Morning traffic was snarled Wednesday as a protest against the B.C. Liberal government and the G-8 meeting in Alberta wound its way through the downtown core.
About 20 bicycle police officers flanked the 250 protesters who walked along downtown streets, stopping at intersections for speeches and chants. Police on motorcycles and on foot halted traffic as the crowd moved through downtown, while at least one officer videotaped the proceedings.
Office workers, pedestrians and tourists paused on sidewalks to watch the Gordo-8 Coalition protest, some accepting pamphlets handed out by demonstrators.
Organizer Mia Amir said the purpose of the protest was to highlight the similarities between the G-8, which began meeting Wednesday in Kananaskis, Alta., and the province's Liberal government.
"What's happening in B.C. under the Liberal government is a microcosm of what's happening globally with the deregulation and privatization of public services," said Amir.
Taking the protest through downtown and impeding traffic was a key part of getting the message across, said Amir.
"You can annoy people into consciousness and action," she added. "We want to inspire change."
Protester Yang Chang said people unhappy with the traffic delay should be more angry about homelessness and poverty in the city.
"We're just a little blip that comes on once in a long while disturbing traffic," he said. "What you don't see is the daily hunger, the food bank being overrun with demand, people being evicted. That's the daily brutality, daily inconvenience, daily suffering."
Vancouver city police Inspector Bob Meanley called the protest a "nightmare for commuters in the downtown core."
"It really is tragic that the citizens and the visitors to our beautiful city can't enjoy it and have peace and tranquillity [without] disruption by people like this," he said.
Police were notified in advance of the rally and march, said Meanley.
In Ottawa, only one arrest was reported during Wednesday's marches, which saw more than 1,000 demonstrators rally on Parliament Hill and burn the U.S. flag outside the American embassy to protest the Group of Eight summit in Alberta.
Hundreds of protesters are again demonstrating in and around Parliament Hill today.
Police in Ottawa have praised the protesters for relatively violence-free demonstrations.
The RCMP said they hope a new trend in peaceful protests is developing.
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