Where mere months ago the stench of baking mussels hung in the air during June’s deadly heat dome, a dozen or so Coast residents gathered – shielding their candles from the cold winds whipping through Davis Bay.
As a year of deadly extreme weather comes to a close, British Columbians held vigils across the province Dec. 13 to honour those who had died in the crises caused and exacerbated by climate change. Alliance4Democracy organized a Coast candlelight vigil outside of MLA Nicolas Simons’ office and on the Davis Bay pier.
The Coast attendees remembered the 595 people who died of heat-related causes between June and August, the fire ravaged town of Lytton and the two people who died there, the people who died in mudslides last months, those who have been displaced by the year’s emergencies, as well as the countless animals lost.
“We recognize that those we lost are often those who are the most marginalized in our society. Seniors and the folks who are experiencing poverty are on the front lines of the climate emergency,” said speaker Tracey Maynard, with the Climate Emergency Unit.
Maynard expressed disappointment there was no representative from the provincial government at the vigil.
“We may or may not have the ability to legislate the changes that we need, we do have the ability to continue to provide the moral leadership and the collective pressure to make these changes,” said Maynard. Maynard added that many groups involved with the vigil, including the Climate Emergency Unit, Sunshine Coast Climate Action Network and For Our Kids Sunshine Coast, had signed the 10 actions for the climate emergency.
Other participants spoke about the on-the-Coast symptoms of climate change: farmers struggling because of the summer drought, threatened homes, and one person spoke of losing a client to the heat this past summer.
“None of us are safe. We’re all on the edge of losing someone or something in the coming years. This year is just a taste of what we’re up against,” said Maynard. “But the more that we come together and the more we’re recognizing what’s happening and telling the truth about it, and coming alongside each other to help each other, the better off we’ll be.”
