While I went down to Olympic Plaza to sign the petition for the city to uphold the bylaws against the squatters that have been tenting there for a month, the embarrassing antics of our city were displayed. Cory Morgan went to collect signatures and peacefully use the same rights that Mayor Nenshi and Calgary City Council have given the Occupy Calgary Movement for the last month. When Nenshi said that constitutional rights trumped the cities bylaw, apparently he meant only for his chosen few.
As you can see Cory was not being disrespectful in any way.
After telling Cory if he failed to remove himself from his vehicle he would be charged under the criminal code, the City wasted no time in issuing him a ticket for "operate vehicle in park off park roadway" Mayor Nenshi said there is no legal way to remove people exercising their charter rights, seems it can be done hey Mayor?
Here is the sign posted in plain view at olympic plaza. So there is no vehicles, and no tenting shown. When I asked numerous CPS officers why they were only enforcing selectively, they were just as confused directing me to the Sergeant who refused to answer the question.
Here is the squatters camped right underneath the sign. How Mayor Nenshi can justify upholding the law is his issue, but I have a real problem with a council that pick and choose who they will enforce them against. Thank you Cory Morgan for showing Calgarians the absurdity of their municipal government. A sad day for democracy indeed.
So exactly how many vehicles does occupy Calgary have in the park that have been left untowed?
ReplyDeleteNone but they have many tents that haven't been removed. I did make sure to post a pic of the sign for you which illustrates the bylaws that are being selectively enforced.
ReplyDeleteGood summary Derrick. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHaha Jane,No THANK YOU and the hubby. This is a horrible display of law enforcement by city council.
ReplyDeleteThe "shitrats" are there for three weeks and nothing happens, Cory show up and within an hour and a half 8 police officers and 4 "bylaw" officers are all over him.Very shortly after that a tow truck shows up. Gotta love the equal enforcment of laws for all works. BTW the shitrats are still there.
ReplyDeleteRob C
This is how it seems our laws are applied, arbitrarily and selectively. While the people doing the occupying are left alone Cory Morgan is prosecuted. How is this fair application of the law? Regardless of which side of the fence you sit on with this issue the way this was handled is disgraceful. The law is supposed to be blind but I guess that's only in theory and far from the way it is practiced in Alberta.
ReplyDeleteLaws mean nothing if they are not enforced equally and consistently. Regardless of the offender the law needs to be upheld without bias.
This includes those that break the law while holding public office such as those in our governments that chose not to prosecute those that commit huge financial frauds.
-Joe Albertan
Parking a vehicle seems like a poor way of making the argument about selective enforcement. The risk the city runs in removing the protesters is a Charter challenge. There is no Charter challenge in ticketing or towing a vehicle.
ReplyDeleteThe issue to beat is that they are engaged in peaceful protest, which is protected. Any individual protesting has little to know voice and is easily suppressed by authority. Cory is the current example of that.
If Cory understood protest, he would have rounded up enough friends to hit the critical mass needed to make the city/police take pause before acting.
The lesson to take away from this is that protest is only protected when enough people are engaged and involved in it. A lone voice is often powerless in the face of government, and it's not until that lone voice gains listeners who are willing to act that they can act with any kind of effectiveness against government.
Tremaine, there were many of us there. This was not a lesson of free speech, but it did prove a point that bylaws can be enforced contrary to the Mayors claims. Unless of course your saying Cory Morgans constitutional rights were violated?
ReplyDeleteThe willingness of city council and police to enforce laws and bylaws is pretty predictable. A Charter challenge by the protesters would be expensive, and they may not win. The chances of Cory fighting the ticket are relatively low, and the chances of him winning are even lower.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the very economics that the protesters are there to speak out against. Lone voices are quashed.
Not exactly agreeing with the event (I do believe that even one Occupant supported Cory's right to come down and be heard).
ReplyDeleteOnly concerned about emergency vehicle access and idling an engine in close proximity to a structure (this goes for the entire City).
As for the 40k in damages, even the City has commented it is a number that isn't a quote. It was a guesstimate without looking at the site; take it with a grain of salt.
