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They came with signs, songs and a lot of spirit, thousands upon thousands of them all across Canada, including one of the largest rallies I’ve ever seen outside the Alberta legislature.

“Economics are cool, but the Arctic isn’t,” read one of the placards from among the masses of young climate change strikers who showed up Friday.

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“No planet, no profits,” read another.

Other posters were equally insightful: “Make Earth Great Again,” “Climate change doesn’t care if you believe,” and “When leaders act like kids, the kids become leaders.”

I have to admit, that last one struck a chord.

Because the painful truth for our younger generations — and the central message they were trying to deliver Friday — is that they will bear the brunt of what’s coming to a far greater degree than the political leaders too often telling them to calm down. If I was them, I’d be frustrated, too.

Unfortunately, as the strikers pointed out, getting our legislatures and parliaments totreat climate change as the crisis it is has been a struggle.