Earth Day in Quebec was marked with protests, planting trees and a warning that climate change will cost you more money.
Protesters, which included 25 environmental organizations, unions and youth groups, formed a human chain around the National Assembly in Quebec City Monday. The nearly 5,000 people on hand were calling on the CAQ government to take climate change seriously, adding the need for action is urgent.
Echoing those statements was former federal NDP leader and current CJAD 800 political analyst Tom Mulcair.
"This is to remind people that global warming is real, that climate change is real, that it's time to start acting and stop faking it. Ottawa signed the Paris Accord a few years ago and then went and bought us a pipeline as if that was going to reduce greenhouse gases. The Quebec government has Energy Saguenay which will make it impossible for Quebec to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets," said Mulcair.
Mulcair was among current and former cabinet ministers who were planting trees outside St. Mary's hospital in Cote des Neiges as part of Earth Day activities.
Also joining the chorus and speaking out against climate change on Earth Day: Hydro-Quebec president Éric Martel.
Martel sat down with La Presse Canadienne and said he is very worried about climate change because unpredictable weather is costing the Crown Corporation millions.
He said in 2018 overtime claims hit $165 million thanks to a boost in the number of severe storms and additional hours crews had to spend dealing with 24,478 power failures, an increase of 4,500 compared to 2017 and four times as many serious outages compared to the 1980s.
Repairing downed power lines isn't the only cost being driven up by climate change. According to Martel, tree maintenance costs jumped 15 per cent in just one year because trees are growing quicker. These changes to trees and other forms of vegetation is why Martel said Hydro-Quebec is asking the Energy Board is increase the budget.
Last year a team at the Technical University of Munich found that trees are growing more rapidly due to climate change. However the team led by Hans Pretzsch, Professor for Forest Growth and Yield Science at the TUM, found the wood being produced by the trees is actually lighter, with less material (making them easier to break during storms, ultimately causing more power outages).