Daniel Pipe was one of several residents who attended the Seniors’ Climate Witness Caravan stop in North Bay
Daniel Pipe cares about the environment, but he got a scary view of Mother Nature’s fury this summer while canoeing in Wabakimi Provincial Park near Thunder Bay.
“I’ve been concerned with climate warming for a long time, but this summer, something happened to me that really brought it home,” said Pipe.
“I was on a canoe trip, and we became entrapped in what became the largest forest fire in Ontario history. And we spent the night on a rocky point of land, immersed in the water for a lot of it, wondering if we would ever see the dawn.
“And I remember thinking when I was lying there in the water, we have done this. Us, you and I, and everyone else, in the industrialized world. And it’s disheartening to think that a lot of the climate change we see now is locked in by emissions that were emitted 20 years ago.”
See: Thunder Bay 36 largest wildfire in Ontario history — by far
Pipe was one of a number of environmentalists who gathered at the Canadian Tire EV station in North Bay Friday morning as part of the Seniors’ Climate Witness Caravan.
Michael Polanyi is the co-founder of Seniors’ Climate Witness, a cross-country caravan of seniors travelling in electric vehicles. The caravan started in Victoria, B.C., in early September, with stops in Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and North Bay.
The group describes the trip as the first-ever electric vehicle caravan of seniors.
Organizers say the caravan is calling on the federal government to reject new fossil fuel pipelines, uphold its climate commitments, respect Indigenous rights and invest in clean energy and climate resilience.
Polanyi said the group has been hearing climate change stories from residents along the journey to Ottawa.
“I’ve heard a story here about somebody who was evacuated by a fire and almost lost their life this summer,” said Polanyi, referring to Pipe.
“So climate change is affecting North Bay. It’s affecting Sudbury. It’s really affecting all Canadians, and we want to hear as many stories as possible, and we’re collecting as many photos as possible to take to Parliament next week, so that politicians, when they’re making decisions about energy policy, other economic policies, they’re keeping in mind the human face of the climate emergency.”
Pipe’s experience has strengthened his passion for calling on the government to hasten the conversion to green energy sources.
“I think we really have to take a longer-term view of this, and I’m glad to see the people who are, let’s say, older than average, have the means to do that, because we’ve lived, we’ve lived for a few decades, and we can think about a longer term,” said Pipe.
“We can think about people in future generations.”
Polanyi echoed those concerns.
“We’ve heard a lot of stories from grandparents, very concerned about their experience of their grandkids’ experiences,” he said.
“So some talking about grandkids just sort of very sad about not being able to go outside because of the smoke. Grandkids who are telling their grandparents, they don’t think they’re going to get to our age. They’re just scared because of the situation in the world.”
The western and eastern caravans are expected to converge in Ottawa on Sept. 19, where organizers have planned a series of public events, including a Global Climate March, public witness events, a Peace & Climate Rally and nonviolent-action training.
“We’re asking our leaders to invest in good jobs and a safe future—not in the burning of fossil fuels that will cause even more devastating heat and wildfires,” added Polanyi.
The group says its Ottawa events will coincide with the return of Parliament.