Occupy Movement: Camps In Newfoundland, New Brunswick Brave Winter

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - A large makeshift tent covered with layers of tarp is all that shields diehard Occupy protesters from the fierce winds that lash their seaside camp in St. John's.

Along with a part-time camp in Moncton, N.B., the shelter nestled into the corner of a harbourfront park in St. John's persists in Canada as part of the Occupy Wall Street uprising that swept North America last fall.

Protesters in major centres such as Vancouver and Toronto were evicted in November, while city staff in Fredericton dismantled a local camp last week.

"It hasn't been that bad," said a shivering Ken Canning, 19, who joined the St. John's protest against corporate power and social injustice on Oct. 17, two days after it started.

He has stayed through ferocious gales clocked at more than 100 kilometres an hour, a storm that dumped 30 centimetres of snow and frigid downpours. He has no plans to leave, and the City of St. John's says it won't force the issue unless there's danger or disruption.

"It's essentially camping in winter in the middle of a city," Canning said. "I've done it out in the woods."

Last Occupy Camp Holds On In St. John's

The final known Occupy camp in Canada remains open for business, as it were, in downtown St. John's, and the city has no plans to evict Occupy Newfoundland from its seaside perch.

"They're not bothering anybody," said St. John's Mayor Dennis O'Keefe, who told CBC News city council is fine with the small group of demonstrators who have been camping out at a small city park since Oct. 16.

"They're not a danger to themselves. They're not a danger to the public. They are there because they want to express an opinion. But we do not have an issue with them at this point in time."

On Tuesday, city workers and police evicted Occupy Fredericton from a public square, leaving Occupy Newfoundland as the only public protest camp left standing in Canada.

A string of them were set up across the country after Occupy Wall Street ignited the imagination of activists who have been speaking out against corporate control, the super-wealthy and economic injustice, among other issues.

Occupy Newfoundland is set up at Harbourside Park, a scenic park that sits between Water Street and the nearby harbour. Because there is limited pedestrian traffic in the area, the Occupy camp does not interfere with daily life in the city.