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Occupy Wall Street Becomes Occupy Bay Street As Protests Spread To Canada

Occupy Canada Toronto Wall Street Bay Street

First Posted: 10/02/11 09:15 PM ET Updated: 10/21/11 02:00 PM ET

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TORONTO - Activists are planning an occupation of Toronto's financial district, following in the footsteps of protesters currently camped out on Wall Street.

A group calling itself Occupy Toronto Market Exchange has launched a website to organize a march on Bay Street beginning Oct. 15.

That's a Saturday, when the stock exchange is closed and few people are working in Canada's financial capital.

About 830 people on Facebook have replied they would attend the event in Toronto.

Occupations are also planned in the streets in other Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary.

South of the border, protesters speaking out against corporate greed and other grievances remain in Manhattan's financial district.

They are holding their ground even after more than 700 of them were arrested during a march on the Brooklyn Bridge in a tense confrontation with police.

The group Occupy Wall Street has been camped out in a plaza for nearly two weeks staging various marches, and had orchestrated an impromptu trek to Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon.

Protesters are speaking out against corporate greed, government bailouts, and income inequality amid high unemployment and the prospect of another recession.

In Canada, where banks were not bailed out by government and the financial system is more regulated, the economy is relatively healthier than in the U.S.

But Canada's economic growth has been slowing down leading some to believe this country could also be headed for recession.

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TORONTO - Activists are planning an occupation of Toronto's financial district, following in the footsteps of protesters currently camped out on Wall Street. A group calling itself Occupy Toronto M...
TORONTO - Activists are planning an occupation of Toronto's financial district, following in the footsteps of protesters currently camped out on Wall Street. A group calling itself Occupy Toronto M...
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Kelly Cogswell

Kelly Cogswell: So You Want to Be an Activist?

I want the Occupy Wall Street protestors to be better, smarter, more focused than they are. I also want them to succeed as street activists. The problem is that organizing demos, not to mention movements, is more complicated than it looks.

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chuck nathaniel
Your micro-bio is pending approval
212 Fans
11:21 PM on 11/14/2011
More images of dangerous activists sweeping an abandoned building before being met by heavily-armed SWAT members.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/11/13/1642905/occupy-chapel-hill-111311.html
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Zarz
31 Fans
06:39 PM on 10/03/2011
There are also protests planned for Ottawa.
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VanOne
50 Fans
05:37 PM on 10/03/2011
Stupidity is not an exclusive American domain.
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brinkley4
26 Fans
05:29 PM on 10/03/2011
If American protesters took to jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, would canadian protesters select a Canadian equivalent and follow suit ? Yes , I think they would. Duh !!!
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1canview
1093 Fans
12:04 PM on 10/03/2011
There is an old story about a stockholder who phones up his broker and tells him that there doesn't seem to any activity going on with his stock and the broker opens his window and dangles the phone cord out to the sound of road construction below as proof that that there is activity.
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veronica1979
19 Fans
11:27 AM on 10/03/2011
This is another addition to the wave of protests and discontent that has been grappling the world in 2011. To have a true impact, the organizers and participants of this protest must seek to unite, rather than each group grappling with their own demands. We have to understand that in order to really have an impact on the state of the world today we have to care for the needs of others. Thus, it is most important that during this protest we listen to the needs of others rather than seek to satisfy our own. Let's take this as an opportunity to get to know the demands of our fellow city-dwellers. The only solution to the world crisis is to finally exit our egoism. The upcoming protest is an opportunity to do just that.
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swarf maker
30 Fans
03:05 PM on 10/03/2011
"To have a true impact, the organizers and participan­ts of this protest must seek to unite, rather than each group grappling with their own demands."

As an example of a tightly focused action, Dylan Ratigan in the US has organized a campaign to petition for a constitutional change to prevent monied interests from influencing politics.
http://www.getmoneyout.com/
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Siva Nathan
41 Fans
08:28 AM on 10/03/2011
Maybe the 800 who are going to protest outside Bay Street are Americans who have nothing better to do. Well, we have oil don't we?
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turkeylurky
Just keepin it real........
140 Fans
09:50 AM on 10/03/2011
Amost all the oil produced in Canada goes stateside, so the answer is no!
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Gbourcier
44 Fans
06:30 AM on 10/03/2011
Why do we do everything the Americans do? We have a lot of things to protest in Canada. Mostly the government and the waste they generate at our expense. Bay street really had nothing to do with the colapse. Our banks are well regulated thanks to Paul Martin and the Chretien government. Wall street is a completely different story.
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turkeylurky
Just keepin it real........
140 Fans
09:54 AM on 10/03/2011
When some people don't have to work to survive and thrive (thanks to our social welfare system of taxpayer funded benefits), those people have time to (and motivation) to take to the streets to protest such a society with the intent of destroying it.
Probably makes sense on some level, eh?
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Jack Canuckski
Canadian Observer of the passing scene
250 Fans
11:19 AM on 10/03/2011
When you wrote "When some people don't have to work to survive and thrive " I thought you were going to talk about the stock traders on Bay St.
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ZalaK
52 Fans
03:30 PM on 10/03/2011
I'm tired of the ridiculous implication that those who want to see things change for the better are unemployed, lazy and want to destroy...that itself, sounds like an extremist agenda. In fact many WORKING people haven't seen things improve (in decades) for themselves or for their children. Why so threatened by efforts attempting to strengthen a system that, for many, isn't functional and appears to be diminishing?
I'd rather see people rally for improving their society instead of voter apathy. It shows initiative and responsibility, not laziness.
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John Neil
1 Fans
08:43 PM on 10/10/2011
boucier - why do the Americans keep copying the Canadians?
Did you not know this movement was started by Adbusters - a Canadian magazine.

