Occupy Canada


Occupy Canada was a collective of peaceful protests and demonstrations that were part of the larger Occupy Together movement which first manifested in the financial district of New York City with Occupy Wall Street, and subsequently spread to over 900 cities around the world.

The larger movement

The collective protests are primarily targeting the global financial system, and also against social and economic inequality and corporate greed in general, as well as the corrupting influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government and democracy.
Characterized by leaderless, horizontally organized, participatory democratic action, and nonviolent civil disobedience, the grassroots democratic movement hopes to effect societal change to put the public good over corporate profits.
According to Armine Yalnizyan, a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:
The Occupy movement originated as US Day of Rage, an idea published on the Wikileaks-endorsed news site Wikileaks Central on March 10, 2011, by Canadian editor-in-chief Heather Marsh, who modeled it after the Days of Rage being held at that time in the Middle East and North Africa. Early promotion by the Wikileaks Twitter and blog was reported as being instrumental in the group's success. It was renamed after an idea publicized on an email list and online blog July 13, 2011, by Vancouver-based non-profit Canadian group Adbusters They promoted the protest with full page ad in Adbusters #97: Post Anarchism, featuring an iconic poster of a graceful ballerina balanced atop the charging Wall Street bull, with the hashtag #OCCUPYWALLSTREET; their call to action was the spark that started the larger Occupy movement. Two young New York bloggers provided the movement's defining slogan, "We are the 99%":
The movement calls on U.S. President Barack Obama to set up a presidential commission "tasked with ending the influence money has over our representatives in Washington."

Canadian participation in the Global Day of Action

For the Occupy movement's first Global Day of Action on October 15, 2011, rallies took place in 951 cities in 82 different countries around the world.
Occupy Canada rallies for the Global Day of Action took place in at least 20 Canadian cities, including:
File:Occupy Bay Street.JPG|thumb|right|Occupy Bay Street in Toronto's Financial District
In Toronto, around 3,000 people convened at the Financial District, which is based in the intersection of Bay Street and King Street. From there they marched to St. James Park at King and Jarvis, where around 100 people set up camping tents there and websites associated with the protest indicated that they expected to remain there for a week. Protesters stayed for over a month, until evicted on November 23.
Many refused to leave and a series of confrontations with police resulted, the library yurt was the last to be torn down, after several Occupiers fortified it and refused to leave. Several people from the camp refused to quit, continuing to live collectively as a mobile camp in locations throughout the GTA despite continuing police harassment, using specially built, small mobile living units called "occupods". Occupy Toronto combined efforts with a group of Occupy members from across the country to organize the Stop Harper rally in Ottawa, September 17, 2012, also marking the 1st anniversary of the global Occupy Movement, where they attempted to plant a vegetable garden on Parliament Hill. Politically, Occupy Toronto continues to hold meetings on a weekly basis, with 2 separate factional GAs that allow different types of activists to work with others of like mind with less conflict. include various guerilla gardening projects, such as the one on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, banner drops, the occasional flashmob and the Occupy Toronto one year reunion on Oct 15, 2012.
In addition to their own actions, they have continued working with many other progressive organizations and helping with many different events and actions, including Toronto's Gay Pride Parade, pro-immigration events and a wide variety of union rallies. On May 1, 2012, Occupy Toronto were the main force behind a major joint action with unions and many other organizations. As part of the rally, clergy from 3 different denominations set up a small chapel tent in St. James Park where the Occupy camp had been.

Occupy Montreal

On October 15, 2011, the global Occupy movement arrived in Montreal on its first Global Day of Action. Over 1,000 Montrealers participated at Victoria Square, a public square directly between the Montreal World Trade Centre and the Montreal Exchange, where financial derivatives are traded.
The event began at 9:30, with hundreds of people arriving in the morning. By 11 a.m., the area was packed with people dancing, and tents occupied a significant portion of the green space. By late afternoon, the crowd had increased to over 1,000 people, who marched up Beaver Hall Hill and down Saint Catherine Street. 85 tents were set up at Victoria Square
Over the next five days, the occupation continued to expand and grow more complex each day. By October 20, 2011, the number of tents in Victoria Square had nearly doubled to 168, with no room to squeeze anymore in, and participants had two generators, six rented chemical toilets, canned and dried food, recycling and compost bins, and a savings fund to take the occupation through the cold winter.
On November 25, 2011, protesters were evicted from the Victoria Square by police. Some protesters tied themselves to the kitchen tent in the square and chanted at police, who eventually tore down the structure and moved protesters out. The full-scale eviction came one day after protesters were given a second notice that they had to vacate the square. Police arrested and marked protester's hands with ink that could only be seen under UV light. Protesters are considering a civil suit against police for the activity, which they have described as branding. Members from the Occupy movement moved to the gazebo on Mount Royal temporarily. Occupons Montreal was granted permission by the Darling Foundry to host their general assemblies through February 2012. The first 'official' meeting to discuss reoccupation was announced in March.

