It may have stemmed from a global movement protesting corporate greed, but Occupy NL has become an incorporated entity.
But it’s far from an “if you can’t beat them, join them” scenario.
“We just want transparency,” explained Terry MacEachern, who’s heavily involved with the group.
Occupy Newfoundland started in St. John’s in mid-October as the Occupy Wall Street movement spread across North America.
While most, if not all, of the Canadian Occupy camps have long been evicted or shut down, the St. John’s camp at Harbourside Park is still standing.
And judging from the steps MacEachern and other organizers are taking, it could be on its feet for a long time.
Occupy NL became Occupy NL Inc. Jan. 19.
In an interview Friday, Mac-Eachern said it incorporated to assure the public and government that monetary donations go back into the organization.
“We’re going to lead by example,” he said.
MacEachern noted a number of things, such as propane and water, are being donated to the organization.
People have offered money, but he said Occupy NL hasn’t accepted any because there was no formal set-up in place.
That’s changing.
With the incorporation done, MacEachern said he and some others would be heading to a credit union today to open a bank account.
The plan is to then add a donation button to the occupynl.ca website.
Any money given will help the organization fight for equality, social justice and other issues.
“Inequality is the big thing, but there’s so much that needs to change,” MacEachern said.
He noted between five and eight people stay at the encampment each night, despite the frigid temperatures of late.
He said members of the group are in it for the long haul, and suggested the numbers will grow, and the movement still has momentum.
“I think it will only get bigger as we go.”
As for the irony of Occupy NL incorporating, MacEachern said it was a necessary move.
“There might be a need for corporations,” he said, “but I don’t think there is a need for greed.”
sbartlett@thetelegram.com
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That would be Dave, he was well known downtown for the past two or three years at least. He's got practically nothing to do with us. He's one of the handful of homeless people in the city that are always on the side of the street downtown, sure I remember last year there was a 6 month or so stretch where he was sitting outside of Subway on Water street 24/7 with his friend and his friend's dog. If you spend any time downtown, it was hard not to run into him once in a while. Seemed like a nice guy, kinda quiet/shy, never talked to him more than a couple times personally. He hung out at the camp for a few days a few months back when his friend spent some time there. This friend didn't stay long though, and we haven't seen him since. It turns out he stopped by recently to stay the night and find some shelter from the harsh weather, and that's it. He wasn't there very long, and he hasn't been involved in the movement whatsoever. If people want to blame OccupyNL for sheltering the homeless, I don't really know what to say.