Judge grants Occupy Toronto temporary reprieve

A lawyer for Occupy Toronto protesters has secured an injunction to stop the midnight eviction of those still camped out at the city's St. James Park.

Judge David Brown granted a temporary stay of the city's eviction notice, which would have allowed authorities to force occupiers out as of midnight Tuesday.

Brown will hear arguments for and against the city's plan on Friday, meaning protesters will not be forced out of the park in the meantime. The judge is expected to deliver a verdict by 6 p.m. ET Saturday.

News of the injunction is a victory for members of Occupy Toronto, many of whom had pledged to hold their ground regardless of what happened in court.

Although the temporary reprieve means there will be no midnight confrontation between police and protesters, the judge also said that no new tents or occupiers should be allowed to join the encampment.

The notice had called on the Occupy Toronto demonstrators, many of who have been camping in the downtown park for more than a month, to take down their tents immediately and vacate the premises in a matter of hours.

Although some protesters reacted early Tuesday by taking down their tents — not wanting to risk confrontation, fines, or criminal charges — others destroyed the notices and hunkered down.

Labour activists arrived at the park in a show of solidarity Tuesday night.

Sid Ryan, the president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, joined the occupiers along with other labour activists to "link arms with the Occupy Movement."

"Be aware that if you do not reconsider your heavy-handed decision, you will be adding greater momentum to this movement," warned Ryan in an open letter to Mayor Rob Ford.

Toronto bylaw officers began handing out the notices about 10 a.m. ET.

The notices called on protesters to remove "tents, structures, equipment and personal belongings from the park."

"The city recognizes the rights of Canadians to gather and protest. However the city has determined that it cannot allow the current use of St. James Park to continue," read the notice.

"In particular, the city can no longer sanction the appropriation of St. James Park by a relatively small group of people to the exclusion of all others wishing to use the park and to the detriment of those in the vicinity of the park."

Citing the Trespass to Property Act as the legal basis for the eviction, the notices also say the city "will take necessary steps to remove the tents and other structures."

The city had offered to make staff available to help protesters move. Those that did not comply could have been slapped with fines of up to $2,000.

Saturday's decision may bring a déjà vu as protesters wait for the court's final decision, which will shed light on whether removing the occupiers from the park is unconstitutional.

Just minutes after Tuesday's ruling, the occupiers tweeted that they would be holding an 'Evict Rob Ford' march on Saturday, an apparent response to the mayor's plan to evict them.

The future remains uncertain for the tent city that has sprouted up at St. James Park. Over the past few weeks, the park has been transformed into a makeshift village, complete with a library, media centre, medical facility, a food station and meeting spaces.

Folk musician Gordon Lightfoot is among those who visited the park Tuesday after being invited by his daughter, who has been sleeping in the park.

"She says she's doing it for the future of our children, which seems to make a lot of sense to me," he told reporters.

Reporting from St. James Park, CBC's Colin Butler said the eviction notices drew a mixed reaction from protesters earlier Tuesday.

"Some began dismantling their tents and started to move on, while others are refusing to budge," Butler reported. "One protester has written 'I am not moving' on his tent."

Some reacted with bolder words.

"I will be standing my ground here," Hannah Kovacs, told reporters as he burned one of the notices. "If they want me to leave, they'll have to kill me first."

Others were less willing to face the possible consequences of staying around.

"It seems like a silly thing to be risking my clean record for," said Tim Topping who has spent almost a month in the park. He spoke to reporters as he packed up his tent.

"I'd still be willing to help, but from the outside."

CBC Toronto City Hall reporter Jamie Strashin said council members allied with Mayor Rob Ford have all spoken in favour of the eviction orders, while other left-leaning council members have said protesters have not been given enough time to have their message heard.

No council members have said what will happen if protesters refuse to leave.

"When pressed about a Plan B, no one is talking about that," Strashin reported.

At an afternoon press conference Coun. Doug Holyday, the deputy mayor, said it's time for the protest to end and the park to reopen to other uses.

"I think they've had a good deal of time to protest in our park at the inconvenience of the people and businesses there," said Holyday.

Holyday said Ford was too busy with meetings to speak publicly about the eviction orders.

"Mayor Ford wants this to end peacefully," said Holyday, who added that protesters would not be allowed to set up camp at another city property.

The Toronto notices come the same day police moved Occupy Wall Street protesters out of a park in Manhattan, where the Occupy movement started in September. The protests spread around the world by mid-October, when an international Day of Action was held. Occupy groups are diverse and appear generally leaderless, and while each emphasizes various concerns, they generally are fighting against the gap between the rich and poor.

Merchants near the park have said the protest has hurt their business and some residents in the area have said the park has become an eyesore.

The eviction notices issued Tuesday said the occupation "is causing damage to the park and interfering with necessary winter maintenance."

Weeks of camping have worn away the grass and recent rains have left muddy paths in the park, which is at the corner of King Street East and Church Street.

"The city is well aware of damages to the park and we regret them," said Coun. Norm Kelly, chair of the city's parks committee.

He said protesters need to move out so the park can be winterized.

Plumbing lines for drinking fountains and sprinkler systems could burst if they are not drained before sub-zero weather arrives, city officials have said.