“If you give me a number, we’ll get them!” Read Corbett’s May Day speech

Lois Corbett speaks to the crowd at the rally to call on JD Irving to stop spraying glyphosate-based herbicides on Crown land.

Nearly 100 New Brunswickers gathered at King’s Square in Saint John on May Day to demand that J.D. Irving stop spraying Crown land with glyphosate-based herbicides.

It was an inspiring day with New Brunswickers young and old, Anglophone and Francophone, First Nation and settler coming together for smarter, 21st-century forest management practices.

In case you missed the action, here is the text from the rousing speech our executive director, Lois Corbett, delivered to the crowd before we marched on the headquarters of J.D. Irving.

Hi everyone, I’m Lois from Up River!

The Conservation Council of New Brunswick is so proud to see you guys here today. I see people in the crowd from Kedgwick to Kent County, and along the Kennebecasis. I see people here from Belleisle Bay and clear along the Bay of Fundy. From Grand Falls, Florenceville, Knowlesville, Woodstock, Hartland, the City of Saint John, Moncton, and Fredericton. Thank you so much for coming.

I only have one question for the premier of New Brunswick: two years, 3,000 letters later, Premier Higgs, how many letters will it take?

Thirty-five thousand New Brunswickers have signed a petition calling on the Legislature to stop spraying our Crown forest. Premier Higgs, how many more signatures will it take?

Because if you give me a number, we’ll get them.

Guys, don’t give this up. I’m on the other side of 50. I’m so glad to see people on the other side of 15.

I’ve lived through DDT, Fenitrothion, 24-D, and now glyphosate. Fundamentally, we manage our forest in a way not to protect the environment, but to protect profits over in this building [JD Irving headquarters]. It is only when the people yell will we get the change. We need our legislators to deliver. How much more will it take?

Thank you.

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