A week before activists plan to overrun the city’s financial district, the Occupy Toronto movement is experiencing a bit of turbulence at takeoff. At a meeting convened Friday in Berczy Park, activists struggled to reach an agreement on how to stage demonstrations they hope will rival the historic protests that have gripped Wall Street.
The three-hour assembly was shambolic at times, with the roughly 200 activists present showing no consensus on how to proceed with the organizing process. There was disagreement over whether decisions should be made through voting or consensus, and some activists wanted to break into smaller groups to foster better dialogue. In the end they stayed in a single group, forcing speakers to shout over the din of traffic and frustrating some who felt the meeting wasn’t moving quickly enough.
“I would really appreciate leaving here with a call to action that I could follow, as an individual who is extremely busy,” said one woman. “Show me where the damn committee is! I really need you to tell us what’s going on and what’s needed.”
The most divisive issue was whether or not to communicate with the police, who are more distrusted than ever following the massive crackdown at the G20 summit last year. When activist Tom Zaugg told the assembly that he had met with members of the 52 division in order to foster cooperation between protesters and law enforcement, some in the crowd booed loudly while others cheered.
“I think people have to realize that what happened at the G20 was because there was no open communication with the police. We should learn from history and come up with a common sense solution,” Zaugg said.
Others disagreed, saying they were extremely uncomfortable with any communication with the police.
That the organizational process is at this point untidy comes as no surprise. Wary of being co-opted by any one group, the activists are committed to having no leader. Instead they are hoping they will win the broadest possible base of support by uniting under demands for greater economic equality and an end to what they feel is a system that favours the rich. The Wall Street protests were organized in a similarly ad hoc manner, and have grown into an unprecedented three-week occupation that has grabbed headlines around the world.
“People are waking up to a world where all working class people have no future,” activist Farshad Azadian told the assembly. “Things are getting harder and harder for people everywhere, especially for young people. We have a life of minimum wage work, we can’t find good jobs. Tuition fees are going up. The conditions for our people are getting worse and worse while bankers are making huge profits.”
The protest is scheduled to start on Saturday, October 15, and continue as long as possible. To meet the huge logistical challenges of staging a sustained outdoor demonstration for an indefinite period of time, the group is asking for donations of supplies. A list read aloud to activists on Friday requested tents, sleeping bags, generators, warm clothing, solar-powered lights, and food.
A member of the group’s outreach committee said unions and activist organizations have been contacted for support, but so far response has been poor.