Well Temaine thank you for your input, but they didn't remove Cory as a protester. They removed the truck, which would be the same as the structures that were erected by Occupy Calgary at Olympic Plaza.I know the $40,000 was an estimate, but they also said it could be much higher. This has turned into a very interesting story, with City Council in a no win situation.
ReplyDeleteThrow this Marxist tool out of office!
ReplyDeleteThey are welcome to protest all they like in the park, but there's nothing in the Charter that says that their tents are protected. Remove their shelter, solve the problem.
ReplyDeleteTo everyone claiming that there was a difference between what Cory did and what the protesters are doing, there is not.
ReplyDeleteCory was ticketed and his truck was removed, but he was still allowed to protest - no Charter challenge there.
The occupiers should have their tents removed (just like Cory's truck) and should be ticketed (just like Cory), but they should be free to stick around and protest all they want - there would be no charter issue there either.
The police that attended threatened to arrest Cory for obstruction if he refused to get out of his truck while they were removing it. If any occupiers refused to get out of their tents when the city removed them, they should be arrested for obstruction as well.
How blind can city hall be to think that the right to protest = the right to break the law, or the right to interfere with the rights of others?
Knowing the mayor, he will probably try to offer some lame excuse about how it is the fault of bylaw or police. It is his fault for allowing these layabouts to set up their tents in the first place... for telling police and bylaw to pussyfoot around them... and for getting on TV and assuring everyone that these protesters were ALLOWED to break city bylaws because of the charter.
Please let me know when we (the real 99%) are going to start protesting in front of City Hall or Nenshi's house. I already have a sign picked out for this professor dabbling in politics: "Wake up Nenshi... time for school".
- Chad Henry
The tents are apparently doing more damage than the truck did (at taxpayer expense). Tents=Truck, unwanted physical structures. Removal of such does not impede freedom to protest. Cory and the Occupiers can all stand around day, just not bring their unlawful "structures". Case closed, if they want it to be.
ReplyDeleteThis whole thn makes me laugh, its refreshing to know that cory 'stick in the shit' morgan anti-protest spoof was nipped in the bud and they towed his truck... 40k damages to what i wonder? For what its worth i too would have supported his right to be there, and maybe even resistedthe towing on his behalf as a matter of principal - we truely do deserve equql rights to expression. Im pretty sure the government is so confused about this whole thing they dont really know how to deal with it. Oc. Vic is facing eviction today at noon, maybe we'll give the city tickets for human rights violations or something. Have fun yall, this shits gettin good!
ReplyDeleteWhile Occupy Canada doesn't make any sense whatsoever, since we didn't have ridiculous bailouts, fraudulent banking and financial operations or a rise in 1% ownership, at the very least it is not a movement whose sole purpose is to act like a moron.
ReplyDeleteYou talk like you're better than these "shitrat" children, yet you applaud when one of your own acts like a toddler with them.
I do agree that the tents should be prohibited, peaceful protest need not turn into a shanty town.
And any of you who actually thinks Alberta should separate needs an education and a swift kick in the ass. I'd recommend starting with economics.
It seems to me that Cory's Charter rights were violated due to the illegal seizure of his private property aka his truck.
ReplyDeleteLikewise today the mayor insinuated that Cory was there to murder protestors. Is that not a crass violation of libel laws let alone a serious criminal accusation?
Honestly, what do you expect the police to do? Forcefully arrest all the protesters? All that would do is add fuel to their fire and make the victims of their cause. There is more going on here that just people violating bi-laws, they are using their right to protest. I would like to see them gone as much as any of you but I believe their are more politics at play and the way your summary describes the scenario is a little simplistic.
ReplyDeleteTry going after the big dogs and leave little dogs alone like the guy that threw a cigarette butt on the ground how's that keeping parks clean
ReplyDeleteHe may have actually had a point if ALL bylaws were suspended for the Olympic park protestors, but only one bylaw was suspended and he was not intelligent enough to make a play off of that one bylaw.
ReplyDeletePerhaps if he'd set up an airstream and he too was "camping" when evicted from the park, this would have had credence.