Prince George - About 100 people held an anti-privatization rally at the BC Rail yard just south of Prince George on Tuesday in support of a blockade by a dozen protesters.
 
About 80 striking hospital workers and other union members carrying flags and placards joined the protesters on the tracks.
 
The original group included B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair, local labour leaders, the leader of the B.C. Reform Party, and Prince George businessman Ron East.
 
East is a B.C. Liberal supporter who has been an outspoken critic of the sale of BC Rail.
 
He says it's not a blockade, but a BC Rail shareholders' meeting.
 
When asked how long the shareholders' meeting would go on, Sinclair joked it could last 60 years or 990 years.
 
He was referencing the recent revelation that what had originally been portrayed by the government as a 60 year lease with CN Rail could become a much longer-term deal.
 
Sinclair says opponents of the sale haven't given up, and will continue their fight to save the railway.
 
"It belongs to the people of B.C., and the shareholders never voted to sell it," he says.
 
"In fact, they voted for a politician named Gordon Campbell who promised not to."
 
He also notes that 80 percent of the people in Prince George are opposed to the privatization of BC Rail.
 
Last month, the NDP called on the government to stop the sale, after an RCMP investigation led to the cancellation of the sale of the Roberts Bank line.
 
Author unknown.