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Hanson uses STC, but said she is less concerned about her own situation. She uses it to travel to the University of Regina, where she works as an associate professor in the department of education. Although she has a vehicle, she takes the bus in winter because it feels safer, she said.

She’s been “overwhelmed” by the messages of support for the group, she said.

“Initially, this started as an idea of getting together with people and maybe writing some letters. It became clear in the three days lead-up to the first meeting we had to organize the rally that this is a really big issue for people. And so, the support lent itself to doing something bigger.”

A woman who approached her via email from La Ronge is organizing a solidarity rally there.

“I think this is developing into something bigger,” Hanson said.

Mavis Leigh, who shared her support for the rally on the event’s Facebook page, describes the ending of STC services as a “great loss’ to people who need it for medical reasons.

In a message to The StarPhoenix, Leigh said she lives in Rosthern and uses the bus weekly for medical trips. She has met a lot of people from Prince Albert who also use it to go for dialysis three or four times per week, others who go daily for cancer treatments, and others who use the bus to get to appointments with doctors and specialists, she said.

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour’s Own It campaign has organized its own “Rally to Stop Bill 40 and Stop the Cuts” at the provincial cabinet office on 22nd Street East over the noon hour on Friday.