The sunshine walk from Toronto to Ottawa
A group of like-minded Canadians walked from Toronto to Ottawa from October 4 to 20, to deliver a letter to the PM of Canada, Stephen Harper, asking for rational environmental policies and raising awareness on the critical issue. The walk was inspired by Mr. Dewan Shuaib Afzal, a Canadian of Bangladeshi origin, who had walked from Toronto to the Niagara Falls, calling for an end to racial profiling in 2004. The Sunshine Walk was supported by friends and activists and endorsed by many Canadian organisations and individuals. The slogan of the initiative was "Rain or shine -- we'll walk for sunshine." The organisers spelt out their objectives in a pamphlet on the walk saying: "Every hour, the sun beams as much energy at the earth as humanity collectively uses in a year. All we have to do is harness it. Clean, affordable, renewable and sustainable energy such as solar, wind, geothermal and marine power exists all around us. We don't need dirty, dangerous, expensive energy like oil, gas and nuclear when we have the knowledge, ability and means necessary to build a better world. A better world is necessary -- a better world is possible. In fact, a better world is coming. Combining the best ideas of our best thinkers and working together, we can and must inspire our government to enact policies that are just and ensure a sustainable world." In specific terms, they stated the national goals and the international obligations of the Canadian government. They said: "We know that people in areas such as the Arctic, Bangladesh, Darfur, the Sahel, Tuvalu, the Maldives, the Amazon, parts of China and many others are already suffering the impacts of climate change. Canada is repeatedly called upon to meet its commitments, demonstrate leadership in this crisis and to act promptly and progressively to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Global warming must be kept as far below 2° Celsius as possible in order to prevent catastrophic consequences -- this means developed countries such as Canada must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40% (from 1990 levels) by 2020." The Sunshine walk moved through many towns and met many friends along the way in places such as Pickering, Darlington, Oshawa, Port Hope, Cobourg, Trenton, Belleville, Napanee, Kingston, Godfrey, Sharbot Lake, Perth, Carleton Place and others. Throughout their journey, they met with elected public officials including mayors and councilors, social activists and concerned citizens. They talked about what could be done to achieve a more environment friendly lifestyle, solutions for climate change and mobilisation for a greater duty towards saving the world by meeting the promised obligations made at the Kyoto summit. The group maintained a blog on their journey. Adrianna Mugnatto-Hamu, who kept everyone in touch with the walk, mentions the first day. An excerpt is given below: Saturday, October 4, 2008: "It's been a thrilling and exhausting day. It's approaching midnight and there's too much to possibly describe in a single post. So I'll say some thank yous and focus on one observation. Thank you to Dewan, the inspiration for this walk. By the end of the day, he was clearly exhausted but kept trudging on with tired determination. Thank you Rita, for your wisdom and eternal good spirits. Rita brought her bike because of concern that her knees would not survive, and, as a result, seems to be traveling greater distances going back and forth between supporters and walkers and running errands in between. Thank you Kim, Stuart, Alex and Mustaq, our permanent support network who look after us. Thank you to all the people who came out to walk with us today, friends, supporters, candidates, Dewan's endless stream of cousins. Thank you to the many people who are supporting us along the way with offers of food, shelter, errands and so on. "Thank you to Stephen Scharper, Dorothy McDougall, Dave Martin, Carolyn Egan, Eddy, Misha, Waeza and the other young people who so inspired us with their thoughts at the kickoff, which now seems eons ago. Thanks to people like John Bell, Rich, Paul York and Michael who helped make that kickoff a success. Thanks to the crowd of people who escorted us through the city. Thanks to the nice policemen who keep an eye on us to make sure we're safe. Thanks to Betty Anne, whose house I'm staying in and whose computer I'm writing this note on." Although the walk was intended for all in Canada, there was particular focus on Bangladesh. Everyone wanted to draw attention to the plight of Bangladesh and the need to support its efforts to battle climate change. Mr. Dewan Shuaib Afzal, who is 63 years old and is a bypass operation survivor, walked all the way and kept a walking stick just in case. The walk ended on October 20 and a letter was handed over to the PM's office. The group, meanwhile, has already started to organise several future events. It has led to a great deal of attention and awareness, and the members are now planning more events.
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