Dozens vow to continue Occupying Vancouver
Posted October 17, 2011 7:03 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A weekend of protests and marches is over, but not everyone has gone home just yet. There are still a few dozen tents and small groups of people who are camped out in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Some people say they’ll stay there as long as it takes. What it is, is different, based on who you talk to. For many the global movement is about corporate greed, the banking system, while for some it’s homelessness and others won’t pick an issue.
Those who have decided to stick around promise they’ll be there for days, weeks or months.
We spoke with Nick, who spent the early morning trying to stay warm. He’s actually frustrated with some of the more vocal protesters who attracted all the attention. “Anyone will notice the one person being an idiot in the crowd and not remember the 99 per cent that are actually calmly doing rational things. They don’t stand out.”
There have been promises of a sit-in in the Art Gallery later today. There are also general assemblies at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. daily to talk about the issues.
CTF has no sympathy for protesters
Canadian Taxpayers Federation BC Director Jordan Bateman admits demonstrators on Wall Street do have legitimate concerns, but as for those taking part in the Vancouver protest, not so much.
“If you talk to some of the protesters at Occupy Wall Street, which New York Magazine did, they will actually tell you that Canada has one of the best governance and economic structures in the world. They want to be more like Canada. They want to be more like the country Occupy Vancouver is protesting.”
He says there are three types of people at Occupy Vancouver: the unemployed, the troublemakers, and members of big labour, and it’s that third group he has the biggest problem with.
“These unions, they pretend they’re part of the common people and yet the average union employee in the public sector in Canada, makes a thousand dollars a month more than the average private sector person,” said Bateman.
