Government lawyers have already filed an injunction against Occupy Vancouver protesters, who moved Monday from city property onto provincial land – and Premier Christy Clark says demonstrators shouldn't expect to see any demands met.
The injunction application, which was rushed in as soon as court opened at 10 a.m. Tuesday, contains broad terms that would prevent protesters from relocating onto any other public land, including land owned by the federal government.
"I'm fed up," Clark said Monday evening. "It's time to end this nonsense."
Occupiers cleared their tents, canopies and belongings away from the Vancouver Art Gallery at around 2 p.m. Monday, complying with a previous B.C. Supreme Court-ordered injunction to vacate the property.
To the surprise of authorities and most protesters, who had been unaware of secret plans for a secondary protest site, the camp was moved just one block away to the provincial courthouse at Robson Square.
Clark suggested protesters had not done themselves any favours by becoming a thorn in the province's side instead of the city's.
"Did any of their demands get met by the city in the whole time they were there on city land? I don't think that they did, so I'm not sure what they think they're going to achieve by being on provincial land," Clark said.
"They're testing the limits of the public's tolerance for this kind of behaviour in public space," she added.
The new site is also missing some of the amenities of the old encampment, including toilets and electricity.
B.C. Attorney General Shirley Bond issued a statement Monday night saying she was "very concerned that by re-establishing their camp within close proximity" of the original site, protesters were "acting in defiance of the spirit of the original [injunction] order."
She also suggested the placement of the camp could potentially hinder public access to the courts.
The original Vancouver tent city lasted about five weeks. It was set up on Oct. 15, the same day protesters across Canada first gathered in solidarity with the hundreds of cities hosting Occupy protests around the world.
