(Photo Taken by Christine McFarlane)
By: Christine McFarlane
It has now been almost a month since Occupy Toronto protesters first gathered in the financial district at Bay and King Streets and marched to St. James Park, near King and Church, where they set up camp.
As in other cities, Occupy Toronto’s message has morphed from the original “Occupy Wall St” protest in New York, which started out as a demonstration against the action of U.S. investment banks and the American government in the subprime mortgage securities scandal that led to the global economic recession in 2008.
As in other cities, Occupy Toronto’s message has morphed from the original “Occupy Wall St” protest in New York, which started out as a demonstration against the action of U.S. investment banks and the American government in the subprime mortgage securities scandal that led to the global economic recession in 2008.
St. James Park has been home to about 500 protesters since October 15, a day of global protests against the concentration of wealth in the hands of a small elite. These protests are worldwide. Some of them have already faced the dismantling of tents, (eg. London, Ontario) clashes with the police (Oakland) etc. What’s going to happen if Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford makes the move to dismantle Occupy Toronto?
On Saturday, November 12, 2011 Occupy Toronto marched in solidarity with Indigenous struggles to raise awareness about the links between Indigenous issues and struggles against austerity, privatization and neo-liberalism, and sovereignty.
The march was to support our own decolonization as well as the larger decolonization needed for our society. Occupy Toronto recognizes that they are occupying already occupied lands, and are saying no to the violent imposition of economic austerity, industrial development and privatization on themselves and people around the world.
The movement means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?
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