Colleen ThorpeThe fight against climate change and the struggle against socio-economic inequality go hand in hand, guest speaker Colleen Thorpe told delegates on Tuesday.

Thorpe, after a long career as a noted foreign correspondent, is currently the executive director and spokesperson of Équiterre. Highly influential in Quebec, this environmental organization aims to accelerate the transition to a greener society.

Thorpe reminded delegates that public engagement is steadily increasing, especially among youth. On September 27 in Montreal, nearly 500,000 people, including many trade unionists, took to the streets to highlight the urgency of an ecological transition.

“This kind of mobilization will not be just a flash in the pan,” she said. “It will grow over time. And the labour movement will play a key role in it. The real solutions will be collective rather than individual.”

She not neglect the individual actions that workers can take. Citing agronomist Louis Robert, who denounced the influence of the pesticide lobby on research projects in Quebec, she also reminded us of the crucial role that whistleblowers can play in the public sector.

“Clean energy production, urban densification, organic farming, the development of electrified public transport… all this is necessary for the climate transition. And we will do it for our children, but also for ourselves,” she concluded.