Protesters gather in Confederation Park to discuss the Occupy Ottawa movement.
With the spring weather warming up, so are conversations about reinstating an Occupy Ottawa camp somewhere around the city.
“We have our work cut out for us,” says activist Hugh Goldring. “This time around, we are looking to improve the co-ordination of our events, bring in new people and make the site friendlier.”
The group is also involved in a national gathering on May 5 called Occupy Parliament. Although few details of the event have been released, hundreds are expected to gather on the Hill to show solidarity for the greater Occupy movement
All winter, a group of about 50 volunteers have organized various events and protests shedding light on perceived injustices. They continue to unite to oppose the omnibus crime bill, the robocalls scandal and various labour inequity disputes.
In February, members of the movement joined forces with Families of Sisters in Spirit, an organization advocating for families of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, to raise awareness for their cause.
“Members of Occupy were tremendous allies to our organization campaigning for our cause,” says Families of Sisters in Spirit member Kristen Gilchrist. “They were members on our organizing committee, wrote a song, made an art tableau and were committed advocates.”
Occupy activist Mandy Joy says the movement has found a greater purpose since the group began camping in Confederation Park last year.
“Occupy has formed into an outlet for public discourse that wasn’t there before,” says Joy. “We’re doing a lot of activism under the radar, but it is capturing people’s imaginations.”
At the beginning of June, Occupy Ottawa will host activists from across the country for a conference called Take Back Democracy. Organizations from coast-to-coast will be communicating to share new protest tactics, build their political awareness skills and circulate the message of the Occupy movement.
“People never thought of how to change the world before and we finally found a way to do it now,” says Joy. “Our ideas weren’t on the political agenda before and now they are.”
Joy says volunteers have been talking about reoccupation of city land since the National Capital Commission evicted protesters from Confederation Park last November.
In a notice to Occupy protesters last November, the National Capital Commission said “no person is permitted to camp or erect a tent in Confederation Park. All persons who are camping or have erected a tent must cease these activities.”
Now, the group is confident that if a camp is established, it will run more efficiently. Last time, numerous safety and security concerns received widespread media attention overshadowing the cause.
“We ran into a couple problems last time around but now we know to set up the infrastructure differently, and which initiatives need more planning,” says Joy.
Goldring says that the group’s initiatives over the winter are examples of the progress it has made since the movement began last fall. He says that although the lessons learned from last time might not save the group from an inevitable eviction, camping is not the point of the demonstration.
“We’re not going to see the social change coming from camping in a park, but it will help foster a dialogue,” he says.
The group feels that it has been successful in spreading the word and clarifying its purpose, and believes they are now a leading a movement for change and equality.
“It may not seem like it from the outside, but on the inside it does,” Joy says. “There’s so much energy here, plans and ideas to grow ourselves and lots of support from unions, organizations and businesses.”