People marched down Kelowna's Bernard Avenue Friday afternoon, chanting and waving signs, to protest inaction on climate change.
The climate strike is the second similar event held in Kelowna, after hundreds of people took to the streets in September, and it was held in co-ordination with marches around the world, including a large one in Vancouver.
Organizer Ana Ciocoiu, with the local chapter of Extinction Rebellion, said they're hoping to convince Kelowna city council to declare a climate emergency. One policy change she'd like to see is the creation of a citizens' assembly.
“We'd have people from all walks of life that come onto that council, research initiatives, and propose initiatives that are hopefully going to be much better than the current climate plan the city has come up with,” Ciocoiu said.
The cold weather kept Friday's crowd much smaller than the large one that came out in September, but dozens of people still took to Bernard Avenue to get their message heard.
The event coincided with Black Friday's shopping frenzy.
“One way to do your part is not participating in Black Friday,” Kelowna Climate Save's Adam Frank told the crowd.
“The consumerism and the amount of products that we purchase on a daily basis has a huge impact on our environment. Think of all the products that are being bought today that are going to go into the trash. It's unbelievable.”
- Nicholas Johansen, Castanet
