Protesters won't leave Grand Parade
Occupy Nova Scotia group says it will share space, but not ready to vacate
They say they will downsize as needed but aren’t going away.
Occupy Nova Scotia protesters will accommodate the Remembrance Day ceremony and other activities on the Grand Parade in Halifax, but they will not vacate the public space, Ian Matheson, a protest organizer, said Wednesday.
"We have told veterans that we are willing to make any accommodations they need, aside from moving out entirely, and that seems fine with those people we have spoken to," Matheson said.
About 70 people have been camping out in Grand Parade as part of a larger national and international protest against the growing divide between rich and poor. Up to 200 people have taken part in the protest at different points during the past two weeks.
On Tuesday, the group got a letter from Mayor Peter Kelly telling them to have their tents and possessions out of Grand Parade by 5 p.m. on Nov. 6.
In the notice, Kelly said Halifax Regional Municipality needs time to set up for Dignity Day on Nov. 9 and for Remembrance Day on Nov. 11.
However, the group of protesters, which makes decisions by consensus, decided Tuesday evening it will not move to an alternative location like the Halifax Commons, which has been suggested. Instead, the group plans to share Grand Parade with other groups as needed, Matheson said.
"We feel that the ball has been rolling on making sure that Remembrance Day can go off without a hitch, without any interruption in our activities."
However, Tom Waters, master of ceremonies for the Remembrance Day ceremony at Grand Parade, said he thinks protesters will need to leave Grand Parade to make way for the large crowd expected Remembrance Day.
"We have got to have them out. ..... You have 5,000 people showing up down there for Remembrance Day," Waters, a past district commander for the Royal Canadian Legion, said Wednesday.
Waters said he is meeting Thursday afternoon with Kelly and CFB Halifax officials to discuss the issue, and he is hopeful some arrangement can be worked out with protesters.
"(The protesters) are very peaceful ..... but the thing is, I just hope it doesn’t get unpeaceful if we ask them to move or are going to have to move them," he said.
Jon Goldberg, executive director of the Atlantic Jewish Council, said his organization has a permit to use a portion of the Grand Parade, near the cenotaph, for its Dignity Day event Nov. 9
Goldberg said if the Occupy Nova Scotia protest continues during the memorial program, held annually in remembrance of Kristallnacht and the victims of Nazism, it probably won’t be a big deal for the 50 to 100 people expected to attend the Dignity Day event.
"We just need a certain amount of access for our program" on Nov. 9, he told The Chronicle Herald.
Coun. Dawn Sloane (Halifax Downtown) said she is in a quandary about the Remembrance Day situation.
"I understand why those individuals are there, and their protest, but I also understand that we do have a tradition of having our Remembrance Day ceremonies down there.
"The reason they can be there is these individuals went over and fought for our country for freedom."
No regional council meeting is scheduled for next week, so councillors would not be able to discuss the issue until almost the week of the Remembrance Day event, Sloane said
The situation is "in the hands of administration," she said
The only municipal bylaw that appears to be on the books specifically about the Grand Parade is an ordinance passed in 1950. It prohibits people from leaving a vehicle on the Grand Parade without permission. Violators can be subject to a fine not exceeding $20 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 days, said a document on the municipality’s website.
The same ordinance prohibits skateboarding as well.
Sloane said she has not received one public complaint about the protesters and, in fact, some retailers have reported better sales as a result of the activity.
However, she said people were debating on her Facebook page Wednesday about whether protesters should be able to camp out overnight in a public park or space.
"Some people on my Facebook (page) have said (they) don’t think (protesters) should be setting up a tent city in a park. ..... People have their concerns about that now and it is just being voiced out on my Facebook (page) like crazy."
Source
I'm not sure how much of an opinion people who are not from Halifax will have, but this has been a hot topic of debate locally. There was initially a lot of community support for the group, but from what I've seen they are losing a lot of that support and respect with their refusal to leave for Remembrance Day.
They say they will downsize as needed but aren’t going away.
Occupy Nova Scotia protesters will accommodate the Remembrance Day ceremony and other activities on the Grand Parade in Halifax, but they will not vacate the public space, Ian Matheson, a protest organizer, said Wednesday.
"We have told veterans that we are willing to make any accommodations they need, aside from moving out entirely, and that seems fine with those people we have spoken to," Matheson said.
About 70 people have been camping out in Grand Parade as part of a larger national and international protest against the growing divide between rich and poor. Up to 200 people have taken part in the protest at different points during the past two weeks.
On Tuesday, the group got a letter from Mayor Peter Kelly telling them to have their tents and possessions out of Grand Parade by 5 p.m. on Nov. 6.
In the notice, Kelly said Halifax Regional Municipality needs time to set up for Dignity Day on Nov. 9 and for Remembrance Day on Nov. 11.
However, the group of protesters, which makes decisions by consensus, decided Tuesday evening it will not move to an alternative location like the Halifax Commons, which has been suggested. Instead, the group plans to share Grand Parade with other groups as needed, Matheson said.
"We feel that the ball has been rolling on making sure that Remembrance Day can go off without a hitch, without any interruption in our activities."
However, Tom Waters, master of ceremonies for the Remembrance Day ceremony at Grand Parade, said he thinks protesters will need to leave Grand Parade to make way for the large crowd expected Remembrance Day.
"We have got to have them out. ..... You have 5,000 people showing up down there for Remembrance Day," Waters, a past district commander for the Royal Canadian Legion, said Wednesday.
Waters said he is meeting Thursday afternoon with Kelly and CFB Halifax officials to discuss the issue, and he is hopeful some arrangement can be worked out with protesters.
"(The protesters) are very peaceful ..... but the thing is, I just hope it doesn’t get unpeaceful if we ask them to move or are going to have to move them," he said.
Jon Goldberg, executive director of the Atlantic Jewish Council, said his organization has a permit to use a portion of the Grand Parade, near the cenotaph, for its Dignity Day event Nov. 9
Goldberg said if the Occupy Nova Scotia protest continues during the memorial program, held annually in remembrance of Kristallnacht and the victims of Nazism, it probably won’t be a big deal for the 50 to 100 people expected to attend the Dignity Day event.
"We just need a certain amount of access for our program" on Nov. 9, he told The Chronicle Herald.
Coun. Dawn Sloane (Halifax Downtown) said she is in a quandary about the Remembrance Day situation.
"I understand why those individuals are there, and their protest, but I also understand that we do have a tradition of having our Remembrance Day ceremonies down there.
"The reason they can be there is these individuals went over and fought for our country for freedom."
No regional council meeting is scheduled for next week, so councillors would not be able to discuss the issue until almost the week of the Remembrance Day event, Sloane said
The situation is "in the hands of administration," she said
The only municipal bylaw that appears to be on the books specifically about the Grand Parade is an ordinance passed in 1950. It prohibits people from leaving a vehicle on the Grand Parade without permission. Violators can be subject to a fine not exceeding $20 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 days, said a document on the municipality’s website.
The same ordinance prohibits skateboarding as well.
Sloane said she has not received one public complaint about the protesters and, in fact, some retailers have reported better sales as a result of the activity.
However, she said people were debating on her Facebook page Wednesday about whether protesters should be able to camp out overnight in a public park or space.
"Some people on my Facebook (page) have said (they) don’t think (protesters) should be setting up a tent city in a park. ..... People have their concerns about that now and it is just being voiced out on my Facebook (page) like crazy."
Source
I'm not sure how much of an opinion people who are not from Halifax will have, but this has been a hot topic of debate locally. There was initially a lot of community support for the group, but from what I've seen they are losing a lot of that support and respect with their refusal to leave for Remembrance Day.