Settling in for long haul

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This article was published 24/11/2011 (5407 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Occupy Winnipeg protesters vow to keep their tents up in Memorial Park for the winter despite the province’s gentle urging for them to pack up and go home.

The camp, set up Oct. 15 in support of a global protest against income inequality, is the last one standing in a major Canadian city.

The park falls under the Manitoba government’s jurisdiction.

The province won’t comment publicly about its concerns because officials don’t want to be seen to be provoking protesters. The province fears the longer the encampment stays, the risks to public safety increase. There’s a concern occupiers will get frostbite or, in a worst-case scenario, a homeless person could freeze to death in one of the unattended tents.

Government officials have met with Occupy Winnipeg organizers to express their concerns and discuss liability issues if an incident occurred within the camp. Organizers said Wednesday they accept that risk.

Occupy Winnipeg spokeswoman Louise May said at a meeting Tuesday night protesters decided to keep the camp running through the winter on a rotating basis.

“I can tell you that by the end of the weekend you will see some significant changes,” May said. “There is a group of about 15 that are committed to camping out not necessarily full-time, but sort in a time-sharing kind of way. We will have an occupation through the whole winter.”

Occupy Winnipeg’s Facebook page describes the new camp as a “winter-positive approach to our village.”

May said the camp will be altered. Most of the tents are unoccupied and only a small number of people stay through the night. During the day there is at least one person at the site.

“There’s going to be a different style of camping facility for the people who are going to permanently occupy throughout the winter,” May said.

The Manitoba government’s postition is the protesters have a right to protest but not at the expense of others and park users. However, Memorial Park is not used during the winter. City police said to date they are unaware of any incidents regarding Occupy Winnipeg and that they continue to monitor the camp.

In other North American cities, courts and police have been used to take down the camps.

In Toronto Wednesday, police armed with a court-approved eviction order moved into St. James Park just before daybreak to dismantle the Occupy Toronto camp in a mostly uneventful operation. Police numbered and photographed each camp structure before sanitation workers moved in and took down tents and cleared out debris.

May said organizers understand the province is liable for what happens at the park but protesters can take care of themselves.

“Ultimately, it will be their decision if they evict us or not,” May said of the province. “In terms of our own personal liability, obviously everyone has a right to make their own choices.

“You could certainly remind your readers and your peers that many, many, many people lived on the Prairies without any central heating and survived quite nicely, so it’s not impossible. That’s what we’re also trying to establish in a permanent occupation.”

Conservative Leader Hugh McFadyen said Wednesday the province should not tolerate a permanent winter camp.

“The point being made by the movement has been made,” McFadyen said, adding the time has come for the province to begin the eviction process. “This was never intended to be a provincial campground and secondly, as we get into winter it starts to create risks.”

May said the Occupy movement will likely change over the winter, becoming more of a symbol than a camp to foment community activism in the city.

“I do expect there is going be a lot of evolution throughout the winter,” she said. “It’s not just about a campaign village. In fact, that’s the outward sign, but that’s not the point.”

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca