Blasts from the Past: Vancouver Anti-Cop Action & Woodwards Squat

International Day Against Police Brutality – Vancouver – March 15 – 2007

Woodward’s Squat –  Vancouver – 2002

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A Few Voices From the Woodsquat in Guelph

A Few Voices From the Woodsquat in Guelph

[Posted by Anonymous on August 26, 2008, to friendsofgrassynarrows.com]

First off we’d like to state that the following text is the work of a few individuals who take part in the occupation of the squat space and does not represent anyone but the authors of the text. We would like to make it clear that there are many of us involved in this space and that no media liaison will ever represent everyone from the squat. Also, it should be pointed out that we don’t believe in mediating our communication and we don’t like reporters. We’d like to illustrate the limitations of using the media and the misconceptions they create, and to give another perception of what happened on the notified eviction date of Monday, August 25th.
The night before the eviction we spent time with our friends and lovers, singing and laughing around a bonfire. We went to collect water from the river and spring, beneath constellations of stars not yet erased by the haze of light pollution. As we went to sleep, the incandescent glow of the moon’s light embraced us as we slept in the places filled with memories of the experiences we shared there, together.

The morning came early with people setting up for the show that was planned to gather all our friends from the city and other towns. Some of us slept in while the media showed up looking for some catchy scoop that would reduce our struggle and lives to a front-page article in the local rag.

After the show we milled around, excitement was in the air. The police hadn’t arrived yet, and we knew they could come any time they pleased. Keeping that in mind, we refused the sop of stagnation and defense. Marching together with our belongings on our backs we headed downtown in a festively angry mood.

The first thing we did was to storm the police station and enter into their lobby. They locked us out while looking at us through the tinted glass of their second set of doors. This time Cst. M. Gazzola wasn’t feeling brave enough to walk up to us with eviction notices. Maybe he knows that his second ass-kicking is in the works. Unable to communicate directly with their faces, we instead left our message postered all over their building. “Take notice that any structures or personal property on these city lands must be removed and shall be immediately disposed of if not removed by September 6, 2008.”

Then we marched to city hall, and up the stairs to the mayor’s office. She wasn’t around but Jim Stokes, manager of realty services, was there. This is the (civil) servant who originally said that we had no worry of eviction even though we lived there, but was later found nailing eviction signs to the trees near our squat. The liar was handed an eviction notice, and we made sure to hammer a couple to the front door as we left.

The city gave the order to evict us around the 25th of August and the police have shown no hesitation in their plan to displace us by force. There‘s nowhere for us to go. The city, its planners, its realty managers, and developers have made sure to build and redevelop every space in guelph for the use of the rich. Property values and rent continue to grow, as we are literally built out of a place to live. We shouldn’t have to “afford” anything and we aren’t interested in having to “afford” to live. It’s clear who the culprits are that make sure there is no space for us to even exist. It’s not just us, there are others who get displaced everywhere because they can’t “afford” to live; it’s our neighbors, wildlife, forests and plants, it’s life itself that can’t “afford” to live with this systematic abuse. So on September 6th we plan to kick off the beginning of our offensive aimed at carrying out the last eviction this city will ever see!

It’s interesting how the media doesn’t understand what this squat is about. They try to find arbitrary causes within which to try and understand us, like how “guelph lacks affordable housing and many of the people at the squat will end up downtown on the street.” Or that “if people need help finding a place to live, Wyndam House, a local charity that provides housing, has volunteered its services.” But they do this because they can’t understand us. They can’t understand what it means to create our lives on our own terms, without the daily monotony of wage slavery, without the anxiety leading up to a monthly assault of bills and payments. They can’t understand what it feel like to live socially, without the atomization of car culture and suburbia, without the isolation of family units, and the endless barrage of advertised social roles. How can they? They live with cameras watching their movements, police crossing their paths, and a precarious life that they have to continuously “afford.”

However, the one thing that we can help them understand is that our planned meeting with the community downtown on Saturday, August 30th was never intended to be inviting to city officials. The only words that we (those who wrote this text) have for them are: “get your shit out of our new squat by September 6th, or we’ll be seeing you soon.”

We’d like to finish by expressing our deepest gratitude and love to everyone who came out on Monday to celebrate everything that this squat stands for and means to them. Similarly, we extend our thanks and compassion to the individuals who carried out their acts of solidarity with us. Keep it up, because you know we will!

Onwards and Outwards,

A few people from the woodsquat

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Guelph, Ontario: McDonalds attacked

Guelph, Ontario: McDonalds attacked

[Posted by Anonymous, August 26, 2008, to no2010.com]

On the afternoon of August 24, a McDonalds was attacked in Guelph Ontario. We cemented shut the pipes, disabling the toilet in the bathroom stall. We were inspired by a similar action in Victoria, BC on May 31 carried out against McDonalds because of their involvement in the 2010 Olympics.

We did this after the Guelph Wood Squat recieved a notice of eviction. According to Jim Stokes, the city’s manager of realty services, “Pouring [concrete] foundations is way beyond what we will allow.” The concrete foundation was the beginning of a straw bale home for the winter. Either construction continues or the cement gets used in other ways.

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Call for Solidarity with the Wood Squat in Guelph (August 22, 2008)

Santa Cruz: 2030 North Pacific Vandalized Twice (August 24, 2008)

“This most recent attack is in solidarity with the people living at the ‘wood squat’ of Guelph, Ontario who are facing eviction by that city today, August 25.”

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