"Carnival of Resistance" draws hundreds out against the Safe Streets Act : IMC Maritimes

Approximately 150 activists, street youth, trade unionists, and general onlookers gathered in a downtown public park last Sunday afternoon for a “Carnival of Resistance.” The event, which featured music, capoera demonstrations, a children’s tent, political puppet shows, and political speakers, was organized by the Halifax Coalition Against Poverty in response to the Safe Streets Act. This proposed bill would impose heavy fines and tickets against panhandling and squeegeeing in Halifax and throughout Nova Scotia.

“We’re here today to reclaim our public spaces. We’re having a carnival. This event is a launching ground for a larger campaign to fight the Safe Streets Act,” explained Capp Larson, an HCAP organizer.

“[The Safe Streets Act] targets people who are ‘agressively soliciting.’ If you are caught ‘aggressively soliciting’ you can be fined anywhere from $100 to $1000 or arrested without a warrant,” added Larson. “The way they define ‘aggressive’ and ‘soliciting’ is very vague. ‘Soliciting’ is asking for someone for change, busking, trying to sell something. ‘Aggressive’ is: you ask them twice, you walk next to them while you ask, you ask them at a bus station.”

The proposed act itself does in fact prohibit “solicitation of [a] captive audience,” which includes those panhandling near bank machines, public telephones, public washrooms, bus stops, and parking lots. The act also prohibits “while on highway, [soliciting] a person who is in or on a stopped, standing, or parked vehicle.” Police would be authorized to arrest and heavily fine such “solicitors” without warrant solely for the purpose of obtaining the identity of the person, or simply to prevent further panhandling or squeegeeing.

On June 14th, Halifax City Council voted 21-3 to recommend that the Province of Nova Scotia adopt the Safe Streets Act. During this council meeting, several members of the Halifax Coalition Against Poverty stood up and verbally disrupted the meeting, arguing that no consultations had been carried out with organizations that had actively dealt with poverty in the region. One member of the Coalition refused to leave the hall after HCAP members were ordered out by police. He was subsequently dragged from Council chambers.

A memo signed by George McLellan, CEO of the city council, which was included with the proposed legislation, admitted that the Supreme Court of Canada had ruled that, in relation to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, “panhandling in and of itself is not unlawful.”

According to Claire McNeil of Dalhousie Legal Aid, HRM police have nonetheless been ticketing youth and panhandlers on the street since 2001. According to McNeil, the fines were carried out under municipal bylaws which allowed fines for homeless individuals caught holding a sign, or standing in the middle of the road.

“It worked, you know, for a lot of people because a lot of people just left town. They got all these charges, these fines that they couldn’t afford to pay,” said McNeil.

“Community organizations in the city got together and challenged [the fines] in the courts. And you know what? It worked. So the city stopped charging… And now we see the latest thing, which is the Safe Streets Act,” she added.

Despite this, according to Sylvie, one of the speakers at the event, police are still handing out tickets for squeegeeing. She described being told by police that she and her friends were banned from the Halifax Commons after a friend of hers received a fine.

“They never gave us any pieces of paper that said we were banned from the Commons, therefore it’s not really legitimate. Basically what they are trying to do is to intimidate us into not coming back there,” she added.

The events of the day also focused upon attempts by police in other provinces to drive homeless and poor individuals from public view. Mathieu Theriault, of the Quebec-based organization Front D’action Populaire en Reamenagement Urbain emphasized similar attempts to criminalize poverty in Montreal. In addition, the documentary film “Whose Cops,” which focused upon police brutality in Toronto, was shown under a tent.

Later in the day, as people munched on barbecued hotdogs and potato salad, three local artist/activists performed a political puppet show called “Whose Streets” for children and adults alike.

The free food and open nature of the event attracted quite a few onlookers and other passers-by. Most listened to musicians, ate a free lunch, and engaged a few organizers in conversations about the causes of poverty. Police presence was minimal.

Organizers were quick to point out that the scope of HCAP’s campaign extended well beyond the Safe Streets Act.

“We have some of the lowest social assistance rates and the lowest minimum wage in the country, a brutal lack of affordable housing, and evident racial profiling,” noted Capp Larson of HCAP.

“This new proposed safe streets act will only further criminalize people in poverty.”

HCAP Organizer
by Stuart Neatby, IMC admin Monday, Aug. 29, 2005 at 1:37 PM

An HCAP organizer speaks to the crowd

Dal Legal Aid
by Stuart Neatby, IMC admin Monday, Aug. 29, 2005 at 1:37 PM

Claire McNeil of Dalhousie Legal Aid

Marcella Spares of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and the Human Rights Commission

Mathieu Theriault of FRAPRU Quebec

http://www.frapru.qc.ca/

This young man spoke of being targetted and arrested by police in numerous Canadian provinces