Somewhere between 100 and over 1000

Depending on which media source you obtained your information from, Saturday's Anti-Enbridge march either shut down the city or provided for a temporary traffic disruption, such was the varying degree of hyperbole that came post march.

The numbers involved in the protest that marched down one of the city's main streets ranged anywhere from the CBC's estimate of hundreds, to the excited declaration of a Public Relations  site that over 2,000 people took to the streets in protest.

Somewhere we imagine rests the true number, however regardless of the number we eventually settle on the organizational skills of the folks from Hartley Bay surely got their message across.

Protesters many of them dressed in maroon coloured hoodies proclaiming the message of no tankers for the north coast made the walk from the city's Mariner's Park to the Civic Centre, normally about a ten to fifteen minute walk at a brisk pace, no doubt slowed down as the protest proceeded down McBride Street.

Contrary to the Vancouver Province's report, the city's RCMP however did not close off the downtown core, rather east west travel was disrupted at cross streets as the protest wound its way to the Civic Centre.

Likewise, while there were events scheduled at the Civic Centre through the afternoon and into the evening, to suggest that attendance was symbolic of massive support to the cause might be a tad dis-ingenuous.

In addition to the protest on Saturday, Prince Rupert is playing host to the annual All-Native Basketball Tournament, which regularly sees the numbers of those visiting the city increase by large numbers, while a good number of those participants may have sympathy with the cause, we're not sure that all were marching in lock step on Saturday.

They would however, no doubt find that the night's entertainment might be a good way to kick start their visit to the city.

The debate over oil tankers on the north coast is no doubt just beginning and credit will go to the organizers of the march on Saturday for making sure their side of the debate was heard.

At the end of the day, it was an impressive display of how to organize a protest, the message was put out there relayed by the media across the country, however some clearly did more research than others as to what was happening in the city on Saturday.

The reviews, factual and fanciful can be found below.

Vancouver Province-- Police close downtown Prince Rupert for pipeline protest
Vancouver Sun-- Community rally a full-court press against proposed pipeline
CFTK TV7-- Huge Rally in Prince Rupert against Northern Gateway
Marketwire-- More Than Two Thousand Citizens Say "No!" to Oil Tankers and Pipelines...
CKNW-- Prince Rupert rally protests Northern Gateway pipeline
Vancouver Observer-- Two Thousand protest Enbridge oilsands pipeline in Prince Rupert
CTV-- Pipeline opponents question environmental impact
CTVBC-- Canadian rocker and economist protest B. C. pipeline
CBC-- Hundreds rally against Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline
Northern View-- Gitga'at Nation hosts No Tankers Rally in Prince Rupert