Occupy protesters ticketed at St. James Park

TORONTO, Ont. – The Occupy Toronto protest at St. James Park dragged on, Wednesday, that resulted in nine protesters being ticketed. A tenth was detained but released without charge.

Four young men were in a yurt and protesters built a wooden structure around it, but were forced out of it.

Nobody was taken to jail.

City workers, backed up by police officers, removed tents and other structures used by at the park.

Roads around the park were closed for about nine hours.

A woman was charged for trespassing at the park. She was ticketed and released shortly thereafter by police.

As the workers pulled down the tents and collect other debris, police used the LRAD (sound cannon), which was purchased for the G20 summit in Toronto, to ask the protesters to move on.

“Police are now asking for your cooperation to comply with this order,” an officer said via the sound cannon.

Garbage trucks and the Toronto Works’ pick-up vehicles lined up along the path that goes through centre of the park. They were used to haul away what was left of the encampment.

Earlier in the day, protesters followed police around and every time officers got near certain tents, they were met with chanting.

Police also numbered each tent and structure in the park — so that its owner can then claim it.

On its website, the City of Toronto released this message:

“At approximately 6:30 this morning, City staff entered St. James Park, supported by the Toronto Police Service to remove all tents and structures and to post notices asking protesters to refrain from gathering in the park from 12:01 am to 5:30 a.m. The City’s goal today is to remove tents and structures and make the park safe for the enjoyment of all residents. Our intent is to facilitate this peacefully.”

“Shelter, Support and Housing Administration staff will continue to be available at the Adelaide Women’s Resource Centre to assist anyone who may need assistance with shelter, housing or other supports.”

Mayor Rob Ford also posted a message to his Facebook page. Read message

After police cleared the park, about 100 protesters marched to City Hall where they sat to discuss what their next move would be.

The group chanted “This movement is more than a park,” and one protester set up a tent to send a message to Mayor Ford that the movement is not over.

A decision on what phase two will involve will be made over the next few days. One protester told 680News they will disperse throughout the city.

On Tuesday, the remaining protesters marched to City Hall, Tuesday evening and staged a rally below the office of Ford.

The group chanted while some people made speeches in front of the main doors of City Hall for just over an hour.

As they made their way back to St. James Park through the downtown streets they chanted “Whose streets, our streets” in an attempt to drum up support.

Once at the park they gathered to come up with a strategy for the future movement.

Earlier on Tuesday, some protesters packed up and left the park due to worries about possible police action, while others said it would take force to get them to go.

One protester said he hopes the support for those who risk arrest will be enough to keep them out of jail.

“There’s a possibility that if the police do come and there’s enough supporters all around, that no one will get arrested, right?,” he told 680News.

Facilitator Taylor Chelsea told 680News the group is trying to mobilize support.

“There are people who are being call now, who are at home, who wanted to only be called when eviction was called,” Chelsea said.

The protesters knew they could be arrested or fined at any time, given that the court ordered an end to the encampment and overnight usage of the park.

However, many protesters continued to camp out at the park Monday night, some even chaining themselves to the inside of their tent structures, perhaps setting the stage for an eventual confrontation with police.

“They’re going to take my away by my arms and legs, and I’ll come out bright-and-early tomorrow morning, maybe in the afternoon, and I’ll be coming right back here to continue sending our message and making our stand,” one protester said.

A number of protesters did take down their tents and leave, but it is difficult to place a number on them because of the ebb-and-flow of protesters over the past month.

As the 12:01 a.m. deadline passed Tuesday with no police interference, hundreds of protesters gathered around the centre stage, banging drums and celebrating that they were still at the park.

On Monday, police had said they would not move against protesters overnight, allowing them extra time to vacate on their own.

One protester confronted a police inspector who was doing a walk-through of the park, and demanded to know what police have planned, given what happened during the G20 summit in Toronto.

“They can tear gas people … who knows what they’ll unleash. We’ve seen them do it before. What’s stopping them from doing it again?,” he said.

But Toronto police Insp. Gary Misener told protesters they’ve already been given sufficient time to comply with the eviction order and get out. He would not comment on what police have planned or when they might move it.

Meanwhile, Councillor Doug Ford said the city has been been patient with the protesters, and he’d like to see them move on.

“Very accommodating with these folks for the last month, so hopefully this will come to a peaceful end in the next day or so,” Ford said.