[Canada] Anti-poverty Group Disrupts Opening night

from The Toronto Sun

By CHIP MARTIN, SUN MEDIA

STRATFORD, Ont. -- On the main stage here yesterday it was Coriolanus. Outside it was cops.

About 200 police officers from four Southern Ontario forces, including Toronto, Waterloo Region, Hamilton and London, held back about 40 protesters as they attempted to disrupt the opening night ceremonies of the Stratford Festival by chanting "make the rich pay" and other anti-poverty slogans at the tuxedoed and ball-gowned theatregoers.

The protesters, some from as far away as Kingston, tried to crash barriers set up by the police, but were prevented from doing so.

The action was led by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and was intended to the bring the "ugliness of poverty to the attention of the community," said organizer John Clark.

"This embarrassment at the Stratford Festival is only a small indication of the mobilization that will take place" by the poor as they press for improved benefits and a hike in the minimum wage from $7.75 an hour to $10, Clark said.

The protesters, competing with the sound of bagpipes that were playing to welcome the guests, chanted : "We're hungry, we're angry. We won't go away."

Local residents who watched the protest had harsh words for the protesters. Many were heard to complain about the attire, language and demeanour of the activists, some of them wearing bandanas to cover the lower half of their faces.

Some residents, like bed and breakfast operator Andrew Watson, came out to challenge the protest as wrongfully targetting a Stratford institution that provides jobs and a major boost to the city's economy.

"I'm just really upset," he said.

The play began at 7:30 p.m. as scheduled and after one last rush at the barriers, the protesters left.