Occupy Toronto demonstrators pitch tents in Queen's Park

Lakshine Sathiyanathan

Occupy Toronto demonstrators pitch tents at Queen's Park in Toronto on Nov. 12, 2011. CITYNEWS

A handful of Occupy Toronto demonstrators continued to set up tents in Queen’s Park Saturday morning and expect that other occupiers will join them as the movement nears the end of its first month in the city.

Jeff Wong, who spent the night at Queen’s Park with a few occupiers, said the move was in response to the  mayor’s call for the occupiers to pack up their camp at St. James Park.

“[We] thought that as a back up to St. James, we would occupy a provincial land, Queen’s Park, which is not run by the city,” Wong told CityNews.

Another demonstrator said the occupiers are simply running out of space.

“It’s about time for us to expand,” he said. “The tents just keep coming and we need more space because obviously, sanitation and all that stuff is very important.”

He added that the move would allow for more efficient organization among the occupiers.

In recent days, there has been a lot of talk about removing the occupiers. Mayor Rob Ford says he would rather the occupiers leave on their own but has received numerous calls from business owners and residents near the encampment asking that the demonstrators move on.

But more tents are being pitched everyday in the occupied park at King and Church streets.

The demonstrators will take to the streets Saturday afternoon to mark the one-month anniversary of their occupation.

“This is a call to all supporters and allies to join our march on the 12th and send out a clear show of strength!” Occupy Toronto said in a statement on its website Friday.

The demonstrators have occupied St. James Park since the movement began on Oct. 15, born out of Occupy Wall Street demonstrations that began in New York on Sept. 17 and have since spread worldwide.