On Saturday, Nov. 20, during a media interview with CHEK News after a protest in Victoria, B.C., David Suzuki gave the following answer when asked what might happen if government leaders don’t urgently address the ever-worsening climate crisis:
“We’re in deep, deep doo doo. And the leading experts have been telling us for over 40 years. This is what we’ve come to. The next stage after this, there are going to be pipelines blown up if our leaders don’t pay attention to what’s going on.”
Dr. Suzuki’s comments were born out of many years of watching government inaction while the climate crisis continues to get worse. He has issued this apology:
“The remarks I made were poorly chosen and I should not have said them. Any suggestion that violence is inevitable is wrong and will not lead us to a desperately-needed solution to the climate crisis. My words were spoken out of extreme frustration and I apologize.
“We must find a way to stop the environmental damage we are doing to the planet and we must do so in a non-violent manner.”
The work of the David Suzuki Foundation is driven by dozens of experts from across Canada in the disciplines of science, policy, law, communications and public engagement. Since 1990, the Foundation has produced credible and reliable evidence-based environmental information, and worked with all levels of government (including Indigenous leadership), business and communities to resolve critical environmental issues.
The Foundation works to conserve and protect the natural environment, and help create a sustainable Canada. Always grounded in sound evidence, the Foundation empowers people to take peaceful and impactful action in their communities on the environmental challenges we collectively face. As COVID-19 has shown, we must use science- and evidence-based approaches to solving global crises, and this is absolutely true for the climate crisis.
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For more information, please contact:
Brendan Glauser, bglauser@davidsuzuki.org | 604-356-8829