'Occupy' events draw hundreds in Calgary, Edmonton

Hundreds of protesters attended noisy but peaceful "Occupy" events in downtown Calgary and Edmonton on Saturday.

The demonstrations are part of the Occupy Wall Street movement which began several weeks ago in New York City and has since become a global phenomenon.

Activists at the marches and sit-insmainly targeting business districts and important economic venuesblame powerful financial institutions and other large corporations for an ever-widening gap between rich and poor.

More than 400 people showed up at Bankers Hall to support the "Occupy Calgary" movement which was allowed to set up camp on St. Patricks Island, west of the zoo.

In Edmontons downtown Churchill Square hundreds of people chanted slogans and carried placards calling for reforms on several fronts, from economic inequality to environmental protection.

The unifying theme was dissatisfaction with political systems which the protesters say put corporate profit ahead of the welfare of most of the world's citizens.

But some protestors, like Edmontons Maureen Sanders, were calling for more attention to issues specific to Alberta.

"The oil industry and their impact on government. And their lobbying abilities in government," she said.

June Churchill, a Calgary social worker, said corporations have too much power in a world that seems to have forgotten the value of ethical behaviour.

"You can't steal. That's a basic rule. And there are corporate people who believe you can steal," she said.

In Calgary, officials decided to allow protesters camping in Olympic Plaza across from city hall to remain there over the weekend if they remained peaceful.