7/23/2008
Depending who you ask, a protest at the Pacific Northwest Economic Region Summit today either cancelled a scheduled cruise aboard a lavish yacht, or merely delayed a tour of harbour infrastructure.
Delegates trying to board a vessel docked at the Westin Bayshore Hotel Marina were blocked from boarding by a handful of people in a demonstration organized by activist Carlene Pickard, "We came down to block the entranceway to the cruise which is on public property so it was in fact, public space for us to be able to make our voices heard and our issues considered by some of the delegates that just don't get this kind of input while they're in having their swanky banquets and presentations from a very narrow-minded group of individuals."
PNWER Executive Director Matt Morrison says the tour went ahead as planned, just a little late, "It's not a cruise first of all, it's a policy tour looking at the operations of the harbour, the inner harbour and the Port of Vancouver. We've had very successful sessions all day and so these are people going out to look at the infrastructure of the inner harbour and this is a very important part of our seminar and it has gone."
The boat blockaded by protesters sat docked and empty long after Morrison said the tour had gone ahead.
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