Last Updated | Aug 27 2004 10:51 AM EDT

Campsite cleared

OTTAWA - The homeless protest camp at Ottawa city hall was gone on Friday morning.

Police, bylaw officers and security guards were patrolling the area around the human rights monument near the corner of Elgin and Lisgar Streets after breaking up the camp. The group was served with a notice to leave around 1 a.m.

They were gone within an hour after being warned by the bylaw officers that staying would mean they were trespassing.

The move came as a surprise to Sean McKenny. The Ottawa and District Labour Council president said he had worked out an agreement in principle with the city. It called for the protesters to get help from social workers, and then take down the camp on their own.

"It was a surprise to a number of people, because, certainly my opinion as the middle person, was that they had started the process as per the agreement. Which was assessments of those individuals that were camped out in front."

The protesters said they were told by one councillor that they would have until Saturday afternoon to pack up and leave.

Councillor Diane Holmes said when she left city hall Thursday negotiations were continuing. "I thought we were giving them one more day. So, it is a surprise."

Holmes said she'll speak with the mayor to find out why the officers moved in on Friday morning.

Holmes said even if the protesters did not have the impact they wanted, there was some success. She's planning a municipal inquiry into the Safe Streets Act in September.

Police said there were no incidents and no arrests made as the camp was dismantled.

The demonstrators spent 55 days camping near city hall. They were protesting the lack of affordable housing in the city.

 

 

Last Updated | Aug 25 2004 08:38 AM EDT

Mayor orders campsite cleared

OTTAWA - Mayor Bob Chiarelli has decided it's time for a homeless camp outside Ottawa city hall to disappear. He asked city staff to look into what can be done to force the campers out after a meeting with the group on Tuesday afternoon failed to find common ground.

Chiarelli said he offered constructive solutions, but the protesters decided they fell short of their demands.

The demonstrators have accused Ottawa police of brutalizing the homeless and of criminalizing dissent. They wanted the mayor to order police to leave the homeless alone. The list of demands also included a request to find immediate and humane solutions to homelessness issues. They also demanded a public apology to some of the leaders of the movement who have been arrested for their actions.

Homeless advocate Khalid Lesfar said there was no progress at the end of the two hour meeting.

The camp is near human-rights memorial on Elgin Street

The camp is near human-rights memorial on Elgin Street

"The mayor would not budge on even a single issue. he has made it his business to humiliate us and marginalize us even further."

Mayor Chiarelli said that's not true. He came to the meeting with a number of offers that were all rejected by the group.

He offered to form a police services subcommittee to deal with the issues the protesters are complaining about.

He offered to find them lawyers willing to work for free on their behalf. And Chiarelli also pledged to set up a program that would find casual work for the homeless.

Chiarelli said the group's refusal to work with him leaves only one option.

"Within the next very short number of days, we would ask staff to take every legal measure that's available to us to clean up the camp at city hall."

The campers said they don't plan to go quietly, meaning a showdown looks inevitable.

 

 

Last Updated | Aug 19 2004 08:05 AM CDT

Councillor wants homeless campers evicted

OTTAWA - An Ottawa city councillor, Doug Thompson, says he's ready to set up his own camp outside City Hall if council doesn't move to evict a group of homeless people who are camping there.

Protesters' camp on Elgin Street

Protesters' camp on Elgin Street

They've been living in tents and shelters at the corner of Elgin and Lisgar streets for the past several weeks.

Thompson says they've made their point, and now it's time to go. He says they're creating a risk to health and security.

Thompson has put a motion before council to give the campers seven days to move, or be evicted. He says, if the motion fails, he and a group of supporters will set up their own camp.

 

 

http://ottawa.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ot_protesters20040720

 

 

 

Last Updated | Jul 20 2004 01:52 PM CDT

Police say protesters can stay — for now

OTTAWA - Ottawa police say protesters on Elgin Street can stay there for now. About a dozen people are protesting against the province's Safe Streets Act by living in tents at the human-rights memorial.

Protesters' camp near human-rights memorial on Elgin Street

Protesters' camp near human-rights memorial on Elgin Street

The Safe Streets Act makes it illegal for anyone to stop cars and try to wash motorists' windshields for money. Repeatedly asking people for money in public places is also prohibited.

Police visited the site Monday to tell the protesters to clean up all the litter and dog feces.

But the protesters say the police also pressured them to pack up and leave, telling them that it's against the law to camp on city property.

Staff Sgt. Mike Laviolette says police didn't pressure anyone to leave the site. But, he says, police are working with the city to figure out whether the protest breaks the no-camping rule.

"Because it's a very grey area at this point, and there's a lot of speculation, we want to make sure as a police agency, that we're following all rules and that we're not overstepping our boundaries either," Laviolette says.

"We just have to make sure that the rules of engagement for everyone are clear, and that's what's under review because nothing is clear at this point."

Laviolette says figuring out how the city and police want to deal with the makeshift tent city will take at least a couple of days.

In the meantime, he says, as long as the protesters remain peaceful, and continue to keep the area clean, they can stay.