Archive - 2011

Camp Dismantled, But Occupy Nova Scotia Continues

HALIFAX—As has been happening at Occupy sites across North America, police moved in on Occupy Nova Scotia on October 11, seizing tents, supplies and protesters.

By the end of the day, 14 people had been arrested for peacefully trying to defend the site.

This video tracks the progress of Occupy Nova Scotia, from when it began on October 15, to its relocation out of respect for veterans on Remembrance Day, to the eviction, and beyond. The video also explores how day to day operations worked on the site, from consensus decision-making, to keeping safe, to feeding a hungry crowd.

Occupy Nova Scotia is currently not occupying a site in Halifax, but General Assemblies are continuing, and participants say the movement is far from over.

For more on the recent police actions against Occupy Nova Scotia, watch, Mini-Doc: The Eviction of Occupy Nova Scotia.

This video was produced by Glen Canning, a contributor to the Halifax Media Co-op. For more coverage of the Occupy movement across Canada and worldwide, visit http://mediacoop.ca/occupy.

Run on the Banks in Vancouver

VANCOUVER-On Saturday, October 24, the people at Occupy Vancouver moved from the eternal process of the general assembly to the exciting world of direct action.

The "Run on the Banks" action marks an escalation on an occupation that's been busy building infrastructure. This was not an official Occupy Vancouver action but an offshoot, as stated on occupy Vancouver's twitter account.

About a thousand trouble makers made their way through the streets of Downtown Vancouver with the intention to occupy corporate banks and encourage folks to close their accounts.

And that they did. This Royal Bank of Canada was the first target, with about 50 people jamming the lobby while some withdraw their cash.

At the Bank of Montreal people shut down their account and moved to other options.

But the cherry on top was the Occupation of TD, or Toronto Dominion Bank, right next to the Occupy Vancouver camp at the Art Gallery. A home stereo was cranked to the max and the people rocked out on top of teller desks and furniture.

An idea was floated around to continue occupying through the night, but the group could not reach consensus, and the process ultimately disrupted the party.

The police quietly moved in and occupied the spots where tellers once stood to protect their corporate masters. Finally the group decided to move out en-masse and avoid arrest.

This piece was originally produced for the Vancouver Media Co-op. Franklin López is a Vancouver based filmmaker and creator of Submedia.tv.