Jacques Cartier Bridge reopens after activists climb structure, force closure

Traffic was backed up leading onto the Jacques Cartier Bridge between Montreal and Longueuil on Oct. 22, 2024 after climate activists climbed onto the structure and hung a banner. (Scott Prouse, CTV News)

The Jacques Cartier Bridge has reopened to traffic after two environmental activists who climbed the structure on Tuesday morning, forcing its closure at the height of the morning rush hour, were arrested.

By midday, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) said that the police operation on the bridge was over.

“The situation is slowly returning to normal, with traffic lanes now open. We thank the public for their patience and trust,” the SQ wrote on X, about seven hours after the bridge was closed.

“The two individuals were arrested after the intervention of the tactical intervention squad and its partner, the SIM (Montreal's fire department),” said SQ spokesperson Camille Savoie, saying that the "two individuals will be met by investigators" and "that they could be subjected to criminal charges."

'Oil is killing us' 

According to the Collectif Antigone, which is made up of "experienced activist climbers," two activists climbed the structure of the bridge connecting Montreal to the South Shore around 5 a.m. Tuesday morning.

The stunt was carried out in concert with the group Last Generation Canada.

Once they reached the top of one of the two points of the bridge, the two climbers unfurled a red banner that read: "Oil is killing us." The message was written in French and English.

"The view is super beautiful, but what we're doing here is serious," said one of the climbers, who identified himself as Olivier, a member of Last Generation, in a video shot from the top of the bridge and posted on social media.

Quebec police (SQ) direct traffic away from the Jacques Cartier Bridge after climate activists climbed the structure and forced lanes in both directions to be closed. (Scott Prouse, CTV News)

The protester recalled that on Oct. 8, 2019, three Extinction Rebellion activists also climbed the structure of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge. In his opinion, in the five years since, the climate emergency has worsened and governments have not taken any significant measures to reverse this trend.

"There have been forest fires, floods, people who have lost their homes, people who have died from heat stroke, heat waves are getting longer from summer to summer, the effects on health, on our homes, are getting worse every year," he said.

"So governments are unable to do enough to reduce the climate crisis, and on top of that, they are incompetent to protect us from the effects," he said.

Olivier said that he and his colleague Jacob are safe.

In the video, the two men are wearing helmets and have the specialized equipment they needed to climb the imposing green structure.

"It is very important to do everything we can to sound the alarm, make changes and put pressure on the authorities. Together, we are capable of making a difference," he said.

Traffic disrupted

The SQ conducted an operation to try to convince the two climbers to come down.

"Currently, what is happening is that the negotiators and investigators from the Sûreté are trying to have a peaceful surrender of the people who are installed in the structure," said SQ spokesperson Lieutenant Benoit Richard, during a news scrum organized around 7:30 a.m.

"We are very aware of the impact that this has on traffic. However, we must ensure that people can get off safely, and ensure the safety of all the workers who are currently on the bridge," he said.

Closing the Jacques-Cartier Bridge during the morning rush hour inevitably leads to congestion on other roads, especially on the South Shore.

According to Richard, despite this observation, it would have been impossible to keep a traffic lane open on the bridge during the operation, for safety reasons.

Police said every effort will be made to allow traffic to resume as soon as possible, but everyone's safety must be ensured first.

"If it takes 10 minutes, it will take 10 minutes, but if it takes longer than that, we will ensure the safety of the people involved," said Richard.

Quebec police (SQ) were forced to close lanes in both directions on the Jacques Cartier Bridge after climate activists climbed the structure. (Scott Prouse, CTV News)

Environmental demands

On Facebook, when an Internet user criticized the Collectif Antigone for "disturbing ordinary workers who have no power," the group responded: "All other means have been tried. It is urgent that the message be heard. Oil is killing us and climate change is already disrupting the lives of thousands of people."

Last Generation Canada is calling on the federal government to join the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, “to stop the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030 and to support and fund other countries to make a rapid, equitable and just transition.”

The two groups are also calling on Ottawa to create a national emergency management agency to respond to climate disasters, such as wildfires and floods, and are calling for the closure of Enbridge’s 9B pipeline, which carries oil from Western Canada to Quebec.

According to Olivier, this pipeline represents “the biggest time bomb that threatens the drinking water and safety of residents in the greater Montreal area and all along the St. Lawrence River.”

Environment minister prefers other means of advocacy

In a written statement sent to The Canadian Press, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said he will not apologize for working in the "only federal party with a credible climate plan."

"The measures we have put in place have allowed us to go from a situation where, in 2015, we were expected to miss our emissions targets to a situation where, for the first time, emissions are decreasing while the economy is operating at full capacity," he said.

In 2001, Guilbeault, then an activist for Greenpeace, himself made headlines when he scaled the CN Tower in Toronto.

With his colleague Chris Holden, he unfurled a banner that read: "Canada and Bush – Climate Killers."

"I appreciate this group's commitment to climate action and urge them to look further into our record. As an activist, I prefer methods of struggle that keep the population on our side," the minister added in his statement.

Then Greenpeace activist and now federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, right, 31, and Chris Holden, 23, are led by officials from the CN Tower in Toronto Monday July 16, 2001. Guilbeault and Holden scaled 346 metres (1,136 ft.) on the world's tallest free-standing structure to protest Canada's role in changing the world's climate. (Aaron Harris/ The Canadian Press)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 22, 2024.