For Jaye Rutter every month is a struggle to pay her Internet bill.
On Thursday, she and a group of about 30 walked through the streets of downtown Ottawa to protest the high rates of Internet.
Rutter said there are some months when she couldn't pay her $79.95 fee for the Internet.
"Those months, I had to ask my poor mother who just retired and can barely afford to keep her Internet," she said.
Many others understand her struggles.
Peggy Chivars-Wilson keeps her old furniture to save money to afford her $119 cable and Internet package.
"I live with my old furniture," she said. "It's holding together."
"Somehow I manage to pay the bill."
The march was organized by ACORN Canada who proposed a $10 per month rate for Internet. They have been in talks with Rogers and Telus.
Rogers launched a $9.95 per month program in Toronto's Cooper Mills community in August 2013.
This comes after the United Nations declared access to the Internet a human right.
"And I agree with it," said Robert Fitzpatrick, an ACORN member and chair of the South Ottawa branch.
He along with Rutter use the Internet to connect with family and relatives.
But they also use government services such as Immigration Canada and Child Find Canada.
They are both on fixed incomes.
"I need my Internet," said Rutter. But it's expensive, she added.
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Article by Jessie Archambault for the Ottawa Sun
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