Canada, Ottawa, CLAC Radio – Take the Capital!

By: liberation - July 10th, 2002  Filed under: News

 

  Canada, Ottawa, CLAC Radio – Take the Capital!

 

A look at two days of action against the G8 in Ottawa on June 26 & 27 2002 This program features the Take the Capital! days of action in Ottawa which took place on June 26 & 27. The program highlights the squat action which took place on June 26th during the massive snake march which shut down Ottawa city center. The program features Dan Sawyer an activist involved with Anti-Capitalist Community Action an Ottawa based organization which had a leading role in planning and maintaining the ³7 Year Squat!² in Ottawa. The squat update was recorded during the day on July 2nd the day before the riot police came and violently evicted those people who had begun to make the ³7 Year Squat² their home.

The program also features an interview with Stefanie from OCAP (the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty) who speaks about the days of action in Ottawa on June 27th ³No One is Illegal!². The interview also goes into some detail about the immigration casework which OCAP has been involved in for some time as they have been active in defending the right of those who have been dubbed ³illegal² by the government of Canada.

– -> CLAC Radio¹s program on Take the Capital! can be heard at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=4954

– -> Previous CLAC radio programs can be accessed at: http://www.quebec2001.org/audio_en.html

 

– ———— “Take the Capital!” June 26-27, Ottawa “Prenons le Capital! Prenons la Capitale!” 26-27 juin, Ottawa

this is the g8-ottawa-org

stefan christoff <christoff [at] dojo [dot] tao [dot] ca>

 

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Slovenia: A note of eviction of squat in Ljubljana

By: liberation - July 7th, 2002  Filed under: News

After several years, we finally started to develop a real squatting movement in Slovenia. In Ljubljana, there are two squats – Vila Mara and Autonomna Cona Molotov, 1 floor, long house, owned by Slovenian Railway Company, state’s property. We squatted Molotov on New Year’s day 2002 and house was empty for 15 years before we came. There are about 15 people living there, we have a practise room, library (Info-point), empty space for activities like work-shops, joggling etc. and a concert hall with bar.

The last concert was two-days festival with bands like La Fraction, Czolgosz…and on 3rd July is Molotow Coctail and M.D.C. (Millions of Dead Cops). Concert hall is also used for video-projections and non-profit parties. Living place includes about 12 rooms, kitchen, guest room, living rooms and a yard. When we came, Molotov was in a quite bad condition, and the only people that came there were junkies. Place was full of shit and dirt. A small part of the house is Railway Museum, which is still working, but very rarely. The chief of Museum was very nice to us and said that we can use the place. He even forbidded police to come there without him. [Read More]

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Canada, Fighting the Housing Crisis in Montreal – SQUAT!

By: liberation - July 6th, 2002  Filed under: News

 

  Canada, Fighting the Housing Crisis in Montreal – SQUAT!

 

Squat Opened July 3rd 2002 2109 Nicolet (metro Pie- IX) A squat was opened today in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighborhood of Montreal to take action against Montreal’s housing crisis. The squat located at 2109 Nicolet Street represents one of the hundreds of apartments and buildings which remain empty despite Montreal¹s housing crisis. The housing crisis which has put hundreds of families and individuals on the streets, is fueled by the intense gentrification of low-income neighborhoods and by political negligence on the part of the City of Montreal.

The Squat was opened mid-afternoon, after a demonstration organized by the community group, ADDS (the Association for the Defense of Social Rights), took to the streets denouncing the municipal, provincial and federal governments’ lack of action taken to address the housing crisis. The demonstration was small in comparison to last years’ Overdale squat action, but effective in getting across the urgency of the situation facing hundreds if not thousands in Montreal right now.

This action comes just a week after activists in Ottawa re-appropriated a building during the massive North-Eastern convergence against the G8 which took place June 26 & 27. As the Nicolet Street squat was opened today in Montreal, riot police in Ottawa brutalized, pepper sprayed and evicted squatters from the “7 Year Squat” opened during the “Take the Capital!” days of action in Ottawa.

