the teams that gathered in entrance of Calgary metropolis corridor.
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Some protesters, such because the members of the Revolutionary Communist Occasion, have little hope the G7 summit will accomplish something of significance.
“We think that these G7 world leaders have led the world into a crisis. We have a cost of living crisis, we have environmental degradation, the rising tariff wars, the rising wars around the world, and they have no solution because their system has no solution,” mentioned Jordan Chyzowski.
“Capitalism is at a dead end. What we need is the working class to take control of the economy and run it democratically by our class and allocate the resources for need instead of profit of a few billionaires. And we’re trying to build a Revolutionary party that’s going to be needed to lead that struggle.”
