The City of Vancouver changed its game plan yesterday and now wants the Occupy encampment outside the Vancouver Art Gallery removed for “trespassing.”
Ben Parkin, a city lawyer, told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Anne MacKenzie Vancouver is now seeking a court injunction on the grounds that the occupation is in breach of the city’s land regulation bylaw.
“There is no dispute that people have erected structures on that property, and that is a breach of the bylaw, and an injunction should be granted, unless there are exceptional circumstances,” Parkin told the court, adding it’s in the public’s interest to remove the protest site.
Meanwhile, Jason Gratl, who is representing occupier Sean O’Flynn-Magee, urged the court not to grant the injunction on the grounds of freedom of expression and personal security.
“It would not be fitting to rely on a constitutionally suspect bylaw, to overlook those adverse consequences,” he said.
There was “ample evidence” that about half of the people at the Occupy encampment are homeless or have nowhere else to go, Gratl argued.
He added there are insufficient shelter beds in Vancouver and those that exist pose a safety risk, especially for women.
“Sexual assaults are occurring in those shelters,” Gratl said, adding these places are often unfit for habitation.
He further argued that the tents at the site are inseparable from the Occupy movement.
“They are political structures,” he said.
The injunction hearing continues.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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