Stephen Bede Scharper is associate professor with the Centre for Environment, University of Toronto.
"Earlier this month, at a Conservative party campaign rally in Guelph, Joanna MacDonald, a fourth-year university student, was barred from hearing Prime Minister Stephen Harper speak.
"“You have been flagged,” Joanna was told by a rally organizer.
"When asked what that meant, she was informed that the RCMP had run a background check and she was deemed “unfit” to attend. In trying to find out why, she was told by one organizer that it might be because she was part of an environmental club at school. ...
"An environmental geography student at the University of Guelph, Joanna was a Canadian Youth Delegate both in Copenhagen and at the 2010 climate talks in Cancun, Mexico. Currently she is a dedicated student-citizen with a passion for the Earth and a laudable interest in climate change policy.
"Joanna is unaffiliated with any political party, has no criminal record, and comes from a dynamic family that I have known for years. ...
"Joanna MacDonald’s experience has left her not only frustrated, but worried. “What events will I be barred from in future and what repercussions might there be?” she wonders.
"Her questions are applicable to us all. A strong, inclusive democracy, with vigorous and open debate, is the best guarantor that the voices of youth, women, and those who dedicate their lives to a sustainable future will be heard.
"Any government that tries to silence those voices is creating an undemocratic — and inevitably smog-laden — atmosphere."
Full article: No welcome mat for environmentalists.
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