Those involved with the Nicolet Street squat in Montreal have many ties to last years Overdale Squat action and have continued to fight against homelessness and gentrification throughout the year. Among those supporters present at the squat opening today, were a handful of people who remain dedicated to holding onto this piece of housing and are planning to stay the night. At this time people are occupying the apartment, cleaning and fixing up the newly re-appropriated residence.

The City of Montreal estimates that over 400 families have become homeless as of July 1st. This number only represents those documented by the city. There remain hundreds more who are not included in this estimate. The City of Montreal has provided some short-term residences for those without housing, but no long term solution. At this time there still remains many families & individuals on the street.

Last year the City of Montreal promised 5263 low income housing units and not one has been built. The City also stated that in the next five years, they would build 11,000 new units. As none of the low-income housing units that were promised have been built, the numbers of those finding themselves on the street are growing each day as the cities lack of action become ever apparent.

The spirit to fight against this housing crisis is alive and well in Montreal and today¹s action makes that clear. People are taking matters into their own hands and beginning to open the hundreds of buildings in Montreal which remain vacant while hundreds are on the streets. Come and show your support for the Nicolet Street Squat. Building supplies, food, furniture, money and support is needed.

—-SOLIDARITY WITH SQUATTERS—-
—DIRECT ACTION GETS THE GOODS—

stefan christoff <christoff [at] dojo [dot] tao [dot] ca>

 

 

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Canada, Ottawa, Legal Update

By: liberation - July 4th, 2002  Filed under: News

 

  Canada, Ottawa, Legal Update

 

Legal Update – Squatters face harsh charges and conditions A news update just came in from our overworked legal team. They are doing an excellent job on little sleep and low staffing!

As far as we know 22 people have been arrested. The legal team has been given the royal run around by the police at the station on Elgin Street where detainees are being held. They have not been able to obtain a straight answer on the number of prisoners, nor have detainees been able to meet with their counsel beyond an initial brief encounter.

One detainee has been released. She has been released into conditions of house arrest. She has been given a very strict curfew until her hearing begins. She is also not allowed to go within 500 metres of the squat property. The charges faced by our brave squatter are: 3 counts of mischief over $5000.00, break and enter and obstruct police. This is interesting as it is my understanding that this woman was not even arrested on the squat property, but on the road in front. This released squatter was one of the initial detained.

Further news from the inside is that the other detainees are refusing the conditions and trying to go for bail instead. On the inside it seems the living conditions are very bad. The detainees do not have access to potable water. Instead they have access to a fountain covered in vomit and faecal matter. They are being held in very cold conditions with no blankets. Also, there is no toilet paper and substandard food.

This update is based on second person reporting.

You can call the cell block at Elgin Street at 613-236-1222.

More later.

SOLIDARITY WITH THE DETAINEES, WHETHER UNDER HOUSE ARREST OR ON THE ELGIN STREET SITE.

NO HOUSING, NO PEACE, THE SQUATTING WON?T CEASE.

(see www.ottawa.indymedia.org for further and background info on the squat)

Darren <darrenp [at] riseup [dot] net>

 

 

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Canada, Ottawa, 7 Year Squat Evicted by Riot Police

By: liberation - July 4th, 2002  Filed under: News

 

  Canada, Ottawa, 7 Year Squat Evicted by Riot Police

 

Cops evict occupants at 246 Gilmore, it is once again abandoned See photos of eviction @ http://www.ottawa.indymedia.org/2002/07/756.shtmlAfter an week of community building, renovating, and landscaping, the police this morning carried out an elaborate spectacle to evict squatters at 246 Gilmore in Ottawa.

At around 2am Wednesday morning, police vans were accumulating. OC Transpo (transit) buses dropped off hundreds of cops to secure the surrounding area stretching several blocks.

Some were in riot-gear, others were in friendly dark-blue. They were equipped with tear gas, pepper spray, dogs, guns, machine guns, at least four fire trucks, a command station, and a back-up command station.

