Occupy Halifax put down stakes at the Grand Parade on October 15, 2011, joining the call to begin the Occupy Canada movement. The City of Halifax wasn’t impressed and so began to struggle to remain.
Occupy Halifax had been asked by the city to leave the Grand Parade public square by November 6, 2011, in time for the area to be cleaned for the Remembrance Day ceremony.
Negotiations regarding this move were ongoing and Occupy Halifax and the city finally reached a deal regarding a move to Victoria Park. A dozen tents and related infrastructure were raised at this new location.
But dropping any notion of good will, Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly then issued an eviction notice early on Friday, November 11, 2011, citing bylaws that prohibit people from setting up tents on city property without a permit.
This same-day eviction notice allocated Occupy Halifax only a few hours to clear the park. Activists questioned the eviction order since they felt they had, in good faith, followed the city’s request to relocate. Hundreds of demonstrators braved a heavy rainstorm to protect Occupy Halifax that afternoon from Halifax police.
During the subsequent police-enforced eviction, 14 people were arrested. Charges included obstruction of justice for clashes with the police. Demonstrators accused police of heavy-handed tactics during the eviction and the use of pepper spray. The police were eventually successful in clearing the park and removing the tents and infrastructure.
A hundred Occupy Halifax members and supporters held a rally the next day at another park to protest the eviction and police brutality. The crowd chanted for Mayor Peter Kelly’s resignation and for Halifax police chief Frank A. Beazley to probe police conduct during the Friday, November 11, 2011, eviction.
Occupy Halifax activists vowed to support those arrested in court on Monday November 14, 2011. Meanwhile, Occupy Halifax organizers are consulting legal professionals to investigate the legality of Friday’s eviction.
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