With city hall threatening to evict Occupy Toronto from St. James Park next week, you might expect the protesters to be on red alert. But although a showdown with the city is potentially only days away, the occupiers aren’t exactly manning the barricades, and no clear contingency plans have been drafted in the event the authorities try to kick them out.
“There’s no official plan in place, but there are discussions.” said Lana Silver, a York University student who was working at the camp’s logistics tent Friday afternoon. Asked why there doesn’t appear to be any urgency to organize against possible eviction, she said, “Maybe it doesn’t seem real.”
Megan Kinch, who has been in the park since the beginning of the occupation a month ago, echoed Silver’s words.
“It kind of seems unreal. We’re just so permanently here in this camp. It feels very permanent and very peaceful. There’s been so little aggression from the city” so far, she said.
But all indications are that the authorities are coming, and coming soon. City Manager Joe Pennachetti said this week that he’s working on a plan to get the protesters out of the park, and Mayor Ford has told media that the protesters have made their point and it’s time to move on. As yet, it’s unclear what tactics the city will use to try to clear out the occupation.
While nothing official has been decided, protesters say that they have the option to flee to the western part of the park, which is owned by the nearby church. So far church officials have been supportive of the movment.
The protesters also have several unions and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty on their side, who have pledged to bring swarms of people down to the park should the city move in.
Lex Waite, a 35-year-old protester, predicts that any attempts at eviction will be met with passive, peaceful resistance.
“We’ll make them drag us away,” he said. “The thing is, we’ll be back the next day. They don’t seem to understand that.”
The city is under increasing pressure from local residents and businesses who say they’re fed up with the occupation. Thursday night a group of roughly 50 people met to come up with a strategy to deal with the protesters at Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill, an upscale restaurant directly across from the park. Owner Patrick McMurray has been a vocal critic of the occupation, and claims he’s lost 30 per cent of business since protesters set up in the park.
At the crowded meeting in the small backroom of the restaurant, McMurray had a message for the occupiers. “The mayor has said it’s time to go. How would you like to be remembered? Would you like to be remembered as peaceful people?” he said. “I would commend you greatly … if you behaved yourself on the way out as you did on the way in.”
People at the meeting said they are upset that local residents can’t use the park to the same extent they used to, and some felt unsafe walking through or even near the park.
“These people approaching us when we’re passing by,” complained Teresa, a 55-year-old woman who owns a condo nearby. “They’re asking us for money. ‘Ma’am I have no job. Give me something.’ If you tell them, sorry I don’t have, they will follow you. It’s dangerous.”
Some who attended the meeting said they respect the occupation’s right to protest, but that by camping out so far from the financial district protesters are targeting the wrong people.
On Friday afternoon the mood of Occupy Toronto camp remained laid back. As a group of people played guitar and danced next to the park’s fountain, 19-year-old organizer Roxy Cohen was painting a banner inside the gazebo. She said it’s not in anyone’s interest for local businesses to lose money, but she also suspects many businesses like the nearby Second Cup have seen an increase in profits since the occupation began.
She suggested McMurray and local residents need to have patience. “You can’t really look at the short term,” she said. “You have to look at what we’re trying to achieve in the future. It will benefit everyone if we do succeed.”
