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ShutDownCanada protests fizzle across Canada

Bruce Fuhr
By Bruce Fuhr
February 15th, 2015

The ShutDownCanada protests held across Canada Friday afternoon failed to deliver the bang activists had hoped would happen.

In Nelson, as was the case in most major cities in Canada, only a handful of protesters took to Baker Street to call for independent inquiry into the 2000+ cases of missing or murdered indigenous women and slam Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The Nelson protest also called on the government to recognize the Sinixt First Nation in the West Kootenay region.

However, the small numbers did not deter local activists K. Linda Kivi from believing the Nelson edition of ShutDownCanada got its point across to Friday afternoon shoppers and business owners.

“It’s important to just speak regardless of who is standing there with you,” Kivi told The Nelson Daily after the protest slowed traffic on Baker Street for close to 40 minutes Friday afternoon.

“Even if I was alone I believe I would have still would have walked down the street.”

“This issue really, really matters to me, profoundly,” Kivi added.

“Not any woman in this country is safe until all women are safe.”

A crowd of about 30 protesters took to Baker Street at noon Friday, beginning at the Kootenay Co-op in the 200 Block, and walking down the main street to Hall Street.

The march stopped at the intersections of Ward and Baker and Josephine and Baker, halting traffic to a standstill.

During the march protesters demanded for an inquiry for the missing or murdered indigenous women while pasting flyers to storefronts of local businesses and the amenity locations along Baker Street.

Members of Nelson City Police attempted to bring order to the Friday protest by moving protesters along and leading the march down Baker Street with a police vehicle.

However, officers had no luck, simply watching to make sure there were no problems between enraged drivers and the protesters.

“I think so,” Kivi said when asked if the ShutDownCanada protest got its point across to the public.

“People at least are perking up their ears and they were smiling at us and taking the flyers and hopefully this is some food for thought.”

ShutDownCanada rallies were held across Canada.

A Facebook site asked protesters across Canada to blockade local railways, ports or highways.

The message also suggested Canadians not to purchase items, fly, attend work and keep the kids home from school with the goal of significantly impacting the Canadian economy for a day.

Categories: GeneralPolitics

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