Cops proceeded to ask the occupants to leave, after which they declared the entire block a crime scene. Anyone who refused to leave would be arrested for interference with a police operation. This included the private property across the street belonging to PSAC. Legal observers, and media (independent, public, and corporate) had been given permission by PSAC to use this property to observe from. Cops cleared all witnesses to be out of sight of the house, including front, back and side.

The first to be arrested were the organizers. They were carried-off in a city bus marked “Special”. The entire operation lasted well into morning rush hour. Fire truck ladders were used smash through barricaded top floor windows, through which riot cops entered, and brought out the arrested occupants.

It is unknown why the operation took over six hours. The house had about 12 occupants, all passive and unarmed. One of the arrested walking hand-cuffed down the ladder shouted “they (the police) beat us up!” Another shouted “We will never forget this day!” Most of the arrested showed signs of being pepper-sprayed, and some appeared to be brutalized.

Observers, media, and supporters gathered on Metcalfe street to watch the ugly spectacle. Supporters tried to converse with police, but the cops remained smugly silent. Despite repeated requests for information form media and legal observers, police refused to release any information.

City councilors were notified, including the mayor who was called at around 2am and 4am.

The abandoned house was reclaimed by the community during the anti-G8 Take the Capital demonstrations. The property was brought back to life by the occupants, along with the wider supportive community created over the short period of one week.

Meetings were held regularly to make decisions amongst the residents, based on consensus minus one. Improvements included painting, repairs to infrastructure and plumbing, a vegetable garden, and much cleaning. Plans included providing free space for public meetings, something which is scarce in Ottawa.

Donations of food, supplies, and art was contributed by the community in Ottawa. The Ottawa Police even donated a bag of hacky-sacks! Many curious passer-by’s were informed on the issues, with literature hand-outs, as well as conversations.

Now, the house looks like a war-zone. What was once a thriving community space has been reduced to what it was one week ago, an abandoned mess waiting to be torn down. The dreams of the occupants have been shattered, and hopes for a community space have been trampled on.

TAKE THE CAPITAL!
Ottawa Actions Against the G8
June 26-27, 2002
http://www.takethecapital.net
takethecapital [at] tao [dot] ca

Take the Capital! <takethecapital [at] tao [dot] ca>

 

 

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Ottawa: 7-Year Squat update

By: liberation - July 3rd, 2002  Filed under: News

 

  Ottawa: 7-Year Squat update

 

Late Friday afternoon I was in the Indymedia Centre preparing to leave Ottawa for Montreal when we got word that the 7-Year Squat at 246 Gilmour street was threatened by a police raid. We hurriedly grabbed all the cameras, batteries, and tape that we could lay hands on and headed over to the squat about 4 blocks away.

Since Friday, we have been providing a 24-hour media presence at the squat. The landlord showed up with a non-uniformed police escort to inform the squatters that they were not welcome on his property, then left the golf-shirted police to speak further with the squatters. 5 seconds later, two police cars and a fire truck with a lift basket screeched to a halt down the block in a show of force. Footage of this incident can be found at http://ontario.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=10682&group=webcast

Police drive-bys have been fairly constant, but there had been little in the way of direct intimidation when I left on Saturday afternoon. A few drunks next door to the squat provided a little excitement by pulling the fire alarm in their apartment building in the wee hours of Saturday morning but this had nothing to do with the squat, as I informed the cops who later showed up to park around the corner and skulk around in the shadows. They left after I assured one of the officers that her hair looked just fantastic on camera.

The squat is still in fine shape as of Sunday, June 30 at 2:26 pm EST.

Video of Friday’s press conference part 1- http://ontario.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=10686&group=webcast part 2 – http://ontario.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=10687&group=webcast part 3 – http://ontario.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=10689&group=webcast (this includes footage of a local resident showing up with gifts for the squat).

