By: Paula Monroy
November 8, 2011 – Place des Peuples
With the stratosphere clogged with thick clouds, the GA starts.
“We thank the earth, those who live and those who lived.” Five seconds of silence proceed.
It turns out the municipality is concerned with the security of occupiers, so wooden structures that will prevent them from freezing to death are not allowed.
Marc from the Juridical Committee informed the GA that early in the day they had a meeting with people from the city, police and fire departments, “they talked about our wonderful homes built for and by the people” he said, adding “They say they will not tolerate them being built for security reasons.”
A young man asking for clarification was concerned and commented that “Just as we have seen it in Quebec and Vancouver, the strategy on the part of our municipal leaders is to find a loophole to justify lifting the occupation”.
The Juridical Committee will continue discussions with the city.
Natasha, Marc-Andre, Fred, Felix, Nicolas, Jamie, Patrick and Martha
The Finances Committee presented Natasha, Marc-Andre, Fred, Felix, Nicolas, Jamie, Patrick and Martha as the key holders. Their role will be to ensure the donated money is secure and keep a record for it, information that will be available for anyone to check. Their IDs will be displayed at the info booth, as well as their contact info, which will be also online.
The first four (Natasha, Marc-Andre, Fred and Felix) will have two of the keys, and will be responsible for counting the money once a day and manage it. $100 will be the limit they can allow to be spent, and for every purchase the person who asked for the money must bring back a receipt with her/his name written on top. For purchases that require more than $100, the GA will have to authorize it.
The other four (Nicolas, Jamie, Patrick and Martha) will have two keys, too, and their role will be to keep a weekly balance of the funds.
There was a long debate regarding this proposal because, to make the story short, participants were unsure whether to trust it or not. Nonetheless, the proposal was accepted.
We, the indignant
There were some changes in the list of indignation Dan Parker introduced to the GA on Saturday, which was adopted. He said that there was a meeting at 5pm with 20 people to verify the context and fix some grammatical errors in both English and French, “the corrected text is posted on Facebook”. It reads as follows,
We, the Indignant of Montreal, are occupying People’s Plaza (formerly known as Square-Victoria) since October 15th for a myriad of reasons. The following is a non-exhaustive list.
We are indignant about the criminal and careless use of our taxes and natural resources.
We are indignant about the endless rise of tuition costs for an education that should be accessible.
We are indignant about lobbyist groups, corporations and other private interests taking precedence over the interests of the people.
We are indignant about income inequality based on age, gender and/or origin.
We are indignant about the profits of a few being valued as more important than the quality of life of most.
We are indignant about the superficial democracy that prevents our voices from being heard.
We are indignant about the place our society gives to those of different sexual identities and orientations.
We are indignant about the rampant disinformation and manipulation of the public opinion by the media through negligence, carelessness and allegiances.
We are indignant about our personal information being merchandised so that we can be sold products that we do not need.
We are indignant about the lack of access to existing technologies that should benefit us all rather than the monopoly of the petroleum industry.
We are indignant about the lack of access to existing treatments that would benefit us all rather than the monopoly of the pharmaceutical industry.
We are indignant about the status of First Nations Peoples on these occupied lands.
We are indignant about useless weapons contracts profiting local and foreign private interests.
We are indignant about the barbarious ways of our mining industry on our environment as well as humans, both here and abroad.
We are indignant about the complete avoidance of our demands ever since listening to public opinion became politically incorrect.
We are indignant about brown envelopes having more weight in our society than the future of our children.
We are indignant about our police forces being the last line of defense of our common enemies.
Together, we can turn the tide.
A people united can never be defeated.We are the 99%
Dan expressed that he wants it to be stimulating enough so more people can join the movement and emphasized that the list will continue evolving, “it’s still open to changes” he said.
A yellow circle means you support Occupy Montreal
The reason of yellow is because of its representation for joy and positivity. “Poetically, the circle symbolizes the unity and equality of the movement, the planet, wheel-bearing, the living cell, the sun in the night. It’s easy to reproduce.” explained François regarding the shape.
The GA agreed that the yellow circle will be worn as a symbol by anyone supporting the movement.
In addition, the GA concurred in having a tam-tam (drumming) party at noon in Saturday’s march, “we will make a stop at Phillips Square to celebrate one month of the occupation” expressed Kathy, the proposer.
As the assembly ends, an orange spider descends from the secretary chair.
Marion: “Industrial Farming makes a big impact on our health and environment, and it has a connection with workers’ rights. We will meet at 11am on Saturday at the statue to talk about these issues and work on a proposal.”
Occupy Montreal 