VANCOUVER — Veronica Alice was inspired Sunday by what she saw online of the massive People’s Climate March in New York.

So when the 51-year-old Sunshine Coast resident, who was in Vancouver for work, finally heard about a local version of the call for action on climate change she joined the throng of people that filled the Hamilton Street plaza in front of the CBC building.

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CLICK HERE to view photographs from the march in Vancouver, and others around the world. If using a handheld device, tap the image above and swipe.

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The New York march was reported to have attracted 310,000 people in advance of the UN Climate Summit there on Tuesday.

Alice called the Democracy Now coverage of the event “awesome.”

“They were there for all the right reasons,” said Alice.

The sentiments were similar in Vancouver, which was just one of many events held in more than 130 countries around the world.

“It’s the system that got us in the mess,” said Alice. “It’s the system that needs to change. Hopefully, at some point our government officials will listen. They’re supposed to represent the people, not corporate interests. It’s a serious problem.”

The mood in Vancouver Sunday was serious, but also joyous, with a crowd that included everything from babies and their parents, to teens, middle-aged boomers and seniors.

Kids coloured chalk pictures on the sidewalk, while speakers talked in between musical performances before the crowd left the plaza for a march through the city.

The turnout was surprising considering the event was loosely organized by a new grassroots group called Climate Convergence.

Vancouver resident Shirley Samples, one of the organizers, said talk of the People’s March in New York was the inspiration for Vancouver.

“As soon as I heard that, I knew were going to have a march here,” she said.

She was too busy Sunday to watch what was going on in New York, but was impressed by the turnout there, which was three times what had been expected.

“Wow, that’s awesome,” said Samples, 55, a retired mother of two.

Samples got involved in Sunday’s event “to empower people.”

“I believe people in our country — for whatever reason — don’t feel that what they say or do makes a difference to the politicians,” she explained. “In any major issue that has ever faced people, the planet or anything, it’s people being on the street that matters.”

Like others, Samples is disappointed that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is apparently not attending the upcoming UN summit on climate change.

“I think us being on the streets of Vancouver, even if there was only 100 of us, is still a message that there are people who don’t like what you (Harper) are doing and want better. This is just the beginning of the movement.”

Events similar to Vancouver’s were held across Canada, but also in London, Berlin, Paris, Rio and Seattle.

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CLICK HERE to view photographs from the march in Vancouver, and others around the world. If using a handheld device, tap the image above and swipe.

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