Southbound motorists on the Pat Bay Highway on Wednesday morning were greeted by white-coated individuals waving above a banner draped on the overpass just before the McKenzie Avenue exit.
A group of Greater Victoria physicians were there bringing awareness of their group’s work to bring an end to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, as well as the B.C. deaths related to the recent heat wave.
The motivation for the demonstration is climate change, Dr. Janet Ray explained in an email to Black Press Media, pointing to what she called unprecedented wildfires, droughts and heat domes, not just in B.C. but worldwide.
“As a physician and a mother, I feel I have a professional and moral duty to do everything I can to mitigate climate change for a livable future,” she wrote.
RELATED STORY: Heat-related deaths, B.C. wildfires spur Greater Victoria doctors’ call to end pipeline construction
Ray compared the federal government’s investment in the pipeline and its expansion to her work in addiction medicine.
“A hallmark of addiction is continued use despite negative consequences. We don’t label patients ‘alcoholic’, we identify Alcohol Use Disorder. Continued investment in fossil fuels while we are witnessing the harms, I believe the diagnosis should be Fossil Fuel Use Disorder,” she said.
The latter illustrates a dependency on short-term monetary gain without care for future generations, Ray added.
Wednesday’s banner event coincided with similar events in Vancouver and Seattle and was organized locally by the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War – Canada.
Â
Do you have a story tip? Email: don.descoteau@blackpress.ca.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
