Thursday, November 10, 2011

City's aims to act on Occupy Toronto protesters

TORONTO - The City of Toronto appears ready to change its approach to Occupy Toronto beginning next week.

City manager Joe Pennachetti wasn't saying much about the almost month-long protest in St. James Park other than the fact the city will have more to say after the weekend.

"Starting next week we will have more discussions with those people at the site and we will be moving forward with appropriate steps relative to that site," he told reporters Thursday.

Pennachetti declined to elaborate what those "appropriate steps" would be but stressed the city is putting together a plan.

He wouldn't say how much notice he believes the city would be required to give the protesters to leave the park.

"We'll have a statement issued early next week, I'll leave it at that," Pennachetti said.

The city manager's comments come a day after Toronto Mayor Rob Ford broke his silence about whether or not the protest should be allowed to continue in the downtown park.

“They’ve had a peaceful protest but I think it’s time we asked them to leave,” Ford said Wednesday. “I think it’s time we asked the protesters to move on.”

St. James Park has been home to about 500 protesters since Oct. 15, a day of global protests against the concentration of wealth in the hands of a small elite.

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