Yes, why do you keep getting your facts wrong? Good question
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DJGryce
My life under a minute...
46 Fans
 
02:12 AM on 10/03/2011
Right on. Proud of Canada.
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yer
Stop the Alberta Taliban
240 Fans
02:10 AM on 10/03/2011
"In Canada, where banks were not bailed out by government and the financial system is more regulated, the economy is relatively healthier than in the U.S"

Actually that is not entirely accurate. While it is correct to say that the banks of Canada did not need a bailout because we have different mortgage and credit rules here, it is missed by the "media" that Harper gave them $50 billion anyway. Because, y'know, that's just the kind of guy he is.
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Charles the Great
Canadian/Israeli Goy in Alert,Nunavut
137 Fans
02:55 AM on 10/03/2011
The reason why that $50 billion was given out to the Canadian Banks was because they had bad assets in the United States. Also the banks will pay that back it was a apart of the agreement when they got it
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PeachHipGirl
100 Fans
07:54 AM on 10/03/2011
Sure they will.
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yer
Stop the Alberta Taliban
240 Fans
05:56 PM on 10/03/2011
I see. That's still $50 Bills on top of their profits which are also in the Billions. It proves the point that Occupy Wherever you have a bank is valid even in Canada.

Maybe if a CEO made a max of 200 times their lowest employee might work out better rather than any dollar specifics. In the 1970 apparently it was only 40 times. Working that down would go to pairing down the sector.

The financial sector is out of proportion to what people actually need. Cutting down the sector was probably a good thing but the bailout just allows them to continue. Market forces are not being allowed to work. We really don't need that many bankers gaming the system. That money could have gone to social issues, education, or what have you.

For some reason paying someone to be better educated hence they work better and receive a better pay or start their own company and thus pay more taxes is worse than bailing out banks that just do the same old thing over and over. The first guy pays back to society, the bank only to those who qualify between their greed metrics.
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BlackRabbit
174 Fans
07:58 PM on 10/05/2011
The CMHC (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation) purchased $75 billion in distressed mortgage pools from the Canadian banks. The deal is done. There's nothing for the banks to pay back.

What will happen over time is that the CMHC will extract money from these assets, since they are worth money. In fact, the government says that they are yielding a profit. No one seems sure if this is true or not.

I suspect that the Canadian government did this in part at the urging of the American government in an effort to both stabilize the banking system and inject liquidity into the economy.
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yer
Stop the Alberta Taliban
240 Fans
09:51 PM on 10/05/2011
which certainly sounds like a bailout, hence the inaccuracy in the report.

Why weren't people paid to pay their failing mortgages (and only their mortgages with say a voucher etc) instead of the banks paid? Thus the money kills two birds with one stone and improves the solvency of the system, and might even had increased spending or would have helped people pay down other debts, rather than paying only the banks.

Otherwise people have to keep paying on top of the bank receiving a bailout for that mortgage. I guess it was better to be paid twice, once from gov't then again by people, as opposed to once. I find that underhanded since it was tax money.

In effect the same result would have occurred but it would have had a greater impact. There is no thought to helping people, only corporations.
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John michael Adams
40 Fans
01:58 AM on 10/03/2011
I heard Bieber is going back to Canada already. that is one step to recovery.
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Bobo Macoute
178 Fans
01:55 AM on 10/03/2011
What's to protest? I bought a House 8 years ago with the help of the bank. The interest rate was minimal. Prime. They lend me money on my line of credit at Prime. I use their credit card . It gives me free health care when I travel, air points, free car insurance when I rent. I pay it off each month. If I can't, the line of credit absorbs it at Prime. The House has gone up 75% in 8 years, more if you factor inthe rise of the dollar. I am pretty happy with Canadian Bankers. Bunch of copy cats who feel they have to be protesting are going to Bay Street. Bring your drums and pick up your garbage before going home.
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gravescanada
669 Fans
 
04:40 AM on 10/03/2011
The average Canadian family is dealing with $100,000 in debt and owes far more than it earns, according to a new report.

