Extinction Rebellion set to march along Kelowna’s Bennett Bridge

KELOWNA – Kelowna’s branch of Extinction Rebellion will not sit out the bridge blocking protest that has slowed traffic across the globe.

Local climate change activists will march across the WR Bennett bridge today at around 5:30 p.m., along the pedestrian walkway, organizer Ana Ciocoiu said, noting they will not be bridge blocking.

“The idea was to show our support for people around the world who are protesting today,” Ciocoiu said.

Environmental campaigners, known as XR, seek to draw attention to the climate emergency and demand that Canada and the provinces bring in policies that will see the country's carbon emissions reduced to net zero within six years.

Some of Canada's busiest bridges in activists' crosshairs include the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge over Halifax Harbour, the Burrard Street bridge in Vancouver and the Prince Edward Viaduct in Toronto.

At these destinations and their counterparts across the globe, protesters lie down or sit in traffic lanes to make their point.

Extinction Rebellion was founded in the U.K. in October 2018 but rose to prominence in April when the group disrupted traffic in central London for 11 days.

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