Dozens of protesters occupying a vacant house in downtown Ottawa vowed last night to "fight to hold this place as long as possible" after a failed bid for a peaceful resolution had the squatters bracing for a police raid. Dan Sawyer, a spokesman for the 70-odd activists squatting for the past week at 246 Gilmour St., a three-storey heritage home, also said the group has "a long list of vacant buildings in Ottawa that we are considering for future squats."
As night fell, the sounds of hammering could be heard from inside the house as the squatters reinforced barricades erected to resist a raid by riot police.
Through the evening, police surveillance teams could be seen watching and recording the movements of the protesters from unmarked vehicles.
At an 8:30 p.m. meeting at the site attended by about 100 people -- including a number of the squatters, media and some members of the public -- Mr. Sawyer urged the community to support the group's demand for more affordable housing in Ottawa by joining the squat and camping on the lawn. Mr. Sawyer said a noon-hour meeting yesterday at Ottawa City Hall had failed to produce a firm commitment from the city to significantly increase its stock of affordable housing units. And that, he said, meant the squatters were refusing to end their illegal actions.
Mr. Sawyer said he and other representatives of the squatters went to the meeting with the impression that Mayor Bob Chiarelli and Councillor Alex Munter -- an outspoken proponent of increasing social housing in Ottawa -- would be there along with Dick Stewart, the city's director of social service. Only Mr. Stewart attended the meeting.
Mr. Munter said he was asked yesterday morning by the mayor and city police if he would be willing to meet with the squatters if they left the building. "They have made their point. I think it's time for them to leave," said Mr. Munter, adding that the idea he was supposed to attend a meeting was "news to me."
John Crupi, a spokesman for Mr. Chiarelli, also said there had been no agreement by the mayor to meet with the squatters, nor even any request for such a meeting. "Suddenly," said Mr. Crupi, "Alex Munter is not high-profile enough for them. It's just another excuse."
Mr. Sawyer said the city's offer to hold a joint press conference on social housing -- only after the house was vacated -- was not acceptable. He said the squatters have worked long hours painting and repairing the occupied house and wanted a stronger show of "good faith" from the city than a press conference involving Mr. Munter. "It doesn't carry the same weight as the mayor," he said.
In the end, the squatters were told that if they made a public announcement by 6:30 last night that they intended to leave the house by 2 p.m. today, the city would still agree to the press conference.
As the deadline passed, it was clear that the squatters were anticipating police would move in to end the occupation.
At the public meeting last night, Mr. Sawyer acknowledged that Mr. Munter and Mr. Chiarelli had never been invited to the noon-hour meeting. He said it was Sgt. Pat Frost, an Ottawa police liaison officer, who had been dealing with the protesters, and who had promised to arrange to have the politicians present.
Mr. Sawyer said the protesters are now no longer willing to negotiate through the police. The protesters insist the city implement a "use-it-or-lose-it" bylaw that would force the owner of any building vacant for longer than a year to sell or rent it. They also want the city to produce 2,000 new units of affordable housing each year. And they want police to guarantee amnesty to all people involved in the occupation of the Gilmour Street house.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.