Fredericton vows to negotiate with Occupy group

Fredericton will be a "shining example" to the rest of the country for negotiating with its Occupy protesters instead of evicting them, according to the city's mayor.

City officials want the protesters, who have been camped out in front of city hall since Oct. 15, to move by Friday so they can get ready for the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 2.

But Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside said they don't plan to evict the protesters, as other cities, such as Halifax, have done. Instead, they plan to negotiate a compromise, he told CBC News on Tuesday morning, after meeting with the group Monday night.

"I think it's very important to note that we're not reacting like any other community," Woodside said.

"It's a very unusual situation. We have two sides that are actually talking and dialoguing and seeing if we can work this out.

"I dare to say that we set the example for the rest of the country on how we've managed to do this and managed to work together. … It's different because you don't have the confrontational situation that you have in other communities."

Woodside said his letter to the group, asking them to leave by Friday, was not an eviction notice.

"My request was, I asked them, I didn't tell them, it's not a heavy-handed thing," he said.

"It's not going to involve police going in on Friday and removing people."

The mayor said he sympathizes with the group's message about the need for a more equal distribution of wealth and some of the compromises could include having the group downsize, temporarily relocate, or move to another location.

'Paying lip service to support of the Occupy movement and supporting it through actions are two different things.'—Julian Renaud, Occupy Fredericton

"I'd like to think we're going to work it out," he said.

But Julian Renaud, a protester who attended the meeting with Woodside, said he isn't convinced.

He said during an interview with CBC that what the mayor says publicly and privately are two different things, possibly due to the upcoming municipal election.

"Certainly the mayor wants as many votes as possible. … He certainly doesn't want this to turn into a PR scandal, and I understand that fully," Renaud said.

"However, I would point out that paying lip service to support of the Occupy movement and supporting it through actions are two different things.

"The message we got last night was not all that conciliatory," Renaud said.

Renaud said the Occupy protesters offered to share the space in front of city hall with the ceremony.

"We were rebuffed essentially," he said.

"We haven't been given a valid reason as to why we cannot do so."

Protesters want to stay

The Occupy protesters contend they don't have enough time to move out by Friday and at the very least, want the deadline extended.

Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside says his letter, asking the group to leave by Friday, was not an eviction notice. CBCIdeally, however, they want to stay, said Renaud.

The downtown location is ideal for getting out the group's message because people are walking by all the time and stop to chat, he said.

"Thus far our decision — because we haven't fully negotiated this with the mayor — is to stay," he said.

The option of "downsizing" was never brought up at the meeting, said Renaud. But the group "might be amenable to that," he said, adding it would have to go to a vote.

Woodside argued downsizing did come up in live streaming from the meeting and that he had tweeted about it, saying it wasn't a bad idea.

"That's a negotiable point," said Woodside. "But I got to tell you something, there's got to be a little better attitude from the other side than I'm hearing right now.

"That doesn't make it very comfortable for me," he said. "I'm doing the best I can and I mean to start out on footing like this is not very healthy for either side.

"Give me an opportunity. That's all I'm asking for."

Woodside said discussions would continue Tuesday with the organizers.

"We'll see if we can't come up with a compromise. They see my side, I see their side. I'm representing a large constituency here, not just those that are occupying in front of city hall, but others that aren't, and it's a very difficult balance to try to maintain," Woodside said.

"But I think at the end of the day we'll still be a shining example to the rest of the country on how you work these things out, how you work these problems and respect others' rights to protest and get their message out at the same time."