EDMONTON – One of Canada’s most famous environmentalists has accused the government, corporations, and Canadian citizens of crimes against the planet, and on Wednesday, he’ll defend those accusations.
The Trial of Suzuki is a public event being held at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) on Wednesday evening.
The mock trial will put Suzuki on the stand for seditious libel in front of a judge, real lawyers, expert witnesses, a select jury of journalists and stakeholders, and a live audience.
The event has not been without controversy. In October, the judge scheduled to take part in the mock trial backed out after questions were raised about possible bias from Justice Harriet Sachs. During a promotional event, a Sun News host repeatedly questioned Suzuki, and asked several questions about Judge Sachs. Two days later, a news release announced she would no longer participate.
Suzuki previously accused the Canadian government, Canadian corporations, and even Canadian citizens of “wilful blindness, immoral activity, and intergenerational crimes.”
“The way that our public, generally speaking, has been made aware of climate change has been through scientific literature, and fact based initiatives, and it doesn’t seem to be resonating with a population that’s over stimulated, that is worried about many, many other things,” said Dave Ireland, the ROM’s Acting Managing Director for the Centre of Contemporary Culture. “So, in order to really engage our public, we’ve been fooling around with the idea of mixing art and science.”
The campaign was created and produced by Laurie Brown, in partnership with Donnelly Law. It is presented by Cape Farewell Foundation, a North American climate change charity, and is part of the ROM’s Carbon 14: Climate is Culture exhibit.
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The Cape Farewell Foundation has been criticized for its approach to creating discussion around climate issues.
In 2011, the foundation’s United Kingdom office hosted a mock trial in London, England that looked at the issue of ‘ecocide.’ That event came after a proposal to include ecocide — the environmental equivalent of genocide — in the United Nations’ crimes against peace.
There will be a live audience watching the mock trial at 8pm EST and the whole event will be live streamed online. (Click here to watch live at 8pm EST)
“At the end of the trial – after both the prosecution and the defence and the key witness and the accused are given an opportunity to say their bits – at the end of the event, the judge will look to the audience for their … verdict on David Suzuki.”
Those watching the live stream will be able to vote on the verdict online between 10pm to midnight EST.
According to the ROM, the event is meant to challenge the audience’s thoughts on climate change.
“It really is an opportunity to put Canadians in a position of decision making, and put them in that awkward position that our policy makers find themselves in everyday,” explained Ireland.
Organizers hope the presentation sparks a larger conversation about climate change and national policy.
“I hope the conversation around climate change and its impacts on culture both here in Canada and around the globe is elevated. I hope people see beyond David Suzuki, he’s just one part of this. It definitely is an attractive component, but it’s much bigger than David Suzuki. It really is about… what do we want our future to look like and how do we want to get there?”
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