July 1 protest plans to #Makenldarkagain
Clarenville man hopes action catches government’s attention
On July 1, Keith Fillier will be turning off his power from noon until 4 p.m.
And he hopes that you’ll do the same.
The shut off is a protest formed by Fillier and Bay Robert’s resident James Murphy who have yet to meet in person.
Fillier told The Packet that the hope is that the protest lets the decision makers know that the people in the province are unified against recent tax increases, most notably the recent 6.8 rate increase which comes into effect July 1.
“I feel like it’s an important time in our history. I think it’s time the people are going to find their backbone,” Fillier told The Packet.
“We have a reputation of being a proud people, who are determined. But lately we’ve been just taking it on the chin, and trusting the people who govern us, trusting our leaders to make decisions for the right reasons for the people of our province. Obviously, they’re not capable of that.”
Fillier says that reaction on social media has been strong, with news of the protest being shared hundreds of times with hashtags such as #Makenldarkagain, a play on both American President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan and the 2014 power outages that
inspired the #Darknlhashtag.
Fillier says that the protest is ideal because it’s simple; there is no marching or picketing involved; and, it can anonymous.
“You can support this cause, and your neighbors won’t even know what’s on the go,” he told The Packet.
And, with plans for Fillier and
Murphy to meet in the future to discuss further efforts, Fillier says that this protest is just the beginning.
“This is gonna continue. The
pressure is gonna to build. We are gonna to continue to gain momentum.”