Toronto is now under occupation. The global economic justice movement that began in New York City a month ago found a local home Saturday morning, when roughly 1,500 Occupy Toronto protesters marched from the heart of the financial district to St. James Park, where they plan to stay indefinitely.
The location of the protesters’ camp-out site wasn’t announced until the last minute Saturday morning because organizers worried the police might cordon off the area if they were given advance notice. St. James Park, just east of Church Street and north of King Street, was the logical choice because it’s the largest green space close to the financial district.
“We come here for one thing: to stop corporate greed!” one demonstrator shouted once the protesters reached the park, his words echoed back to him by the crowd in what has been dubbed the “people’s mike” technique. Protesters chanted “We are the 99 per cent!”, the symbolic figure that’s come to represent the global majority who activists believe are exploited by a wealthy minority.
Toronto’s protests are part of a global wave of demonstrations that have now spread to 951 cities in 82 different countries. All have their own particular characteristics but are united by calls for an end to the economic status quo that protesters feel disproportionately benefits the rich.
Like its counterpart in New York, the Occupy Toronto movement has yet to articulate clear demands, but that lack of ideological focus hasn’t hampered organizational efforts. The park was a hive of activity Saturday as protesters scrambled to set up tents, makeshift medical centres, and an outdoor canteen. By mid-afternoon, nearly two-dozen tents had gone up. Last week organizers estimated 200 to 300 people would stay camped out the first night.
The movement’s food committee said it was prepared to serve 1,000 meals on Saturday alone and was stocked with baskets of fruits and vegetables. Sixty volunteer medics are working on-site in shifts, and a legal workshop was held in the early afternoon to advise protesters how to interact with the police.
The logistical challenges of a protest like this are huge. Only two hours into the occupation of the park, garbage bins were overflowing and lines outside washrooms in nearby coffee shops and restaurants were long.
The protesters are a loose collection of groups and individuals, with unions, native rights organizations, pro-Palestinian activists, the green movement, and socialist networks all well represented. Some are old enough to remember demonstrating against the Vietnam War, while others aren’t even finished high school.
Emily Badgley is only 15. “I’ve watched my parents struggle. My mom got laid off,” she said. “I’m 15, I shouldn’t be growing up scared of what’s going to happen, I want to have a future.”
Barry Speers said he came out to the protest because he’s worried about what lies in store for his son. “He’s 21, and at university,” Speers said. “What corporations are doing and what banks are doing is preventing the next generation from being as well off as we are. Our children are going to inherit this debt, and it’s very very wrong.”
As rain began to spit down on the park and protesters braced themselves against one of the coldest days so far this fall, some vowed to weather any conditions as long as the movement continues to grow.
“I might go home for a night and stock up and then come back, but I’m prepared to stick it out for as long as it takes,” said Brendan, one of the protesters who plans to camp out in the park. “As long as there’s momentum with the movement, I’ll be here.”
The question remains, without any clear demands, how will protesters know if they’ve succeeded?
“I’m very aware that we will never be told by the mainstream media that we have succeeded,” said Max Baru, a student who hopes to spend as much time as possible at the protests in coming weeks. “Personally I would see it as a success if there was enough public pressure to get public policy to change. I’m realistic about that.”
