Occupy Montreal – Day 13

By: Paula Monroy

Montreal has began removing her autumn garment, soon she will put on her white coat of winter. The morning welcomes us with a chilly breath and a sunny glare.

October 27, 2011 – Square-Victoria metro station

The 13th General Assembly was set underground. Surrounded by the Rue Saint- Jaques, Centre de Commerce Mondial and Place Victoria entrances, people pass by – some ignoring the protesters, others showing curiosity.

Today the dynamic changed. The GAs will happen only 3 times during the week: Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday. These will be days for decision making, the other days (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday) will be informal meetings dedicated for discussion.

There was a proposal to leave Sunday on the loose; nonetheless, because “we want to have as many meetigs as possible for people who cannot be here often” as the girl who proposed the schedule explained, it was turned down.

To arrive to this decision, the assembly was divided into smaller groups. In each group, ideas and opinions were shared concerning the change of the GA’s agenda. Some groups were bilingual, others trilingual. Then, the groups dissolved and only the people who took notes, formed a new group. One by one, each stood in front of the assembly and shared a summary of conclusions made in their previous group. Debate went on.

Communal huts 

Starting on Monday, Housing Committee plans on start building tipis that will replace the tents of Place des Peuples. Each tipi will shelter a maximum of 5 individuals. Today at 9:30am was the first meeting with the campers, “Note, you MUST attend this meeting in order to find a place in a (warm!) hut this winter” was highlighted.

Money?

A total of $10,000 CA were received in donations, half of it is left. At least 25% was spent in the maintenance of washrooms, which seemed to worry everyone. The Finances Committee is looking for options to put the money in a safe place, suggesting to open a bank account – which, of course, was not appealing. “We need to start looking for other alternatives, then.”

Pacifism 

The Security Committee talked about the march that will happen on Saturday. He said “If there are problems, we will sit on the ground.”, this applies in cases of violence. For instance, if someone starts breaking windows or if the police turns violent (in this situation, everyone is responsible of taking photos and record the abuses for proof).

The GA concluded seven minutes after 9pm.

Occupy Montreal – Day 12

By: Paula Monroy

October 26, 2011 – Place des Peuples

While Monsieur Bergeron walks surrounded by photographers and some other curious spirits, one of his team members is having a conversation with an occupier. It goes somewhat like this:

O – …we don’t have electricity during the day, only at night.

TM – The idea comes from New York, but the energy is been wasted here. You already organized and you are not even getting money.

O – We get donations…

TM – There you go! Trying to fight greed is a joke. You think those executives care about you? (points at the buildings around) They look at you and laugh. Do you think they will give you their money? They don’t give a damn!

O shrinks shoulders and raises eyebrows

TM – What is interesting here is that you create your own communities and don’t use your money. You can grow your own apples…

O – Yeah, but that is long term…

TM – No, no, no. You can do it tomorrow…

It is a 7°C Wednesday, dry and cloudy. Occupiers rub their hands together, hoping to get some heat out of the friction. There is no music playing in the background, no loud chatting. Some are smiling, others are in conflict with the coldness of the evening. The presence of the visitors seems unnoticed.

“He is here to be politically correct” expresses Jean Louis Guay, funder of the Quebec International Party.

The assembly will start soon. A workshop of economy is concluding for the day, behind the Victoria monument. Monsieur Bergeron is having a dialogue with the small audience surrounding his sight. Words like “Democracy” “Change” “Future” “Example” manifest one after the other. Heads move in agreement. Finally, his crows disperses, the assembly is starting.

“Mic check!”

Facilitators are presented as the day dims into night.

“Kompucha will be given for free everyday” is announced.

A young guy asks confused what it is. It is explained to everyone, “basically, fermented tea”. Many faces do not look convinced, but they are thankful, nonetheless.

Monsieur Bergeron is welcomed in cheerful chants and claps. He is surprised when hearing his sentences repeated by the GA, and giggles about it. The energy remains positive. Water and electricity are addressed the most. His presence raised optimism for many.

The assembly moves on as he departs.

A few announcements

Housekeeping matters are discussed. Security Committee invites everyone to participate in taking care of each other because there was a sleeping bag stolen, among other mischiefs.

Coordination Committee stresses that “We don’t have the intention to leave during this winter. We are looking for people to find solutions. We are not gonna stay in the tents all winter. We need money”.

There is a group already working in the prototype for a yurt. It is planned to be “big”. Nonetheless, there are expected to be more yurts like the one beside the hospital tent, on the north-west square of the park, but the person responsible for that is in Mexico at the moment.

“We need gazebos for artists and technicians” shared the Committee We Are Thinking.

The Propaganda and Critics committees were introduced.

Now, the propositions

It was agreed that the Sunday event will be moved to the are between the tai chi sculptures, so campers occupying that area will be removed only for the event. “This is instead of asking the police to close the street. It’s easier”.

Because temperatures are expected to go as low as 5°C, the assembly accepted to move the meeting to the Square Victoria metro (entrance on Rue Saint-Jaques).

Saturday march at 3pm will go to the offices of the minister of Quebec, making stops whenever a bank gets on the way – to protest. It was suggested to support the Tax Tobin. A conversation went long, trying to understand what the tax tobin is all about; however, the amendment to “wait until tomorrow so people can inform themselves of what this tax is all about” was accepted. A decision will be made today at 11:30am.

A child cries in the background.

Patrick proposes to abolish inheritance, “make everything a person owns, all the money they have, once they die go to a National Collection”. No votes are made, it is too cold.

More

The Union of McGill workers will march on Friday at 10am. It will be a Funeral March, “The dead of freedom of speech”. They will bring donations to the occupation between noon and 1pm on the same day.

Occupy Montreal – Day 5

By: Paula Monroy

Cool air carries a scent of wet roads while twinkling stars reveal themselves through small holes among the clouds. It is 9:30pm, the last proposal was not passed by consensus. “Do you guys want to continue?” is asked to the participants, but the night has run out of énergie. The crowd disperses, cracking of bones and sighs arise, small groups are formed, cigarettes lit, the lineup for food has increased.

Wednesday, October 19, welcomed at least 70 people. Five propositions were made, only one was accepted.

The first one concerned the use of violence under the name of the occupation and it can be summarized as follows: “Any tactic needs to be approved by the assembly if the action intends, for instance, attack the police or break windows”. It was not approved because the majority of participants was unsure, suggesting to “first of all” deliberate what violence is. A faint voice phrased “We want this to be pacifist, not passive”. Nonetheless, it was emphasized that from day 1 it had been agreed that violence was not in the agenda.

The next three propositions concerned Occupy Montreal take 1) opposition to capitalism, 2) opposition to social inequality and 3) start pressure tactics. A few participants stood against the idea of being pro “Anti-capitalism“, arguing that it may prevent business people from joining the movement. “We can’t be scared of words!” said the person proposing it. A girl recommended to use the term “Anti-patriarchalism” instead, explaining that the patriarchal system is the primary source of the problem. However, after a tedious debate, proposition 2) was the only one to be approved with even oui‘s.

Finally, the last proposition was made. This last one concerned the organization of the assembly. At first, the proposition was to submit the proposition either in person or email to the committee responsible for the functionality of the assembly, this previous to the beginning of the general meeting. Participants immediately opposed, worrying about losing the spontaneity of ideas. Thus, the proposal was reworded to “Show up 1hr before the assembly starts to propose”. Unanimity of voices seemed unconvinced. Frustration emerged. A suggestion of having a book for propositions on the What Hubb desk was embraced, but not at all. It was not approved by the consensus.