The 4:30pm ferry from Dartmouth to Halifax briefly erupted with cheers of "We are the 99%!", as a small group of Occupiers from Parade Square handed out information flyers, and unfurled a banner.
"While we were on the boat we handed out flyers and information about October 29th's Tour de Finance march." said one Occupier. "The Tour de Finance is an information march. What we're doing is a tour of the headquarters of the five major banks in Halifax, which is basically to raise awareness of the problems with finance in a Canadian context. We're trying to dispel the myth that the banking crisis has been limited to Europe and the United States, and that Canada has emerged largely unscathed. We're trying to provide information to people, so that they can look into our movement, and see that there are some major problems going on in the Canadian banking system."
All those interested in participating in the Tour de Finance are encouraged to meet at Parade Square for a 1pm start time.
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In other news, it would appear that the Halifax Chronicle-Herald has jumped the proverbial gun in reporting that the Occupiers have refused to vacate Parade Square. Indeed, Mayor Kelly, a number of veterans, representatives from labour, and an emergency committee of Occupiers, met at Parade Square in an attempt to negotiate a respectful and mutually satisfactory conclusion to the issue of the annual Remembrance Day ceremony. All parties emerged from the closed-tent meeting satisfied at the dialogue that took place, and while no clear-cut conclusions were reached, the mood was far from confrontational.
On the table at the evening's General Assembly was the suggestion that Occupiers clean the Square, vacate temporarily on November 8th, paying proper respects for "Dignity Day" and Remembrance Day ceremonies, and then roll back into the Square on November 12th in a massive parade supported by members of the public-at-large.
"The labour movement throughout Nova Scotia has been following Occupy NS very closely, and has been extremely supportive of the movement as demonstrated by the contributions gathered at the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour general meeting." says Tony Tracy, regional representative of the Canadian Labour Congressl. "Should Occupiers decide to re-camp on Nov 12, the labour movement will stand in solidarity with the occupiers, and will stand shoulder to shoulder with them, in numbers, as they re-occupy Nova Scotia."
The proposal is to be voted on at Sunday evening's general assembly.
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In breaking news, David Rovics, the legendary songwriter of "social significance", has offered to do a free concert at Parade Square on Friday, November 4th. Of course, this will have to be run by the General Assembly as well.
