About 25 Council of Canadians chapters participated in 21 occupations across the country last Saturday.
We’ve seen the media reports of chapter actions noted below, but there may be more. So please send us your news coverage and we’ll update this blog on an ongoing basis.
Cowichan Valley chapter – Citizen News reports, “The Occupy Wall Street movement…made its way from Manhattan to the Cowichan Valley last weekend. Dozens of people turned out to Duncan’s Charles Hoey Park on Saturday morning to show their support for economic transformation… The event was organized by the Cowichan Valley chapter of the Council of Canadians, chaired by Nancy Clegg. …The success of the Occupy Wall Street movement and its offshoots, at least in terms of numbers, is proof, Clegg suggested, that people not only know something is wrong with the system, but also how to change it. ‘As you can see from the signs around here today, they have a really good idea what they think is wrong and what they think needs to be done to fix it,’ she said.”
Kelowna chapter – AM 1150 reports, “The Occupy Kelowna demonstration brought about 150 people out to Kerry Park on Saturday. …While demonstrators held signs with pointed opinion on a wide variety of issues, for Peter Kerr, a member of the Council of Canadians, the message of the protest is clear. ‘The goal is to make people aware of what’s happening and to change society so that there is less inequity like there is now.’ Kerr was joined by several colleagues. They handed out pamphlets and chanted with some of the speakers who got on a stage that was set up.”
Red Deer chapter – The Red Deer Advocate reports, “Ken Collier, chairman of the local chapter of the Council of Canadians, said those people who have not had an avenue to voice their problems have found a place in the Occupy movement. ‘Some people say the strength of this whole thing is there is no list of demands,’ said Collier. ‘People know what it is. People know how unfair the whole thing is. It’s not like we have a list of the government should do this or the other thing. They just have to stop being crooked. They have to stop being corrupt and stop ripping people off.'”
Winnipeg chapter – The Winnipeg Free Press reports, “Hundreds of Manitobans gathered near Portage and Main this afternoon as part of Occupy Winnipeg, one of a number of Canadian protests organized in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement. …The crowd gathered in the square in front of 201 Portage Ave., formerly Canwest Place, under sunny skies following a march from the Legislative Building. Supporters held up cardboard placards and peacefully listened to speeches. …Earlier in the day, organizer Trevor Semotok rallied the crowd by telling them the event has no single leader and no single issue. Everyone has a voice and shares an equal responsibility to safeguard democratic freedoms, said Semotok, from the Council of Canadians.”
London chapter – The London Free Press reports, “Members of London’s Council for Canadians (were at a small Occupy London gathering) hoisting a giant octopus they had stitched out of a blue tarp to protest a Canada-European Union trade agreement in the works. The agreement, known as CETA, will threaten our social fabric and local economies, said the protesters. Calling their puppet a CETApus, the council said its eight arms represent eight elements of society under threat.”
More to come.
