The organization Mères au front is presently working on a province-wide initiative called “The Generational Chair". It's an artistic project where children decorate a chair on the theme of the environment and biodiversity. Once the chair is finished, it is presented to local council as an artistic expression of their ideas, thoughts and perspectives.
Mirabelle Kelly, a member of Les Mères au front et leurs allié.e.s des Cantons de l’Est, provided details on the project and the type of work that Mères au front is involved in.
“For now this is the main project that we are working on. Children work on the project, it really starts with the children. They have a chair to decorate and this chair will be give to the municipality, to the city council members, and hopefully be a part of the table so that members have a concrete reminder that all of their decisions have an impact on the future generations,” she explained.
“The children are asked to decorate the chair with their heart. There’s no limit on what they can do with the chair, but obviously it turns around the environment and biodiversity,” she said.
Kelly is currently collaborating with students at Parkview Elementary School to give a chair to the town council of Granby. (…) “It’s a grade four class at Parkview Elementary that is making the chair for Granby. The council has accepted the project and are working with us to have a ceremony where the children will be able to give the chair.”
There are 30 municipalities in Quebec that have a chair and there are around 65 that are being worked on right now, according to Kelly. “In our area, we have Bedford, Stanbridge East, Cowansville is working on a chair, Sutton is working on a chair. There is a lot of interest in our area in the last few months,” she said.
According to Kelly, The Generational Chair project was originally developed by the mayor of Quebec City until the initiative was taken over by Mères au front.
Mères au front is a movement in Quebec, and in certain other provinces in Canada with a francophone presence, made up of mothers, grandmothers, and their allies with a mission to protect future generations from the impacts of climate change and to ensure a better future for children.
Various regions and municipalities across Quebec have a Mères au front group that carry out or support projects and initiatives in their communities related to the environment and biodiversity, including the Eastern Townships. These groups include Les Mères au front et leurs allié.e.s des Cantons de l’Est, Mères au front Estrie, and Mères au front Memphrémagog.
Kelly recently discovered Les Mères au front et leurs allié.e.s des Cantons de l’Est after working to protect a piece of land in Farnham that was facing residential development.
“I got involved in that and I tried to get some help from different organizations, the government, different health services to get some support to try to protect the land. It was very hard to get any help because people were linked, either through financing or through political links, people didn’t want to get involved too much,” said Kelly. “(…) But then we got help from Mères au front. Amongst all of the people that could help us, the people who came really and gave us this support were these mothers that came on the weekend, from all over the region. (…) I was very moved by this and they asked me if I wanted to join.”
Mères au front started in 2020, added Kelly, and its focus is addressing the climate crisis.
“It’s really a group of mothers, grandmothers, and their allies, so uncles, fathers, grandfathers, brothers, who are working together to try to give a better future to our children in terms of the natural climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis. We are trying to carry out actions that try to protect the future of our children,” she noted.
Kelly described the group as being “loosely defined” without any sort of hierarchy. “You get involved with what interests you and what you’re ready to give in terms of time. It’s really a good way to be in a supportive group, get some ideas, and get some projects going. I’m very proud to be in this group,” Kelly explained.
In addition to trying to protect the peatland in Farnham, Les Mères au front et leurs allié.e.s des Cantons de l’Est recently supported the Mères au front group in the Abitibi region to address concerns of mining and the impacts on the quality of water. They are also involved in the province-wide Generational Chair project.
For more information click the following links:
Les Mères au front et leurs allié.e.s des Cantons de l’Est.
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