THEMED SNACKS FOR YOUR OSCAR PARTY FOOD {page 20}
REMIX CHRIS BROWN GETS
SLICE OF RIHANNA’S BIRTHDAY CAKE {page 14}
CALGARY
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 www.metronews.ca News worth sharing.
Occupy Calgary cost tops $100,000, according to official
Taking. A shot
Council will receive a full cost breakdown next month Report will also detail lessons learned in dealing with Occupy movement KATIE TURNER
Court injunction
@METRONEWS.CA
Edmonton Oilers’ Shawn Horcoff looks on as Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff stops a shot Tuesday in Calgary. The Oilers won 6-1. Story, page 22. JEFF MCINTOSH/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Oilers demolish Flames
While tents from the Occupy Calgary movement packed up more than two months ago, taxpayers will be swallowing costs of about $100,000 associated with the demonstration, according to a bylaw boss Bill Bruce. He said his estimates for the total costs incurred by the city are based largely on staffing, as additional bylaw officers were deployed. “We didn’t incur a lot of overtime because our guys were quite willing to do their shift changes to make it work so the taxpayer didn’t take it too hard on the chin, but there was still a cost for this silliness,” said Bruce. Costs due to wear and tear from camping and garbage removal were also included in the $100,000, but Bruce acknowledged the dam-
The City of Calgary obtained a court injunction, which forced camping at Olympic Plaza to cease on Dec. 9. The group had been in the Plaza since Oct. 15. Tavis Ford said the global Occupy movement is planning for a reoccupation in May and said Occupy Calgary will likely return in some form.
ages didn’t result in a large price tag. Tavis Ford, a member of the Occupy movement, said the city’s decision to patrol more frequently wasn’t necessary as the group wasn’t a threat. “It’s unfortunate that it went this way, but sometimes, in the process of change, these costs are incurred by the state, and the tax-
Advisors available at your convenience. By phone. In branch. At a coffee shop. Call 1-800-769-2511 to talk about your goals and how to get there. ®
Registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. Trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. TM
“I think there were a lot of soft costs that went into this that were hard to measure.... I honestly thought it would be a lot more, because this went on way, way too long.” ALD. DIANE COLLEY-URQUHART ON THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT
payer does bear the burden of that,” he said. “But it is, perhaps, a necessary cost.” Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart, a vocal critic of Occupy Calgary, said she was surprised the costs weren’t much higher. “I think there were a lot of soft costs that went into this that were hard to measure,” she said. “To be quite frank, I honestly thought it would be a lot more, because this went on way, way too long.”
TM