Climate activists who scaled a Montreal bridge and overtook a downtown street last week are continuing their protests in the province this weekend, holding up traffic in Montreal, Quebec City and Sherbrooke Saturday with so-called “slow swarms.”
The Quebec chapter of the group known as Extinction Rebellion raised banners and flags at pedestrian crossings, aiming to “sensitize” drivers and pedestrians to the urgency of climate change.
The group says the actions — part of a week-long series of protests — are “legal and will not cause any inconvenience.”
READ MORE: Legault condemns Québec Solidaire’s position on climate protest action
Organizer Anne Rufiange tells The Canadian Press that she and others have been “treated like a bunch of extremists,” but that “the science tells us the situation is extreme.”
After three people were arrested for climbing up Montreal’s Jacques Cartier Bridge on Tuesday morning, another 41 demonstrators were detained for blocking a downtown street late in the day.
Quebec Premier François Legault called the bridge demonstration “an illegal gesture.” But the week of protest is slated to continue Sunday with a die-in near the McGill subway station.
–With files from Global News’ Alessia Maratta