MONTREAL – Occupy Montreal continued for a third day Monday with
about 200 protesters camped out in tent-covered Victoria Square.
The
square also had a makeshift kitchen, a clinic, a children’s area, and a
media centre with a Macbook Pro and an Internet antenna. Protesters
camping there since Saturday say they are in for the long haul.
At
noon Sunday, the crowd gathered to debate the nuts and bolts of taking
democracy to the streets – food, water, electricity, access to toilets,
and how to talk to reporters. One by one, occupiers took to a bullhorn
to make propositions, which the crowd voted with a show of waving hands.
Given that there’s no clearly defined leadership – which
participants say is the whole point – things took some time to be
decided.
Just agreeing on the voting system took 15 minutes.
Inspired
by the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, Occupy Montreal is part
of a greater global movement against perceived social inequalities.
Under the banner “We are the 99%,” participants claim the richest one
per cent have undue influence on government and policy.
The movement has been criticized for having vague demands, but participants say they are misunderstood.
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“We
have 500 people here, each of them with a different idea of what they
want,” said Jean-Sebastien Delorme, who has been in the square from the
beginning. “But they all agree something needs to change.
“This
isn’t about finding an exact alternative. It’s about asking, ‘Are we on
the right path?’ And using that to launch a discussion on what the
alternative could be.”
Like others interviewed by The Gazette,
Delorme wanted to make it clear that he’s neither a spokesperson nor an
organizer for the movement.
“There is no leadership. No one is an organizer. We are all volunteers.”
From
the beginning it was clear many of the protesters were preparing for a
long stay in the square. Dozens of tents were erected throughout the day
Saturday and by late afternoon, volunteers had amassed a mountain of
supplies. People dropped off donations of food, coffee, jugs of water,
bags of clothing, mittens and toques.
Charlie Boucher decided to support the protest by handing out free pizzas on Saturday.
“I
bought nine,” said Boucher with a big grin, after handing a boxed pizza
to a young protester. “I can’t stay overnight myself for health
reasons, so I wanted to support those who are staying here. I’ll be back
tomorrow with ten more.”
For Boucher, who once worked in the
financial industry but is now unemployed, all the issues raised by the
protesters come down to one big one. “It’s all about economic justice,”
he said.
“Everything falls under that banner, including equality
for women, gays and lesbians, families, children, my parents who are
living on a pension that is disappearing. … The people who are making
the rules have been bought out by major corporations; by the banks and
the insurance companies and the oil companies, so this is the only way
for the 99 per cent to have a voice.”
Protesters say there have been no conflicts with police, who’ve been watching from a patrol car on the south end of the square.
“As
long as we remain peaceful, they have no problem with us staying here,”
a member of the spontaneously formed police liaison committee announced
to the crowd huddled in the square Sunday.
Montreal police
officials say camping in a public square is illegal, but for now they
are watching the situation. They have no plans to evict the occupiers,
police spokesperson Daniel Lacoursière said.
Several union groups
joined the action Saturday, including the Canadian Union of Public
Employees component representing Air Canada flight attendants.
“We
are here because we are part of the 99 per cent of people that are
being unfairly treated by greedy corporations,” said Montreal regional
strike coordinator Stéphanie Jaffres.
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