Chilly turn out

The latest Occupy Thunder Bay rally had one of the lowest turnouts so far with only a dozen protesters standing outside of city hall.

More than 30 people attended the first Occupy rally at Waverly Park last month and almostrly 50 attended the protest about a week later outside city hall. The protests were in part of a global movement against corporate greed and financial corruption. The movement originated in New York over concerns of corporations influencing political decisions.

But few people showed at the third rally on Sunday and by midafternoon only about 12 protesters had gathered.

Many who did attend were bundled up and often went to the nearby library to warm up. Some suggested that the next rally should be indoors with one suggestion being at Lakehead University.

Robin Rickards, who attended the rally, said despite the small sizes, residents do care about what is going on.

“You have to realize that everyone has their lives to live,” Rickards said.

“I got a wife and three kids and this is the first time I’ve been out. I think it says something that every time we have one an Occupy there’s a few more new faces. If a few people who were there before can’t make it doesn’t mean they aren’t invested in the movement. We obviously have a small population in Thunder Bay so we occupy on a rotating basis but still trying to get the same message across."

Rickards said the message that they want to get across is that the government doesn’t answer to the public anymore and that needed to change. But the movement isn’t a single issue and can incorporate many from social issues to environmental. It’s all part of what makes the Occupy movement unique, he said.

“The problem is as individual citizens you often feel disenfranchised and disempowered,” he said. “The look up at the massive monolith that’s your government and how to you affect change and most Canadians don’t have a clue. The Occupy movement is about airing the grievances.”

Unlike other rallies across the country, Occupy Thunder Bay hasn’t established a single location to protest such as in Toronto where protesters camped in the financial district on Bay Street.

Joan Hyee, a protester at the rally, wasn’t willing to set up camp in Thunder Bay because of the cold weather but the movement in the city rally wasn’t about occupying a specific space but about providing a voice to the community and keeping the government accountable to the people and not corporations.

“We don’t really have the sort of financial district,” Hyee said. “I really think there needs to be a continuing awareness of what is going on in our society. I think in Thunder Bay it’s more about bringing awareness.

“The governments of our country have ceded control of our country to the interests of corporations. They have done that through deregulation and they have done that through lots of different means.”

Hyee said she was worried the Conservative government didn’t reflect the majority of Canadians believed in.

She added an electoral reform would be a good start.