THOUSANDS TURN OUT FOR OCCUPY TORONTO

Photo by Merle Robillard / National Post

Hopefully the police will be better behaved than at the G20 Summit a few years ago. I could be smarmy and ask, "Are those batons in your pants or are you happy to see us, Officers?" but I will restrain myself. 

An uninteresting question: When I lived in this part of the world and walked or cycled through it almost daily, I could not help but feel a chilling of both body and spirit.Has anyone else who visits these larger cities and walked down these shady corridors of power where the sun rarely hits the ground, ever felt that cold shiver of darkness that permeates these areas?

By Megan O'Toole 

The National Post

Oct 15, 2011 
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Thousands of people have gathered at St. James Park in the heart of downtown Toronto, where protesters will set up camp for an undetermined length of time to demand changes to global finance.

Injured worker Eddie Tilley at the Occupy Toronto demonstration on Saturday.

Photo by Merle Robillard / National Post

The Occupy Toronto movement, designed to run in concert with similar protests in New York and around the world, began Saturday morning with a march up Bay Street. Some protesters brought food and camping gear, intending to hunker down for the duration at the park near Adelaide and Jarvis streets.
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Brandishing a disparate array of signs and slogans, the assembled are protesting everything from “corporate greed” to the official narrative of 9/11 to a controversial mega-quarry northwest of Toronto.

Good to see he is drinking Timmy's but that is still a corporation is it not?

By Merle Robillard / National Post

Spontaneous chants of “we are the 99%” broke out, a reference meant to distinguish protesters from “the elite 1%” who control global wealth.
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Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, was on hand to endorse the movement.
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“Most of the issues they’re complaining about, we’ve been fighting them for decades,” Mr. Ryan said, citing high unemployment, bank bailouts and the rising debt load for post-secondary students.

A member of Canada's First Nations at Occupy Toronto.

Photo by Merle Robillard / National Post

“People are madder than hell… I think it will become a political movement of sorts,” Mr. Ryan said, noting the specific messages and desired outcomes of Occupy Toronto would become clearer in the coming days.
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Volunteer organizer Nele Michiels said a number of committees had been struck to deal with logistical issues, such as food and setting up camp. It could be days before participants come out with a cohesive message, she noted.

Mike, from London, Ont., plans to camp at the park until Wednesday.  

Photo by Merle Robillard / National Post

“Right now, the priority is getting everyone comfortable in this space,” Ms. Michiels said.
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Throughout the park, the sounds of clapping hands, chanting and drumbeats continued into the afternoon. A smattering of police officers helped guide participants from Bay Street to the park, where estimates of the number of protesters ranged from 2,000 to 3,000.

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A number of volunteers were communicating to the crowd by yelling out messages, which were then repeated in multiple echoes. Volunteers marveled at the larger-than-expected turnout.

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Sherry Vukelic said she came for her son.

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“I’m here to fight for his future,” she said, pointing to the plight of Toronto’s impoverished residents. “There are so many problems out there that need to be fixed… It’s for us to become equal.”
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In an impromptu speech to the assembled, one participant called Occupy Toronto “the biggest movement since the hippie movement,” noting he became frustrated with social inequity after watching a steady stream of people pick through the dumpster outside his apartment for scraps of food and bottles to sell.
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Atticus Saunders called the movement “a great forum for change.”
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“It’s the first time something like this has happened on a national scale,” he said.

Occupy Toronto demonstrators marching down Adelaide.

Photo by Merle Robillard / National Post

Inspired by the Arab Spring, the worldwide occupation movements, which come at a time of global economic turmoil, aim to draw attention to the growing gap between the rich and the poor. 

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But organizers of Occupy Toronto have shied away from clarifying specific goals, calling it a people’s movement.
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Organizers of say their goal is to “stand in unity with the rest of the world to seek and work towards drastic changes to economic systems that are destroying our economy, social fiber, and environment.

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“We are, through entirely non-violent means, sending a message to the financial sector worldwide that banks exist to serve us, not the other way around,” states a message on occupyto.org, urging members of “the 99%” to rise up.

Occupy Toronto in the city's financial district. 

Photo by Merle Robillard / National Post

About 10,000 people have clicked “like” on the OccupyTO Facebook page.
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With last year’s G20 summit and associated fallout ~ including a violent rampage by a small group of Black Bloc protestors and the largest mass arrest in Toronto’s history ~ still fresh on the city’s mind, police say their main goal Saturday is to ensure demonstrations remain peaceful. 
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Spokesman Mark Pugash would not confirm details of the security strategy or how many officers would be monitoring the event.
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“We have put together a plan. The two goals are to protect public safety and facilitate a peaceful protest,” Mr. Pugash said. “We have to plan for a variety of contingencies.”