Low turnout on Toronto 'net neutrality' protest bus
- May 27, 2008 5:56 AM |
- By Ian Johnson
By Peter Nowak, CBCnews.ca
ON THE BUS TO OTTAWA: Today's rally in support of "net neutrality" hasn't exactly started spectacularly - or the Toronto leg of it, anyway. There are only 15 people on the bus, which left Yorkdale Mall at 4:30 a.m.
There seem to be some organizational problems, as there is no organizer on board and the driver had no idea how many people to expect. The low turnout in Toronto isn't that surprising, though, given the early departure time and the fact that local subways haven't even started running. Getting to Yorkdale may have proved to be too much of a challenge for some people.
Still, rally organizers had better hope turnout is better in Ottawa, and with the buses from Montreal and Chatham. Otherwise, as our bus driver put it this morning, "you can't have much of a protest with 15 people."
(CBCnews.ca's Peter Nowak is travelling to Ottawa on Monday on a bus taking people to a net neutrality rally that will draw together politicians, labour unions, consumer groups and internet activitists, with protesters being bused in from Toronto, Montreal and Chatham, Ont. At issue are the actions of big ISPs that have been slowing down the internet speeds of customers using certain applications, such as peer-to-peer software used for file sharing. Check CBCnews.ca's technology section through the day for coverage of the protest.)
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Comments (2)
I think the low turnout may be because it was schedule on a weekday rather then a weekend or even a Friday. It would be hard to explain to the boss why you want the day off to attend a net neutrality rally because you would then need to explain the whole net neutrality to him/her and that could take the entire day itself.
I fully intend to be at this rally, as we need to stand up for what we believe in.
This is exactly what large ISPS want is a bunch of people that are more than willing to talk but will not act!
If you want something to happen Canada, come out and show your support for Net Neutrality.
This is a very urgent requirement and global measures should be put in place to protect us against these corporate monoliths that are taking our money for a service that they dictate how you use.
When you go and buy a burger should the restaurant owner be able to tell you how and when you can eat it? NO! Then why should this apply to the internet or anything else for that matter?
Last time I checked Canada was a free country was it not?
Please come out and show your support for Net Neutrality!
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