Second-year geography and Indigenous studies student Madeline Laurendeau is suing the federal government.
She’s met Greta Thunberg, spoke to David Suzuki and planned a climate strike so large it broke records.
But Laurendeau didn’t stumble upon climate activism, rather, her path to becoming a climate change activist was built out of necessity.
An activist since birth
Hailing from Treaty One territory, Laurendeau is a Métis environmental, disability and queer rights activist.
However, as a pre-teen, Laurendeau only considered herself a social activist.
“As a kid, the environmental activism you’re presented with is confined to personal actions like recycling, eating vegetarian, which are important but this didn’t really speak to me as an activist.”
In high school, Laurendeau’s passion for environmental action was ignited.
It was not until Laurendeau connected the social issues she was passionate about, like Indigenous rights, to climate change, she became a climate change activist.
Organizing climate strikes and walkouts through Manitoba Youth for Climate Action allowed Laurendeau to get her start in climate activism, alongside her peers.
Collaborating with other youth activists is important to Laurendeau. With climate change deniers at her high school, many students were indifferent to climate issues. “It didn’t make sense how these people weren't feeling the same way I was about climate change. The earth is literally dying.”
One of Laurendeau’s greatest feats was organizing a strike that had 15,000 people attend. “It was the biggest strike in Manitoba since the Strike of 1919 and it was 100 years later, so that was an amazing parallel.”
This strike was different for Laurendeau.
Instead of the normal feeling of impending doom, “that week felt hopeful for climate activism. I felt most involved with climate work.” She and her peers planned events leading up to the strike and were involved in large-scale media releases.
The flight of a lifetime
In September 2019, Laurendeau signed up for an interview to speak about her experiences with climate change.
Climate change was impacting her health. Her asthma has been worsened by forest fires and her generalized anxiety disorder and depression have been aggravated by climate anxiety.
15 youth from across Canada are suing the federal government with the support of the David Suzuki Foundation, Our Children’s Trust and the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation in the case La Rose et al. vs. Her Majesty the Queen.
Lauredeau is among them.
The lawsuit, filed on October 25, 2019, argues that the government has not just “neglected to mediate climate change, but that their actions directly cause climate change like the purchase of pipelines and continued oil extraction” said Laurendeau. This violates Sections 7 and 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
This means that the federal government is violating the plaintiffs' rights to life, liberty and security of the person, failing to protect essential public trust resources and violating the rights of equality as youth are disproportionately impacted by climate change.
“My timeline being involved with the lawsuit was very quick. They had been working on it for months and every other plaintiff had already signed on but they were looking for one more person.”
The plaintiffs of La Rose et al. vs. Her Majesty the Queen are calling on the federal government to implement a plan to reduce GHG emissions and do its ‘fair share to stabilize the climate system and avert the catastrophic consequences of climate change.’
“I signed the paper five days before the press release. It was a very quick turnaround. That same day, David [Suzuki] booked me on a flight to Vancouver and I was there for the press release.”
The press release, as described by Laurendeau, was “the craziest thing [she’s] ever been a part of.”
“I didn’t feel real, you know? Going from organizing locally, spending hours a week on Zoom calls with people I know locally to being in front of 15,000 people had me shocked. Like what? How am I here right now?”
Since then, it’s been a slow-moving process for the 15 La Rose et al. vs. Her Majesty the Queen plaintiffs. Laurendeau described the process as court dates and appeals.
Currently, the plaintiffs are awaiting a date for oral arguments in the Federal Court of Appeals.
Accessibility in activism
Laurendeau had to stop actively participating in climate activism nearing the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was heavily involved with the student climate strike initiative and was involved in planning those for a long time. Right when it was peaking, in late 2019, I got sick with a chronic illness.”
The COVID-19 pandemic opened up new forms of activism to her.
“I think that, honestly, COVID has made activism a lot more accessible,” said Laurendeau. “We know that hybrid courses are possible, we know that online courses are possible. And [these are] all things that disabled students and activists have been asking for this whole time, and were denied.”
Stepping back from climate activism was a healthy choice for Laurendeau, who has had ten surgeries since. But she is still committed to fighting climate change and educating others.
“As a geography student, I still spend most of my waking moments thinking about climate change and my role in addressing it.”
This article originally apperaed in The Ubyssey's November 23 print issue.
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