The right time, the right building, the right neighbourhood

On the evening of July 25, 1000 people gathered at Masaryk-Cowan Park in the heart of Toronto's often maligned working-class neighbourhood of Parkdale. OCAP (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty) had put out a call to open the "Pope Squat" little more than a month before, systematically leafleting and postering (in 8 different languages) every street, house and apartment building in the neighbourhood. OCAP's demands and grievances are what many of us have been fighting for: affordable housing, higher wages, and rent control.

OCAP targeted Pope John Paul II's visit to Toronto for World Youth Day as the best time for the political squatting/occupying tactic, as police forces would both be stretched to the limit dealing with the massive crowds, and more importantly, unwilling to risk marring JP II's message of "peace and love" with an old-fashioned police beat-down of activists.

After the speakers, the crowd marched to the squat location, spreading out across all four lanes of traffic and swelled as local passers-by stepped off the sidewalk and joined in the marching and chanting: "What would Jesus say? BUILD HOUSING NOW!" The banner reading: "Give it or guard it, use it or lose it, BUILD HOUSING NOW" unfurled from the 3rd floor window of 1510 King St. West transformed the ugly former rooming house, now abandoned, into an instant political symbol. The fact that it had no real owner didn't matter immediately. It was empty, it should be given to the homeless, and that was obvious. The crowd roared their approval.

After a couple of hours it became clear to everyone that the police were not going to move in with tear-gas or tazers or various other anti-terrorist toys as they did on March 22, 2002 during the Ontario Common Front snake march and squat, or as they did, charging the crowd on June 15, 2000 at the so-called "Queen's Park Riot," or as they did at 5AM at Allan Gardens during OCAP's Safe Park in 1999.

Something remarkable happened over the next week: with an extensive shift system in place to keep large numbers of people on site 24 hours a day, and daily and nightly events organized to draw activists and neighbours, the 'Pope Squat' became an instant social scene, with a remarkable amount of cooperation and accommodation to the needs and wants of everyone there. A garage sale raised more than $500, on a Monday! A night of live music with Ron Hawkins Jr. (of Lowest of the Low) followed by a film screening by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein packed the large backyard with more than 300 people. Regular Friday outdoor film nights and daily meals provided by union locals and social organizations kept people coming back and sustained them while there.

In addition, a loosely organized crew of volunteers, made up of activists, squatters, neighbours and trades-people, managed to assemble a large cache of tools, construct an elaborate tarp system to keep people dry, fix the roof, clear out the debris from inside the building, and construct a beautiful garden in the front yard where shortly before only shoulder-high grass and brush stood. OCAP is not known for its softer, friendlier side, but it must be stated: in a very short time, 1510 King St. West became beautiful in the way that everyone involved became deeply invested in the fate of the building and property, imagining its eventual transformation into a decent, affordable apartment building.

On August 1, 2002, seven days after 1510 King St. West was squatted by OCAP and allies, Toronto City Council voted 23-6 in favour of a motion, which, with a quick preamble honouring the Pope and his pilgrims for "their hope and faith in a better world," declared:

"NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City of Toronto request that the Province of Ontario, the owner of the property at 1510 King St. West, transfer title of the land to the City of Toronto for the purpose of creating affordable housing units."

To snub OCAP, and distance themselves from any implication that they bowed to popular political pressure, an added amendment states that transfer of title is conditional upon "the present occupants immediately vacating the premises…" A condition OCAP will gladly meet when ownership of the building is completely clarified and the negotiations for its conversion to self-managed social housing have begun. At the time of this writing, the City has assigned local City Councillor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski to negotiate and, on our side, a negotiating team made up of OCAP, CAW, Labour Council and other OCAP allies is being assembled. Early indications suggest the City is not interested in adding the building to its social housing stock, giving us an opportunity to propose that the building eventually be self-managed like a housing co-op with the help of a experienced and trusted social housing agency.

The decision by Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove to publicly donate $50,000 for a renovation fund provided that the City, the Province and other labour organizations do the same is another indication of what may be an increase in left-wing political confidence perhaps traceable to Ontario Premier Ernie Eves' attempts to avoid further alienating the mass of people opposed to the "Common Sense Revolution", first by backing off the sale of Ontario Hydro. Once the mighty Tory government begins to show weakness, the grievances of a long-jilted population may begin to gain some potency again, and leaders like Hargrove are aware of this and would like to position themselves to reap the benefits.

OCAP's new campaign was never about one building. The Pope Squat was always intended to be the kick-off for a broad campaign on bread and butter issues, like housing, rent control, and income-a campaign determined to achieve tangible gains, both by winning concessions and by drawing more working-class people into the struggle. In organizing for the June 15, 2000 March on Queen's Park, OCAP used the slogan 'Fight to Win', partly as a rallying cry and partly as a criticism of other resistance organizations who consistently avoided the issue of victory in their work. With the winning of 1510 King St. West, OCAP will be looking very closely at the hundreds of other empty buildings littered across Toronto, and finding similar ways of getting more housing opened up before the first snow this winter. We will also be looking at our other demands: the building of 2000 units of affordable housing a year, the $10 minimum wage, the reinstatement of rent control, and will find actions and campaigns that will draw on the key ingredients shown in the Pope Squat: popular community support, tactical innovation, and strategic timing.