The future of the ongoing protest on the grounds of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Art Gallery will be more determined next Wednesday when the city's push for a permanent injunction will be heard in B.C. Supreme Court.
The hearing, which has been set aside for two days, comes just days before voters go to the polls Nov. 19 to choose whether they want Mayor Gregor Robertson and his ruling Vision Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»council to serve another three-year term.
Associate Chief Justice Anne MacKenzie granted the city an interim injunction Nov. 9 that called for the removal of all open flames and flammable fuels from the Occupy Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»site, which occurred a few hours after her decision.
The interim injunction also called for protesters to space tents apart by three feet and remove unoccupied tents. Tarps will no longer be allowed to obscure the tents, many of which were erected on the first day of the protest Oct. 15. The deadline for the tent-related measures was 2 p.m. Thursday, after the Courier's print deadline. See the Courier's website for updates. "Although our preference was to have the [permanent] injunction granted immediately, an interim injunction reinforces the city's current work to address immediate life safety issues," Robertson said in a statement released after the court ruling. "The Occupy protest is free to continue but the tents need to go."
If the Occupy protesters don't comply with the order, fire department officials have the authority to enter the site and enforce the order. They can also request the assistance of police if necessary.
Lawyer Jason Gratl, acting on behalf of Occupy Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»protesters, told reporters after the judge's decision he was optimistic protesters would comply with the interim injunction.
When asked about Police Chief Jim Chu's announcement Tuesday that protesters had to leave the grounds of the art gallery, Gratl said he knows the chief is "a very reasonable man" and doubted he would "unnecessarily involve his department in confrontation."
Protester Elijah Ignatieff said the city's court action was unreasonable and pointed out participants had been peaceful until the clash with police Monday night when firefighters attempted to extinguish a "sacred fire" in a barrel. "It was the police that actually crossed the line in the sand the first time," he said of the incident in which police officers were bitten and one had an ammunition clip stolen. "Up until now, we've been totally non-violent, we want to be non-violent but we're just a little afraid of the police. That's why we don't want the police enforcement here."
MacKenzie left specific requests from protesters for fires on the site to the discretion of the fire chief. The hearing on the permanent injunction is scheduled for Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. when broader constitutional issues relating to the protest will be presented in court.
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