Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Community

Occupy Vancouver Protesters


blitzkrieg66

Recommended Posts

Occupy Vancouver - Tuesday November 23, 2011 -

A DAY OF INFAMY IRONY

First off after Mayor Dither futzing about for weeks without a clue how to handle the OV encampment, Premier Christy gets an order of eviction by ex parte injunction within 24 hours of OV setting up at the Robson Square Courthouse Complex. Judge MacKenzie notes this was clearly criminal contempt and enforces the spirit of the prior injunction giving OV less than 4 hours to pack up and move or the police were coming in - OV moved out.

Secondly counsel for the Province who argues for the injunction is none other than Craig Jones - who 14 years ago this week became the face of political protest and free speech. While he was studying law at UBC, Jones was arrested in 1997 for holding signs reading "Democracy" and "Free Speech" along the APEC leaders' motorcade route and well away from the security perimeter. He was tackled by three police officers, handcuffed and held in custody for 14 hours. In the fallout from the police handling of APEC security, Jones went head-to-head for the first time with George Macintosh, the amicus in the polygamy case who was acting for the RCMP. Jones's interest in civil rights led to his serving two terms as president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association in addition to sitting on the board of the Pivot Legal Society.

Thirdly OV forced to move decide it is time to embrace the 99% whom they claim to represent by marching (well marching a short distance and then taking SkyTrain to Grandview Park. This movement obviously is unfamiliar with the lengthy marches during the civil rights movement whose spirit they have tried to invoke or the OWS who marched across the Brooklyn Bridge. If they thought they were going back to their roots, they were in for a rude awakening. The people in downtown Vancouver simply looked upon them with bemusement for the most part and tolerated their antics. But in East Van, where the community has worked long and hard to renovate Grandview Park for the members of the 99% and their families they were not warmly welcomed. As residents said this is our 'hood - get out of here and go protest somewhere else, like city hall. The shock on the part of OV protesters was palpable. The Vancouver parks Board gave them notice that there would be no tents pitched and that OV had to be out of the park by 10 pm - the park closure time. After milling about in confusion at their less than gracious welcome by the 99% most OV protester went home while a rump group headed to the shelter of the Centre for Socialist Education (home to the Communist Party and Peoples Voice) to try to figure out exactly what went wrong.

Yup - definitely a day rife with irony and a great deal of comedy for those who watched and listened via OV's own raw Livestream broadcast to the arrival at Grandview Park by OV as well as the Tuesday night General Assembly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Occupy encampments in Toronto and Ottawa shut down as well as other cities.

Occupiers ousted in Ottawa, Toronto

The Canadian Occupy movement changed fundamentally Wednesday with the removal of protesters in both the country's largest city and its capital.

This follows removals of camps in Calgary, Quebec City and Victoria on Tuesday, and the threat of eviction hanging over other remaining camps.

Toronto Police moved in early Wednesday morning to enforce the eviction order at St. James Park after making three loudspeaker announcements requesting protesters leave.

Officers moved through the park from tent to tent, asking protesters to vacate the area. The central gazebo remains barricaded, with boards and signs on all sides, and a few people remaining within.

"Our concern is removing structures," said Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash, noting people were welcome to convene and protest once the park was deemed safe again.

Police made at least one arrest for trespassing.

Should protesters, some of whom have barricaded themselves into tents and other structures, refuse to comply, "I'm not going to speculate on what might happen," Pugash said.

City bylaw officers taped pieces of paper, each with a letter and a number, to tents and structures. One bylaw officer explained they were photographing all the structures for the purposes of record-keeping.

Occupiers started moving the contents out of their central yurt after volunteer facilitator Kevin Konnyu urged members to help prevent the group's belongings from getting destroyed.

A large waste truck pulled up on the park's southwest corner, and city officials started to load it up with bags of debris and other materials from the Occupy site.

"Fellow CUPE members, I am standing with you. Why are you not standing with me," yelled Ashley Janice at city workers who were removing items from the park

City officials worked their way through the camp from both sides, disassembling the ragtag assortment of structures remaining in the park. Police were primarily there to observe and ensure city workers could safely carry out their work.

A hillside that had earlier been covered with painted signs had been reduced to a muddy mess, the signs jumbled in a soggy heap.

"It's unfortunate but it's no big deal. We'll be back," said Brent Hendren as he beat a drum. Protesters intend to regroup and set up another camp, he said — possibly even in the same spot, at St. James Park.

"This isn't the end of anything," he said.

Occupiers gathered around the edge of the garbage truck to lambaste city officials. "That's why we don't like public officials, because you do stuff like this," one man shouted. "Right, clean up your mess," the official retorted.

Other protesters were arguing with police, accusing them of unjustly destroying "our home" and "propping up a corrupt system." Others were beating a drum and chanting "we occupy" and "make the rich pay." Protesters had been shouting at police, with a spontaneous chant erupting of "Whose park? Our park."

One man was shouting at protesters, telling them to leave the park and let police "do their job."

Shortly after 2 a.m. in Ottawa, police began removing tents and protesters from Confederation Park, which is blocks away from Parliament Hill and controlled by the National Capital Commission. The NCC had given the protesters eviction notices on Monday.

Police said that while the majority of the protesters had left the park Monday and Tuesday, there were still about 25 people in the park Wednesday morning, blanketed by the cold of the capital's first snowfall.

Those who remained were told they could leave peacefully, or face the possibility of arrest.

Police said eight demonstrators were arrested without incident and released on site.

One person was taken to hospital after complaining of a pre-existing injury that got aggravated during his arrest, police said.

An online message from one Occupy Ottawa protester advertised a protest against the eviction in front of the NCC headquarters for 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Occupy Vancouver shifted its rolling protest Tuesday from downtown Vancouver to a city-owned park in the city's east end.

But the protesters' stay at Grandview Park didn't last long. Discouraged by park officials and police from setting up camp there, they decided late Tuesday to disband for the night and meet back at the park at noon Wednesday.

Their venture into Commercial Drive, a neighbourhood with a long history of left-wing activism, came a few hours after the B.C. Supreme Court granted an injunction against an Occupy encampment erected Monday at the Robson Square law courts.

http://www.canada.com/news/Occupiers+ousted+Ottawa+Toronto/5754377/story.html#ixzz1eYwjHmN8

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OV trying to re-write history.

Now they are claiming park area residents did NOT force them out. The real reasons OV didn't camp at Grandview Park was they left due to bylaws, park hours and respect for community residents - OV left on own. As my grand-niece would say YEAH RIGHT!

Yup they left on their own... with a solid kick in the nether regions, a threat that police standing by would move in and the strong opposition of community residents. All on has to do is check out OV own archive of last night's events at Grandview Park to see that is not what happened. They need to lose that video before making these sorts of bogus claims. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OV trying to re-write history.

Now they are claiming park area residents did NOT force them out. The real reasons OV didn't camp at Grandview Park was they left due to bylaws, park hours and respect for community residents - OV left on own. As my grand-niece would say YEAH RIGHT!

Yup they left on their own... with a solid kick in the nether regions and the strong opposition of community residents. All on has to do is check out OV own archive of last night's events at Grandview Park to see that is not what happened. They need to lose that video before making these sorts of bogus claims. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...