Olympic Plaza campers not going anywhere, says protester

Some Occupy Calgary protesters camped in Olympic Plaza said on Tuesday they're not going anywhere despite word from the city that camping at that location will not be allowed indefinitely.

Last Saturday saw people march through downtown as part of the now global protests against the inequities of capitalism. As of Tuesday night more than two dozen tents have been pitched at Olympic Plaza.

Other Occupy Calgary campers have been set up at St. Patrick’s Island for more than a week. 

The city says it respects the right to peaceful protest but feels the demonstrators have made their point and should now respect the bylaw against camping in city parks.

But protester Brent Talbot says he's planning to stay in the park for the long haul. "I'm gonna be here until at least Christmas," he said. "I'm not going anywhere."

Another protester, Steve Loo, says there has been discussion among the campers about how long they should stay.

"A lot of people have been saying, 'As long as it takes,'" he said. "Well, and I'm trying to get to the point of ... how do we know we've reached that point? And that's an ongoing discussion as well."        

Tom Sampson with the city's Emergency Management Agency says the camping cannot continue forever, but so far the impact on other park users has been minimal.

"Ultimately we do have that park booked and events coming up. And we would be hopeful that the organizers would sort of view that they've made their point," said Sampson. "We've heard them."

Sampson says the city must consider the rights of others to use the park space. There is also a Halloween event booked at the plaza on Oct. 29.    

"At a certain point when you cross that line and you limit the appropriate use — and that will be determined by other people than myself — I think then you start to negatively impact your community," said Sampson. "That ... will be the point when folks make a decision to take some action."

Ald. Shane Keating says while he supports the rights of the protesters he feels the best place for the campers is with the original group at St. Patrick's Island.

"They haven't caused damage," he said. "They're not littering and all of these, so they've upheld their responsibility. I think the other side of that is they also have a responsibility to make sure that they don't infringe on other's rights and freedoms as well."

Ald. Richard Pootmans said he also supports the protesters’s rights but he suspects some cold weather will likely result in the camp quietly breaking up.

So far there is no indication from the city how long it will permit camping on public land at Olympic Plaza or St. Patrick's Island, but officials said they are monitoring the situation closely.