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Mayor Ford: “We have asked the protesters to leave peacefully, and as soon as possible.”
UPDATE 2:31 PM: Police and bylaw officers arrived at St. James Park a few minutes ago, handing out a fresh set of eviction notices. What’s striking about these is that they are on St. James Cathedral letterhead, reinforcing the church’s earlier message that it would comply with whatever decision the courts made regarding the City-owned portion of the park as well.
Peace and order are the themes of the day at City Hall, as the mayor and his staff react to this morning’s judicial decision that found that the City was within its rights to order Occupiers to leave St. James Park. Rob Ford spoke to the press for a few minutes this morning, just over an hour after Ontario Superior Court Justice David Brown upheld the legality of the eviction notice. By his side was city manager Joe Pennachetti, who reiterated that “it is our intent to facilitate this, as the mayor said, in a peaceful and orderly fashion.”
All well and good, but nobody, right now, knows exactly what that means.
Photo by Christopher Drost/Torontoist.
Both Ford and Pennachetti repeatedly refused to answer questions about timelines for enforcing the eviction notice, nor would they comment on what measures they might take should Occupiers simply refuse to pack up and go. “We’re not going to talk about a deadline of 12:01,” said Pennachetti, referring to the City bylaw which prohibits gathering in a park from midnight to 5:30 a.m., though he did add that the City was hoping to get matters handled during the day.
Some were a bit more…frank in their commentary on the judge’s decision. “Woodstock Toronto is all over” cracked Doug Ford (Ward 2, Etobicoke North) as he walked by reporters just before the scrum got underway. Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West) echoed that sentiment after the mayor finished his remarks, going on camera to say: “We have Robin Hoods and makeshift Jesuses running around.”
A group called Friends of St. James Park also expressed—albeit much less colourfully—its relief at the decision. In a press release this morning they said: “Local residents and business owners in the immediate vicinity of St. James Park in Toronto have formed a working group with the purpose of ensuring that their local park is revitalized and developed in the best interest of the community… The group aims to work closely with Toronto City Council [to] look at initiatives that will keep the park safe, clean and usable for everyone.”
Occupy Toronto is planning to hold its regular general assemblies today at noon and 6 p.m.; protesters are expected to spend much of the day discussing how they’ll respond to this morning’s decision.