An Occupy Vancouver protester was arrested yesterday as police, fire officials and city workers made their rounds for a mass cleanup at the encampment.
Many of the occupiers remained peaceful and co-operative as city workers hauled in tarps and several unoccupied tents deemed unsafe into municipal trucks. While the scene was mostly calm, there were still some upset campers. A lone protester decided to sit in the middle of the intersection of Georgia and Howe streets, police said.
VPD spokesperson Const. Lindsey Houghton said officers were concerned for his personal safety and asked him to leave several times, but he refused.
“He was arrested for breach of peace out of concern that the might either hurt himself or cause a collision and was removed from the area,” Houghton said in an email.
At the camp, Occupy’s security committee accompanied fire and city officials as they made their way to each tent to ensure they were occupied, not covered by tarps and appropriately spaced.
Occupier Yann Savard, who was filming the inspection to prove their compliance, said he noticed the officials were stricter this time around and the group is doing their best to comply with the fire and city’s demands.
“Every thing is going smoothly, but they seem to be rigid,” Savard said. “They’re actually taking the tents that don’t respect the rules.”
The move comes after a B.C. Supreme Court judge granted the city an interim order asking protesters to comply with city fire bylaws and authorized police to arrest anyone who interferes. The City of Vancouver will return to court today, seeking an injunction to shut down the encampment permanently.
Meanwhile, Robert Redford was just around the corner from the camp directing his film The Company You Keep.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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