After receiving an eviction notice from the National Capital Commission (NCC) Nov. 21, Ottawa police ousted Occupy Ottawa protesters from Confederation Park just after 2 a.m. Nov. 23.
“The politicians in this country are in bed with those that are controlling the economy of this country, that’s why they want us out,” said Occupy Ottawa protester Obert Matonao. “Canada’s democracy is under attack.”
The NCC issued eviction notices to Occupy Ottawa protesters the morning of Nov. 21, demanding the occupiers leave with their tents and belongings by 11:59 p.m. that night.
“We have the right to be here, we have the right to peaceful assembly, and if that’s not worth fighting for, in a peaceful and dignified way, than what is?” said Kevin Donaghy, a facilitator of the protest, the day the eviction notices were given out.
As the deadline approached, a crowd of about 200 protesters gathered at Confederation Park. But the deadline passed with no police in sight, and many people started to leave the site as a result.
About 25 protesters remained in the park after the eviction deadline, according to Ottawa police.
The police didn’t show until around 8 a.m., and even then they didn’t attempt to dislodge protesters.
In the early hours of Nov. 23, however, police moved in and made eight arrests.
All eight of the protesters were released, but Matonao was sent to hospital due to a pre-existing injury that he feared had been agitated, according to Ottawa police.
Alex Guest, a participant in the protest, said the occupiers packed up communal items bought with donated money as a “precautionary measure” before the eviction deadline, after police officers in other cities threw away the occupiers’ shared belongings.
Angèlle Bourgeois, who came to Confederation Park from Occupy Nova Scotia, said police destroyed the Halifax camp and placed a lot of the protesters’ personal property into public trash bins.
Ottawa’s eviction notice came about just hours after Ontario Superior Court Justice David Brown ruled that the eviction notice for Occupy Toronto didn’t infringe on any free speech rights.
Occupy Vancouver, on the other hand, simply relocated their site after they were found to be in contempt of court for ignoring eviction notices.
While most decided to ignore the eviction notice in Ottawa, other protesters opted to leave.
“Every one’s free to make their own decision, but the occupation will not support any violence,” said Stas Ukhanov, a fourth-year economics and political science student at Carleton.
Ukhanov did not leave the camp despite the eviction notice.
Ottawa lawyer Daniel Nugent was on site Nov. 21 to offer his services, and to keep the crowd informed of what would happen to them if they decided to ignore the eviction notice and stay at the park.
“This notice may be enforced in accordance with the provisions of the Trespass to Property Act or by any other means available to the NCC,” the eviction notice stated.
Although they have finally been evicted from Confederation Park, Occupy Ottawa will live on, according to Espoir Manirambona, a fourth-year public affairs and policy management student at Carleton.
“Ironically, all the eviction notices have reunited the movement, people are once again interested in what’s going on,” he said.
“So much has been done in such a short time. We’re actually talking about inequality in the mainstream media, when before we weren’t at all. It’s so much more than setting up a tent in Confederation Park, and I don’t think [the idea] will ever die. ”
