Occupy Vancouver protesters are meeting Wednesday to discuss the future of their ongoing demonstration -- after getting an icy reception from neighbours at an eastside park the previous night.
Occupiers headed to Grandview Park in East Vancouver Tuesday after an injunction forced them from their second encampment outside the B.C. provincial courthouse at Robson Square.
In the pouring rain, protesters were met by a handful of locals who staged their own demonstration against the occupation of the park.
"They should go down to city hall with their placards, they don't need to occupy anybody's space," said one local woman who would not give her name.
"It's been a year and a half the kids have been waiting for this park to be open. We just got new grass in, and if they put pallets and tents and a lot of people tramping around… there will be no place for the kids to go," she added.
Protesters disagreed, pointing to nearby Woodland Park, Victoria Park and Strathcona Park.
Park board personnel, including recently re-elected chair Aaron Jasper, showed up at the park to remind Occupiers about bylaws against encampments and gatherings past 10 p.m.
"We want people to feel free that they can gather in a park at a public space – that's their right – but we do have bylaws," Jasper said.
About 10 homeless people were at the park, but Jasper said city staff located places for them to sleep on Tuesday night.
Eventually, protesters dispersed and agreed to meet again in the park on Wednesday to discuss future plans. There was talk about moving to Stanley Park, which is owned by the federal government, in hopes of avoiding further conflict with city staff and police – but Jasper said the plan would be unsuccessful.
"It is federal land, but we have… a 99-year lease, so the same rules that apply here in Grandview Park also apply in Stanley Park," he said.
