Occupy Toronto protesters must leave park

A judge has ruled that Occupy Toronto protesters must end their five-week long encampment at a downtown park.

Superior Court Justice David Brown’s ruling, issued just after 9 a.m. on Monday, upholds eviction notices issued last week by city bylaw officers to protesters who have been camping at St. James Park since Oct. 15.

Protesters had argued in court they had a constitutional right to camp in the park, which is located near the corner of King Street East and Church Street.

However, Mayor Rob Ford and his allies on Toronto city council have said occupiers have had their say and that neighbours and businesses in the area want the protesters to leave.

In submissions to the court, city officials have also pointed to damage to park grounds caused by the encampment and the need to prepare the park for winter.

Protesters had argued the encampment was essential to ensuring their right to expression guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Justice Brown, however, rejected this argument in his ruling and said the city's trespass order was "constitutionally valid."

"Although proclaiming a message of participatory democracy, the evidence, unfortunately, reveals that the protesters did not practise what they were preaching when they decided to occupy the park. Specifically, they did not ask those who live and work around the park or those who use the park, or their civic representatives, what they would think if the park was turned into a tent city."

"The applicants have failed in their onus to establish that the city actions in any way offend their charter rights. They have failed to demonstrate the camping in the tents is in any way an expression or that they are needed or used to express any ideas. Their act of camping out and effectively taking over a public park is not protected under Section 2."

The full text of the judge's ruling is available by clicking here.

In a press conference held after the judge's ruling was released on Monday, Ford said it was time for occupiers to leave the park.

"The city has worked to balance people's right to protest with public safety," Ford said. "However, this unauthorized use of a city park has interfered with the rights local residents have to the quiet enjoyment of their parks and homes and has negatively affected many area businesses."

City manager Joe Pennachetti said city staff will be made available to help protesters pack up their camp.

Both Ford and Pennachetti refused to directly answer reporters' questions about what would happen if protesters refuse to leave.

"I am asking the protesters to comply with this ruling and leave peacefully," said Ford.

The Toronto protest is part of a global Occupy movement that has staged similar encampments and peaceful protests in other cities.

The movement has a handful of stated political goals, among them a need to address economic inequality.

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Source: CBC