Windsor companies stand up for climate concerns

Companies sacrificed open business hours to attend the global climate strike held in Charles Park Square Friday, September 27 and reinforce the message of climate action.

Businesses such as Taloola Cafe on Devonshire Road, Green Envy on Grand Marais Road, and Lush Cosmetics in Devonshire Mall closed their operations during the hours of the event.

For most of these businesses, this decision was additionally meant to inspire customers to join the protest. Taloola and Lush both put up signs in and around their shops promoting the event and emphasizing the importance of the cause,

“We are disrupting our ‘business as usual’ for one day, joining millions on the streets and asking you to join us…. Tomorrow our doors will reopen, but today we fight to protect the climate for future generations,” read a sign hung on a window of the Lush location inside Devonshire Mall.

Signs and speeches at the event showed particular concern about the effects of fossil fuel and meat industries as well as consumerism and its effects on the climate. Judah Zakhour, a Taloola employee, said it is important for businesses to stand with the people on these issues, confronting that narrative.

“I think it says a lot. It is a private business run by, obviously capital, which is profit and money. I think by shutting down for some time, it shows that our focus is on the earth, the environment, the thing that sustains us. I think by putting it before profit, it sends a pretty clear message,” said Zakhour.

Zakhour says that the protest made for a busy day despite closing for several hours. People who heard of the event through the cafe came to relax before the protest and came to support the business that shared their concerns over the issue.

Margaret Villamizar, the Marxist-Leninist candidate for Windsor West believes that the relationship between workers and business owners is important in inspiring change,

“It’s the people, as one of the other speakers said, the workers who produce all this wealth as well as the people who provide services, who together are a formidable force,” said Villamizar.

About 500 people attended the Charles Clark Square demonstration.