Shortly after an Ontario superior judge upheld the city’s eviction order against Occupy Toronto, Mayor Rob Ford reiterated his demand that protesters leave St. James Park immediately, but would not say what will happen if they refuse to go.
At a morning press conference with city manager Joe Penachetti at city hall, Ford gave no clear picture of how Toronto’s faction of the international Occupy protests will be brought to an end, and repeatedly declined to answer reporter’s questions about the possibility of police action against any activists who don’t leave by 12:01 am Tuesday morning. In a decision announced 9 am Monday morning, Judge David Brown ruled that the city’s pre-existing bylaw against sleeping in the park is enforceable after midnight on Monday, dismissing an appeal launched by Occupy Toronto that argued eviction would violate protesters’ Charter rights.
“The city has worked to balance people’s right to protest with public safety,” Ford said. “However, this unauthorized use of the city park has interfered with the rights local residents have to enjoy their park, and has negatively affected businesses in the surrounding area.”
“It is time for this protest to come to an end,” the mayor concluded.
Protesters have been camped out downtown in St. James Park for the past five weeks to protest global economic disparity and show solidarity with New York City’s Occupy Wall Street protests, which were broken up by police last week.
Penachetti suggested Toronto authorities aren’t planning a midnight raid on St. James Park. “We’re not going to make any judgment relative to 12:01 am at this point,” he said. “We want to move quickly with the protesters during the day.”
While Penachetti softened any suggestions of a hard deadline for the eviction, some councillors allied with Ford made more bullish statements about the occupation Monday. Councillor Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother, said he was pleased with the judge’s ruling and quipped to reporters that “Woodstock Toronto is all over.”
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, the mayor’s self-described quarterback on council, didn’t hesitate to say that police should arrest anyone who refuses to leave the park.
“Arrest them, absolutely,” he said. “We have Robin Hoods and makeshift Jesuses walking around pretending the park is theirs, when in reality they’ve made a disaster of that park and turned it into a situation where it’s going to cost the taxpayers a lot of money to bring it back.”
City officials estimate the occupation has done up to $30,000 worth of damage to the park. Some protesters have offered to volunteer their labour to help repair the park’s lawns, which have been reduced to mud over the past month.
Even councillors sympathetic to the Occupy movement’s economic justice message advised protesters to respect Judge Brown’s ruling Monday.
“The rule of law has now been clearly stated and I do support that,” said Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, who last month backed plans to create a city-run bank to extend credit to citizens in need. “What’s important for us to understand now is we have to transition to a place where we can actually continue that dialogue in a non-violent fashion.”
Councillor Pam McConnell’s ward includes St. James Park, and she said she was in touch with the deacon of St. James Cathedral earlier in the day in the hopes of getting all parties involved to sit down together.
“This very much demands a mediated settlement,” McConnell said, “or there will be violence, and I’m determined there will not be violence in my ward.”
