Today, Michèle Lavoie, a supporter of Last Generation Canada and Antigone Collective, will be released from police custody after being detained since the two groups staged an action resulting in the closure of Montreal’s Jacques Cartier bridge on Tuesday morning. Lavoie was one of three people detained, though she was on site acting as a support and did not directly participate in the bridge’s closure. The other two supporters – Olivier Huard and Jacob Pirro – remain in custody until their bail hearing, set for October 31. All three have been charged with mischief, with additional charges for Pirro and Huard of willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

Last Generation Canada is demanding that the federal government endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to stop extracting and burning oil, gas and coal by 2030 and support and finance other countries to make a fast, fair and just transition. They are also demanding the creation of a National Emergency Management Agency to respond to unnatural disasters like wildfires and floods. Antigone Collective, alongside Last Generation, is demanding the shutdown of Enbridge's Line 9B pipeline.

At around 10:30 am ET, a judge at the Palais de justice de Montreal issued a decision regarding Lavoie’s release, which will happen later today, with the following conditions placed on Lavoie: cannot be with more than three people in public; cannot talk about this case on social media; cannot talk about the case with the media.

Regarding her release and conditions, Lavoie’s defence lawyer, Barbara Bedont, had this to say:

"These conditions are unconstitutional and frightening. There is no place in a democratic society for imposing these restraints on peaceful protesters. It is a dangerous precedent, and we will be fighting them."

Today’s decision comes alongside the release of the UN Emissions Gap report, which finds the world is on track for a catastrophic 3.1℃ of warming, while Canada continues to spend billions of dollars subsidizing fossil fuels. This summer was the hottest on record, with a third of Jasper destroyed by wildfire, communities across B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Labrador evacuated, and catastrophic flooding in southern Ontario and Quebec. Continuing to pump fossil fuels into the atmosphere ensures extreme weather events like these will increase in severity and frequency. Experts confirm that Canada is currently not prepared for the myriad impacts of the climate emergency. 

It’s clear – governments and fossil fuel companies are waging war on humanity. Continuing to extract and burn oil, gas and coal is killing people all over the world and will destroy whole nations. The Canadian government has failed to address the impacts of the climate crisis at just 1.5 degrees of warming. They’ve failed to act against the biggest threat we’ve ever faced, meeting with fossil fuel lobbyists as Canada floods, scorches and burns. We refuse to die for fossil fuels and we refuse to stand by while millions are murdered. We refuse to watch as our government drags its feet to take action to protect us. We ask everyone to join us in the resistance. We have a plan. Are you in?