VANCOUVER – City workers and fire officials removed several tents and tarps from the Occupy Vancouver encampment Tuesday morning, saying the protesters had yet to fully comply with a court ruling that ordered them to bring the site in line with municipal bylaws.
The move came a day before the city returns to B.C. Supreme Court to ask for an injunction to permanently clear the encampment, which began last month to protest corporate greed and social inequity.
The lawn of the city’s downtown art gallery was mostly calm as workers bundled up tents and tarps, loaded them onto municipal pickup trucks and drove them away.
A few protesters argued with fire officials, but most just quietly watched. Others attempted to make last-minute adjustments to avoid being targeted themselves.
One protester who sat down in the middle of an adjacent street was arrested for breach of the peace and was later released without charge.
Last week, the court ordered protesters to create more space between tents, take down tarps and remove unoccupied tents. The judge set a deadline of last Thursday afternoon.
Fire Chief John McKearney said there had been progress during the past few days, but he said the protesters still hadn’t satisfied the court order.
“At this point, they’re not in complete compliance,” McKearney told reporters.
“Certainly, I am frustrated, and I think they’re frustrated, too.”
McKearney said some of the protesters have been co-operative and have been willing to make changes, but he said the group’s diverse, leaderless structure has made that difficult.
“There is a number of them (protesters) who are committed to following the judge’s order and the fire chief’s order, but it’s very difficult to stay compliant because there are multiple communities within a community here,” fire Chief John McKearney told reporters.
McKearney said he expected the site to be “90 per cent” in compliance with the court order by the end of the day Tuesday, but that was only after city workers and firefighters stepped in to remove tents and tarps on their own.
The city has asked a B.C. Supreme Court judge for an injunction to permanently dismantle the camp site, arguing the site has become unsafe. The case returns to court on Wednesday for the start of a three-day hearing.
City hall spent weeks equivocating about what to do with the encampment, but finally took steps to remove the protesters last week after a young woman died of a drug overdose.
Ashlie Gough, 23, was found in her tent on Nov. 5. The BC Coroners Service determined Gough died of a drug overdose after taking a mixture of cocaine and heroin.
Occupy Vancouver has become an issue ahead of Saturday’s municipal election, with mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton attempting to use the encampment and Gough’s death to attack Mayor Gregor Robertson.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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