Protesters’ presence jeopardizes two annual events
Posted Oct 22, 2011 12:39:19 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – There is no sign that Occupy Vancouver protesters are heading home any time soon, and their presence is now throwing two annual events into question.
In late November, a giant menorah is lit up on the north side of the Vancouver Art Gallery, and a Christmas tree is also set up to mark the season. But that spot is now occupied around the clock by protesters.
“For me and for our members, the broader issue is that the public space has been taken over, and no one else is able to enjoy that space. It’s going to impact a number of organizations religious or otherwise,” says Charles Gauthier is with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association.
“This is public space. Typically organizations have to pay for that space. They make arrangements with the city, they obtain insurance, they go through a number of hoops to access that space,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Gauthier says complaints about noise and protesters using public washrooms to bathe have subsided since early this week.
Anton is flip-flopping: Meggs
It’s been a week since the Occupy movement began downtown, and there is still plenty of debate on the future of the protests.
NPA Mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton says it’s time for the demonstrators to pack it in.
“A protest is fine, it’s fundamental to our democratic society, but tents are not and they’ve been there for a week now and we’ve got this deluge,” she says. “I think it’s time for them to move on.”
However, City Councillor Geoff Meggs says Anton is just being indecisive about the issue.
“She’s got to explain to people who she keeps flip-flopping on this,” he says. “At one point she’s supporting the protest and the right to protest and the next minute she’s giving them deadlines to get going.”
Anton says there should be a timeline on the protest since they’re disrupting businesses and wasting taxpayers’ dollars.
