Judge rules city cannot evict Occupy Toronto protesters overnight

A judge has ruled that the city cannot evict Occupy Toronto protesters from St. James Park overnight.

The temporary injunction means that the initial eviction deadline of 12:01 Wednesday is no longer valid.

The judge will hear full arguments from both sides on Friday before making a final decision on their fate Saturday.

Both Mayor Rob Ford and Police Chief Bill Blair spoke out on the decision at Tuesday night’s Chief’s Gala.

“People’s patience are running a little thin…if that’s what the judge said, that’s what the judge said. We’ll see on Saturday morning and take it from there. We want everything to remain peaceful. They should just remove themselves from the park as soon as possible,” said Ford.

“It’s tremendously important that there be a proper legal context for whatever action may be taken. And so the city is doing its job and trying to resolve this as peacefully as possible…we want to work with the city, work with the protesters within a legal context,” said Blair.
 
Earlier Tuesday bylaw officers began handing out the eviction notices.

“I think the city and the mayor have exercised great patience in this whole matter, and certainly the people who live and work in that area have as well,” deputy mayor Doug Holyday told CityNews Channel.

“It’s come to a time where we have to do the winterizing of that park, and [the demonstration] has to come to an end,” Holyday added.

The notice said the city recognizes their right to protest, but that protesters are damaging the park and interfering with winter maintenance.

Demonstrators and their tents were to be cleared by 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the notice stated. Protesters would have been able to return at 5:30 a.m., but were prohibited from bringing tents or any other equipment.

 Click here to read the notice.

Some protesters said they were willing to clear out, while others, like Gordon Lightfoot’s 17-year-old daughter, Meredith, had vowed to stay, “Forever, until I die.”

The legendary Canadian singer/songwriter made an appearance at the park in support of her activism.

“I never get into these things publicly, I avoid it,” he said.  “But since I’m standing here today I share all the same concerns that all of us have, we’ve got to…make it better somehow.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this, there’s an urgent need that prevails all over North America…there’s not enough work and there’s too many young people can’t get jobs.”

Asked if he was worried about his daughter’s safety, Lightfoot didn’t flinch.  “She’s quite capable of looking after herself,” he said.

Occupy Toronto demonstrators spent much of the day debating their next steps as the eviction deadline loomed over them. One protester suggested forming a human chain around St. James Park to prevent bylaw officers from entering. Another demonstrator said it was time for protesters to leave: “We are ruining this park,” he said during a public discussion.

CUPE has thrown its support behind the protesters, tweeting, “#CUPE Ontario and members will join labour movement in opposing #OccupyToronto eviction tonight.”

On its twitter feed, the Ontario Federation of Labour said OFL president Sid Ryan would be flying back from Ottawa to join the Occupy camp.

In the meantime, an internet hacker group known as Anonymous has threatened to target the city if an eviction is carried out. 

They sent out an ominous tweet Tuesday, saying, “…Now you will feel the wrath of #Anonymous.”

View the story “Eviction at St. James Park” on Storify]

Earlier, two demonstrators were arrested as they protested the eviction of their New York counterparts from Zuccotti Park. 

Toronto police arrested one person on Yonge Street south of King Street around 10 a.m. Tuesday. A second person was arrested a short time later.

A 47-year-old man has been charged with assault police.

A 27-year-old man has been charged with assault police, assault with a weapon, mischief, and possession of marijuana.

Demonstrators returned to their base at St. James Park in downtown Toronto after the protest outside Brookfield Office Properties in the financial district.

Toronto-based Brookfield is the majority owner of Zuccotti Park, the Manhattan park where the Occupy Wall Street movement began in September.  

About 30 people from the Toronto camp at St. James Park headed toward Bay Street at 8:30 a.m., and returned to the park just before 10 a.m.

Other cities, such as Halifax, London, Ont., and Saskatoon, have evicted their Occupy protesters. Groups in other cities, such as Vancouver, have remained defiant of requests or orders to leave.

With files from The Canadian Press