Sep. 24, 2008 - Issue #675: Run For Covers
Protests kick off ‘Spirit Train’
The “Spirit Train,” a 2010 Olympics cross-Canada train trip sponsored by Canadian Pacific Railway, was officially launced in the Vancouver suburb of Port Moody amid protests on September 21.
Demonstrators came out with the intention of “disrupting” the launch, according the Olympics Resistance Network (ORN), a coalition of groups organizing against the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
The protestors, who set up directly in front of the main stage and made noise with pots, pans, airhorns and a small PA system, held signs and banners reading “Spirit of Resistance” and “No Olympics on Stolen Native Land.”
Three speakers addressed a growing crowd of spectators during the action, which lasted for about two hours.
Gord Hill spoke at the protest on behalf of the ORN, addressing some of the primary concerns of anti-Olympics activists.
“We want homes for the homeless, not corporate invasion on stolen Native land,” he told the crowd.
The launch of the Sprit Train included live musical acts, autograph signings and display tents promoting the Olympics and their corporate sponsors.
Paralympian Peter Rosen, who will be accompanying the train to Montréal, said that “these are Canada’s games, not Vancouver’s games ... [the 2010 Olympics] are a great opportunity for Canada.”
When asked about the protests, Rosen stated, “Everybody is entitled to an opinion, but professional protestors get it wrong.”
“People have the right to protest,” conceded Kim Hamilton, who attended the launch event with his sons, ”but it would be good if they would take breaks so that we could hear the music.”
Police and security were out in large numbers, and uniformed and undercover officers arrested two people, including an elderly woman, in an attempt to shut down the protests. Both were released without charges later that same evening.
Organizers called their efforts at the launch a success.
“With protestors nearly outnumbering spectators, the most spirited thing today was the spirit of resistance against the Olympics and the forced cancellation of the Spirit Train launch ceremonies,” Hill said after the protest. “We are confident that this same spirit will inspire others as the train travels across Canada.”
The Spirit Train will travel through nine more communities, including Edmonton, before reaching its final destination of Montréal on October 18. Organizers are planning to run a second Spirit Train in 2009. V
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