The City of Vancouver will seek a court injunction today to take down the Occupy Vancouver tent city, but protesters say they’re not going anywhere.
City manager Penny Ballem said yesterday the city will apply for the injunction at 2 p.m. at B.C. Supreme Court.
If the injunction is granted, the tents outside at the Vancouver Art Gallery plaza will be taken down by city staff, with police present to aid them, Ballem added.
She did not specify a time frame as to when the move would take place. She also stressed the injunction would only apply to tents and structures.
“The injunction just gives us further authority to take action to remove their belongings or help them remove them if they’re not willing to do it themselves,” she said. “We’re asking for the tents to be removed and the structures, not the people.
“The encampment must come to an end, but we want it to come to a peaceful end. We do not have forever to discuss this.”
Occupy Vancouver demonstrator Lauren Gill said occupiers are determined to stay put.
“If they do shut down our encampment or try to arrest people, there’s lots of us who are willing to go to jail,” Gill said. “I have no intention of putting up a fight with the police and get charges, but I’m not going to walk away from this either. If we do get released from jail, we’re just going to come back out here and do this again.”
Ballem issued a notice yesterday morning asking protesters to remove all tents and structures immediately to address safety concerns.
The notice said protesters can still use the gallery as a gathering place, complete with electricity, but without tents.
The move comes after Saturday’s death of 23-year-old Ashlie Gough from a suspected overdose, and an earlier non-fatal overdose at the encampment.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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