MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
November 18, 2011

Council of Canadians calls on governments to stop undermining rights of Occupy protesters

The Council of Canadians is demanding that local governments stop their attacks on the Occupy movement. In Toronto, the organization is encouraging its members to join Occupy Toronto’s "Evict Rob Ford" rally and march this Saturday at 2 pm.

"We proudly stand with Occupy Toronto and others in the Occupy movement on Wall Street, on Bay Street, in Montreal, and around the world who are demanding real democracy," says Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow. "These occupations have created a space to talk about a new economy designed to serve our common goals and aspirations. As the Occupy movement grows and gains momentum, it is clear that our communities are engaged and demand to be included in the political process. These occupations are providing a venue for that engagement."

More than 25 Council of Canadians chapters have participated in occupations across Canada. Around the world, thousands have participated in occupations to draw attention to the corporate control of the economy and the resulting wealth inequalities, austerity measures, environmental harm, loss of democratic rights, and the exclusion of popular voices.

Recent evictions have taken place at Occupy encampments in London, Halifax, Regina and Saskatoon. Municipalities are also pushing for evictions in Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, and Quebec City. The Council of Canadians is demanding to know whether there is coordination among mayors and higher-levels of government given the close-timing of these actions.

"Bylaws don’t trump human rights. But municipalities in Canada and the US are pretending they do in an attempt to crush this new movement, because it is altering the political landscape," says Barlow. "It’s not health and safety that politicians are worried about. It’s about the threat to the status quo these encampments represent."

The Council of Canadians helped to provide a portable toilet for Occupy Regina. In a media release issued in early-November, Regina chapter activist Jim Elliott said, “The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to affirm ‘the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights’." But instead of respecting those rights, the City of Regina directly contacted the company and had the toilet removed, leaving the occupation with just a makeshift toilet in a tent.

A court decision on Occupy Toronto is expected Monday.

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For more information:

Dylan Penner, media officer, Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685, dpenner@canadians.org, Twitter: @CouncilOfCDNs