| City rejects permit for homeless vigil
A demonstration to raise awareness about the plight of the homeless will go ahead even though the city rejected it's application to legally stage the event in a public park, says the event organizer.
The rejection is again raising questions about the city's management of public space and the rights of citizens to peacefully stage demonstrations.
The event is a sleep-in vigil, scheduled to take place in downtown's Central Memorial Park on September 25.
Organizer Daniel Dufresne says the exercise is simply intended to raise awareness about homelessness in the city. It will involve protesters sleeping in the park, discussing the issue and giving out food and blankets to homeless people, so there's no reason the city should try and prevent it.
"We got refused a permit, but we're doing it anyway," Dufresne says. "They don't understand it's something peaceful and is trying to raise awareness. We're trying to show this is a serious problem in the city and across the country."
A city spokesperson couldn't be reached to comment on the issue before press time.
The vigil was organized to coincide with Homeless Awareness Week – an event being kicked off, with permission, at the city's Olympic Plaza – but is not officially aligned with the event.
Dufresne says the city is "being idiots" by rejecting the vigil's permit, especially considering it has the support of other organizations in the city. The Mustard Seed plans to attend and give out food to the homeless, and 100 blankets donated by Holiday Inn will also be distributed.
"(The city) is basically the only ones who aren't supporting it," Dufresne says.
The rejection has also highlighted the city's administration of public space, something that came under fire when activists took the city to court over their refusal to allow anti-G8 protesters to use public parks in June. That issue was settled out of court, when the city agreed to allow the use of Riley Park for a protest picnic – a hastily-organized event that was massively scaled back from activists' original plans.
Dufresne says he's worried the permit's rejection will have a chilling effect on those planning to take part in the event.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to stay all night, unless we start getting bugged by the cops," Dufresne says. "But I can't see the cops bugging us and harassing us. We're being peaceful, and it won't look good on the city."
Dufresne also hopes the vigil's message about homelessness won't be lost amid the controversy.
He says political leaders need to start dealing with homelessness, especially in Calgary where the problem has grown worse as the city continues to boom.
"I don't believe the politicians are making a good effort to solve the problem," he says. "They spend millions of dollars on things we don't need... We need to get people out of (homeless) shelters.
"If they make the effort they can solve the problem. We need the money." |