The report, released by the Vanier Institute of the Family on Thursday, suggests the debt-to-income ratio is a record 150 per cent.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20110217/family-debt-110217/
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turkeylurky
Just keepin it real........
140 Fans
10:00 AM on 10/03/2011
MISLEADING!!!!!!!
That includes mortgages.
The average Canadian family's net worth (after all debt) is GT $150,000
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Siva Nathan
41 Fans
08:25 AM on 10/03/2011
Me too. We should be proud to be who we are and strenghten it without having to ape the Americans. Come on Canadians, we give you more credit than this. Having lived in America briefly we are blessed to be Canadians.
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1canview
1093 Fans
01:12 AM on 10/03/2011
Most Canadians are in favour of the legalizing of marijuana.
Instead of legalization we are about to see laws that make the possession of more than 6 plants a prisonable offence.
And although crime is down more new prisons will be built.
Part of this is the same religious authority from the US that tells people what is best for them.
We have now become warmongers instead of peacekeepers and the Harper government has thrown billions to the industrial/military complex while wasting young Canadian lives in Afghanistan.
Instead of building our own new refineries, a pipeline will be built to Texas. Who will be doing the monitoring of how much quantity will be going through that pipeline? And how are US refineries going to handle that volume when they are running at full capacity and haven't built a new refinery in over 35 years?
We should be selling our oil to the world market,.
Bay Street is where Canadians get sold out to the highest bidder.
It was just in the past year or so that the US tried to buy up our potash industry.
We don't need Home Depots or American fast food restaurants.
We have Rona and Home Hardware and Harvey's makes a far better burger.
Most of us don't want to be a 51st state.
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turkeylurky
Just keepin it real........
140 Fans
10:08 AM on 10/03/2011
MISLEADING!!!
From 1960 thru today, The total numbers of all crimes are up, the rate of crime is up (proportional to population growth) and most concerning is that violent crime is up over that period.
Not to mention how much crime gets unreported because people know that the criminal will be back on the street before the stiches in your head are removed.
Ignore it or address it, but don't mistate it.
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1canview
1093 Fans
11:25 AM on 10/03/2011
In 1960 virtually no Canadians smoked pot. Now over 5 million do on a fairly regular basis not to mention how many have tried it.
Where the hell do you think these people are going to buy pot from?
From a guy with 5 plants.
Alcohol can ruin families. Pot smoking doesn't. Plain and simple.
Canadians are not against stiffer penalties for violent crimes.
Most Canadians want to see pot legalized. That's a fact!
We don't want to see our taxpayer's dollars wasted on Harper's
narrow view of what is right and wrong.
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Tomeksysak
14 Fans
 
05:34 PM on 10/03/2011
What are these statistics showing crime increases?

Statistics Canada shows that total number of crimes has been dropping, while the population has been icreasing. Unless you're reading the statistics backwards, there are less total crimes and less crimes per capita.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/110721/dq110721b-eng.htm

As for unreported crimes, I'd like to see some study/data showing that crimes are going unreported any less than in the past. I'd have to see the data first, before I could make any guesses as to why there is less reporting going on.

Regardless, it seems counter-intuitive that someone facing a violent crime wouldn't go to police. You make going to jail sound like a slap on the hand; 5, 10, 15 or 20 years is a long time.

Also, have you participated in the judicial system? Have you ever followed how a crime's prosecution works, or do you know how people get early release?
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freeasabee1
14 Fans
 
12:45 AM on 10/03/2011
what's old is new again, I say we should go ultra left for a change, just tired of the right thing. In this absurd world it would be fun. Also, who really owns anything, what, a few guys own the whole place anyway. I support this action, I'm just so tired of competing with everyone, and that's what this system is. I teach my kids to share, but that's stupid in this world, is it not. Peace Out
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ZalaK
52 Fans
10:49 AM on 10/03/2011
Exactly....for years it's been the same story, yet few feel confidant about prosperity and market worship. Anyone who thinks that whatever happens in the USA is far removed from what will happen in Canada (directly or indirectly) is naive. It's never stupid to teach our kids to share...maybe they'll be the ones to get it right.
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Findan
29 Fans
12:30 AM on 10/03/2011
Whatever 'journalist' wrote this is in serious error! Canadians most certainly did bailout their banks and did so at the same ratio as the US. We also created a bank slush fund costing Canadians over $30 billion in interest to operate. CMHC went from $138 billion in 2007 to $500 billion by the end of 2010.

Canadians should be outraged and in the streets. What happened to us was poor journalism, like this article, and a great selling job by the government. They are getting us ready to do it again and most Canadians don't seem to know the con job being played out.

http://canadauncut.net/facts/the_banks.php
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buylow2
12 Fans
01:48 AM on 10/03/2011
Jimmy, do you have a job? "Outraged in the streets"? Have you lost your mind?
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ZalaK
52 Fans
10:51 AM on 10/03/2011
You disagree, so you insult? Why not contribute something worthwhile to your argument?
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