Jane Fonda, Joel Plaskett, David Suzuki among celebrities to march with thousands on July 5, on eve of the Pan American Climate and Economic Summits

 Toronto — At 1:00pm on Sunday, July 5 in front of the Ontario Legislature in Queens Park a broad coalition of more than 100 groups, representing hundreds of thousands of people across Canada will gather for the March for Jobs, Justice and the Climate. The march has attracted the attention and support of a number of celebrities including Jane Fonda, Joel Plaskett, and David Suzuki — all of whom will be joining the march.Fonda is a well-known and accomplished activist who has been involved with civil rights, anti-war, Indigenous sovereignty, and feminist movements for more than 40 years. She recently traveled to Vancouver to stand with First Nations fighting oil pipelines and tankers on the west coast.

“I am coming to Toronto to stand with First Nations, workers, and the powerful movement building solutions to the climate crisis. Indigenous people have been defending the land for centuries, they are on the front lines of climate change and fossil fuel extraction, but they’re also showing us that real solutions are within our grasp if we have the courage to reach for them,” she said. “When the workers in the oil and gas industry themselves are calling on their government to help them find cleaner jobs that don’t burn the planet, you know we’re ready for change.”

Plaskett is a Juno Award winning Canadian rock musician and national icon originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and based in Dartmouth. With his band The Emergency, he has toured throughout North America and Europe.

“I am attending this march because I am inspired by the activists and concerned citizens who are on the front lines, pushing against a rampant and dangerous fossil fuel driven economy,” he said. “I think it’s important to be involved and to send the message to our government that Canada should be leading the transition to renewable energy, not following corporate interests at the expense of our environment.”

Both Fonda and Plaskett were recently inspired by Naomi Klein’s book on capitalism vs. the climate, This Changes Everything — and have decided to stand in solidarity with First Nations and workers this July.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. “We can and must change. People all over the world taking part in marches like the Toronto march know it. Religious leaders understand it. Global organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Health Organization are talking about it. In Canada and elsewhere, municipal and provincial or state governments have been leading the way,” he said. “As world leaders prepare for the global climate summit in Paris in December, it’s time for them to join this growing, diverse groundswell of people who are showing the world the need and possibilities for a better way.”

Other high profile march attendees include authors, activists, and musicians Tantoo Cardinal, Sarah Harmer, James Hoggan, Joanna Kerr, Naomi Klein, Stephen Lewis, Bill McKibben, Tom Rand, Judy Rebick, Jeff Rubin and Adria Vasil.

For more information: https://jobsjusticeclimate.ca/media/

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