Occupy Vancouver

On October 15 in Vancouver, around 4,000 to 5000 people participated in rallies and the local general assembly. Many interpreted the unorganized and predominantly middle-class turnout at Vancouver and elsewhere to be renascent of a larger act of an anti-systemic nature rather than a social movement of activists. The days following its inception at the Vancouver Art Gallery saw the arrival of over 150 tents, food, health and safety services, operating on a volunteer basis nearly around the clock. The early encampment coincided with the public outrage against the violence perpetrated by police against protesters in Oakland, and a strong public support with which public officials did not attempt to intervene. Although spurious claims of logistical need "housing and feeding activists" were cited, the predominance of these activities compared to other occupies was due to the persistence of activists who favored these activities, groups such as food not bombs, which were largely unrelated to the politics of the larger movement. Counter-cultural aspects of the movement, as well as its emphasis on highly demanding participatory activities prevented many who were sympathetic to the movement, from seeing themselves as part of the movement.
Drug addiction, a documented issue in the area, drew many of those suffering from addiction to the site for its resources and accommodation. The efforts made by organizers to accommodate this population were frustrated when City Officials refused to let Insite personnel collaborate with them onsite. An increase of tension between Occupy Vancouver, City Officials, and mainstream media ensued by November 3, 2011, when a young man at the protest nearly died of a drug overdose, During the response to this overdose, the Vancouver Fire Department issued orders to correct fire code violations such as propane cylinders inside of tents and insufficient spacing between the tents. The prompt response time of an Occupy Vancouver medic saved this man's life. Despite the VFD's comments about 'difficulty' accessing the site of the emergency, these claims were disputed in court by the first responder. Occupy Medic, Mathew Kagis, felt that the VPD's claims had been greatly exaggerated and were being used as an excuse by the Mayor's office to begin a campaign of harassment against the Occupy camp, although at this point, much of the public had begun to resent the occupation's lack of attention towards broader political concerns and organizing for change, and its intensified commitment to maintaining and supplying the tent city.
On November 5, 2011, a 23-year-old woman was found unresponsive in one of the tents due to what was later confirmed as a drug overdose. Medical staff at the onsite clinic responded in less than one minute of notification, with Vancouver Fire Department and Ambulance arrival 5 and 15 min later. Gregor Robertson, the city mayor, made the comment that "Occupy has a right to continue, but the encampment must end." However, a protester by the name of Kiki, voiced in defence of the encampment to CBC that "had this drug overdose happened in an SRO in Vancouver's downtown Eastside, the mayor wouldn't have batted an eye." In the debates leading up to the civic election, mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton pressured Occupy Vancouver into a pivotal issue in the mayoral debate and aimed to remove the encampment in light of the young woman's death. Anton's attempt to galvanize the debate by taking a 'hard' stance on a nuanced and complex issue, was derailed by the nature of its tone, and its alleged political opportunism which Mayor Gregor Robertson termed as "Grandstanding" a term later applied retrospectively to members of the occupation who refused to deviate from their original talking points about the drug related death. However, public image deteriorated as the camp's inhabitants proceeded to host a concert by the punk group DOA hours after the death, causing many who were revolted at this inconsiderate act to leave.
On November 7, 2011, city notices asking protesters to pack up their tents immediately were posted at the site. A dispute began between the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services crew and Occupy protesters over what was described as a sacred First Nations fire, which was intended as a provocation of Occupy's Vancouver's claims to Indigenous solidarity. Although a significant number of those present did not see the value of the symbolic demonstration, several protesters and native activists formed a circle around the fire while police officers moved in to pull them apart.
On November 15, 2011, Police, firefighters and city workers moved in and started removing several tents and tarps that were described as fire hazards. The City of Vancouver applied for an injunction order to remove the entire camp, but the judge adjourned the hearing to allow protesters to prepare their legal response. Several organizers within the camp began to coordinate the replacement of smaller tents with geodesic domes, which could fit up to 8 people, were easier to insulate against the dropping temperatures, and to better meet expressed fire codes.
On November 18, 2011, Justice Anne MacKenzie granted the city's request to order the removal of Occupy Vancouver's structures by Monday afternoon, including an order for enforcement by police. Protesters were given until 2 p.m. on November 21, 2011, to remove their tents and other structures.
On November 21, 2011, protesters abandoned the encampment at the Art Gallery zone and relocated their tents to Robson Square, just outside provincial court facilities. Justice Anne MacKenzie granted the Attorney General of British Columbia an order to remove Occupy Vancouver's new tent city by 5 p.m. November 22, 2011. Just before 5pm the tents were packed up and occupiers moved onto the SkyTrain, and over to the Commercial Drive neighbourhood where they moved into Grandview Park. A CBC journalist reported that as they moved, and marched down Commercial Drive, that those with tents numbered around several dozen people. As they met at a general assembly on arriving at the park, participators decided to shelve the tent city model of protest temporarily and to resume regular meetings at the downtown public square.
As of late January 2012, Occupy Vancouver was still holding weekly meetings at the W2 media cafe. More recently, the numerous "work-groups" which formed the primary planning and operations functions at Occupy began hosting "pop-up" events using many of the myriad organizing principles and ideas learned from Occupy. Students at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University have begun to separately re-organize around movement-building, education, and planning for Occupy in the Spring, including a weekly appearance by The People's Lovely Library at UBC, featuring a by-donation lunch and a free store.