Audio interview w/ squatters, 1 am Saturday morning http://ottawa.indymedia.ca/2002/06/531.shtml

Video interview with a squat organizer – as you can see, the place looks quite good inside after the clean-up the squatters have done. http://ontario.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=10683&group=webcast

The squat currently has the capability of providing live cell-phone broadcasts to the web, stay tuned to Ottawa Indymedia for more info on that. Video footage of this action is being posted to Ontario IMC to lighten the load on the Ottawa server. More video will be made available as we can digitize it.

David Hrycyszyn <dave [at] blumedia [dot] co [dot] uk>

 

 

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Canada, Toronto, OCAP letter to Police Intelligence: Pope Squat

By: liberation - July 3rd, 2002  Filed under: News

 

  Canada, Toronto, OCAP letter to Police Intelligence: Pope Squat

 

As we prepare for the Pope Squat, OCAP has been approached by Police Intelligence and asked to meet and discuss our plans. This reply has been sent to the Detective that put that offer to us.

June 26, 2002

Detective Constable Branko Novinc, Intelligence – Anti Terrorist and Threat Investigation, Toronto Police Service, 40 College Street, Toronto, ON

Dectective Constable Novinc:

You recently proposed to our organization that we hold some discussions around the ‘Pope Squat’ housing action that is planned for late July. We have carefully considered this and have decided that, while a level of liaison with the Police during the event is not ruled out, a meeting with Intelligence at this time would not be particularly helpful. We do, however, want to take this opportunity to clarify a few matters with you that relate to the Pope Squat. Because we want to make our intentions clear to the community as a whole, we shall be sharing these comments with a range of interested parties.

Firstly, we would just stress that which our public statements on this event have already made clear. We are in no way organizing to protest or disrupt the Pope’s visit or to offend those who are gathering for World Catholic Youth Day. On the contrary, we will appeal to youth delegates and other Catholic people to support our efforts. We are acting during the Papal visit because the eyes of the world will be on Toronto and because the event raises moral issues that are favourable to challenging homelessness and under housing and NOT because we want to insult anyone’s religious views.

Secondly, we sincerely hope that those in authority can behave reasonably during this event. The Pope Squat is a response to serious social grievances. There are 63,000 people on the waiting list for housing in Toronto and 2,000 more are evicted every month. A protest against this tragic state of affairs that simply moves a few people into an empty property is hardly an act of deranged extremism to be smashed with the full might of the State. To put things in perspective, there are many political jurisdictions where such an act would be an entirely civil matter that the police would play no part in. Certainly, the Pope Squat will be broadly supported and seen by many in this community as justified and praiseworthy. Hopefully, this consideration may have some impact on official thinking in July. If there are no tasers, laser sights and riot clubs this time around, we won’t miss them.

Thirdly, we would like to point out that the Pope Squat is an actual attempt to open up a process of negotiation with the political decision makers. Other comparable actions that we have participated in have, in fact, led to progress and favourable results. The two buildings we squatted at 88-90 Carlton are now a social housing project. The Doctors Hospital was used as a shelter for the homeless, after we took action to press for this. The young people squatting the Canada Malting property, with OCAP as one of their major supporters, were given both the permission and resources that enabled them to stay on the site. Similarly, in this case, we are working to open discussions with municipal and provincial officials and have our action produce positive results for the constituency we represent.

Fourthly, we don’t automatically refuse to speak to the Police but, to be quite frank, you’re not the people we need to be talking to at the moment. The grievances we are addressing are the responsibility of those in political power. Catholic Youth Day, which forms the backdrop to our event, is funded by the municipal and provincial governments and one or both of these will have a considerable interest in the property that is the focus of this initiative. We’re taking the liberty of copying this letter to the above mentioned levels of government and, in the weeks ahead, will be pushing for them to deal with the social injustices that give rise to the Pope Squat. If the understanding emerges that we are dealing with political issues and not police matters it will be a big step forward for all concerned.

We thank you for the consideration we know you will give these comments. No doubt, we shall have further dealings on this matter in due course.

The Members of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty

cc: Ernie Eves
Mel Lastman
OCAP Allies

ocap [at] tao [dot] ca

 

 

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