Throngs of people returned to Halifax’s Grand Parade square on Saturday for a rally on the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president.
People held signs on issues ranging from women’s rights to the jailing of a Palestinian activist. The event included a Mi’kmaq prayer, a Chinese lion dance, a traditional Indian dance and a drumming performance.
Eight-year-old Gabe Hart held a sign reading “boys will be good humans.” He said he was at the event “because some girls are being treated badly and people want to make that right.”
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His mother Lyndsay Hart said she brought her family to the march so that her kids become “aware of what’s going on in the world” and that they need to “speak up for equality of women.”
Citing Trump, 16-year-old Gabrielle Sorensen said she wanted to be at the march because she’s concerned by many of Trump’s actions, adding that he’s “pulled back” from the world.
“I don’t think it matters that we live across a border, he still affects us,” she said. “We still have to take action about issues in other countries, we still have to take action about issues around the world.”
Her mother, Kim Sorensen, said she couldn’t believe the march was needed in 2018, but said she would keep marching “until everybody gets treated equally, and everybody has the same rights.”
“It’s just time to plant a pole in the sand and say ‘I’ve had enough.'”
-With files from The Canadian Press