Practice Torch Run Confirmed
by No2010 Victoria
 VICTORIA, COAST SALISH TERRITORIES, MAY 21, 2009 – The Royal Bank-sponsored “Olympic Torch Practice Run” was greeted at its first stop by a “Practice Protest” in downtown Victoria this morning.
A prototype of the Olympic Torch is visiting five Victoria RBC locations this week to “practice” for the Olympic Torch Relay, which will begin at Mile Zero in Victoria on October 30, 2009. The “Olympic Torch Welcoming Committee” wielded banners, signs, and noisemakers to “practice” protesting the Olympic Torch relay.
“We’re here today because homeless people could be housed for a fraction of what the Torch Relay is costing taxpayers,” said spokesperson Zoe Blunt. “We’re here because First Nations peoples’ land rights are still violated daily, social justice activists are facing increasing harassment and surveillance, and our children and grandchildren will still be paying for this extravagance years from now.”
Chief of Police Jamie Graham warned activists gathered inside the bank that they would be arrested if they “defaced” property after one person wrote “No Olympics on Stolen Land” on a banner made available for public signing. Other members of the “Olympic Torch Welcoming Committee” were expelled from the public celebrations inside RBC by Victoria police and private security guards for carrying anti-Olympic signs drawn on cardboard.
“OLYMPIC TORCH” CONFRONTED BY ANTI-OLYMPICS PROTEST AT ROYAL BANK LOCATION
PROTESTERS GREET “OLYMPIC TORCH PRACTICE RUN” IN DOWNTOWN VICTORIA
Who needs the torch?
Sunday, 17 May 2009 22:13
On the street outside the Fort and Douglas RBC location, protesters were under the close surveillance of uniformed and plain-clothed police.
“We’re quite surprised that a group of 30 Victoria residents with hand-painted banners, signs and one megaphone merited such a hefty security presence”, said No 2010 Victoria organizer Tamara Herman. “We could think of better ways of spending the $1 billion security bill for the 2010 Olympics. Then again, we could also think of better ways of spending the $500,000 that the City of Victoria has put aside for the Torch Relay.”
RBC has received negative attention for its sponsorship of the 2010 Games and its investments in Alberta's tar sands environmental disaster. No 2010 Victoria, a coalition of anti-Olympic activists and groups, is organizing a campaign targeted the Torch Relay and its corporate sponsors.
For more information: Zoe Blunt, 250-885-8219
No 2010 Victoria: www.no2010victoria.net
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F.Y.I.
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Another exciting Olympic opportunity for social justice advocates in Victoria! The Royal Bank of Canada is sponsoring a "Olympic Torch Practice Run" as part of its 2010 ad campaign. The official Torch Relay begin October 30 in Victoria, but the practice run is here May 21-23.
Meetup on Monday, 5 pm at Camas Books in Victoria to discuss welcoming the Olympic Torch on its practice run. The Torch arrives in Victoria this Thursday as part of the Royal Bank-sponsored tour. As a major investor in the destructive Alberta tar sands, Royal Bank has been named one of Canada's biggest corporate climate offenders. The Torch is rumoured to be making an official relay stop at Bear Mountain resort on Halloween - a big fat gift to Vancouver Island's most racist developer, Len Barrie.
We're planning to meet the Torch on its first stop, 9:30 am this Thursday, May 21 at the corner of Fort and Douglas. Seeking musicians, drums, noisemakers, banners, singers, and more!
Here is the tour schedule for this week. The Torch will make five stops over three days in Victoria.
May 21 – 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Royal Bank of Canada Victoria main branch, 1079 Douglas St.
Thurs, May 21 – 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. RBC Oak Bay branch, 2255 Oak Bay Ave.
Fri, May 22 – 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. RBC Broadmead Village branch, 777 Royal Oak Dr.
Fri, May 22 – 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. RBC Sidney branch, 2464 Beacon Ave.
Sat, May 23 – 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. RBC Shelbourne Plaza branch, 3970 Shelbourne St. (Note corrected date.)
What do the Olympics have to do with Victoria? PDF Print E-mail
Written by No 2010 Victoria
Saturday, 07 February 2009 12:53
Yes, it's true! The Olympics will impact Victoria
Embedded within ongoing colonial processes and further invasions into Indigenous peoples' territories is the assumption that wealth can be siphoned off the impending spectacle of Olympic proportions. What expense does some speculation of "profit" have on average individuals, and the land we live on?
People across Victoria and all of British Columbia have ALREADY been affected by the Olympic money-pit, where ever increasing costs and impending bail-outs has already taken money away from healthcare, education, and other social programs. The results have been a dramatic increase in homelessness, unnecessary investments in security measures, a steady growth in privatization and corporatization and blatant ecocide. While many concerned citizen groups in Victoria are working on these issues, we have yet to come together and draw out the connections between our struggles and the 2010 Olympics.
We're facing the same issues
Many of the issues that Olympics critics have raised in Vancouver are equally applicable in Victoria. The most immediate implication the 2010 Olympics will have in Victoria is obvious: we can expect an influx of displaced people from downtown Vancouver. Impact studies warning about the 'street cleansing 'initiatives used to displace the urban poor and the homeless have already raised concerns. How many will seek refuge in Victoria? Who will help them? What have businesses concerned with the "tourist dollar" ever given to the disposed?
Don't forget that the Olympic torch relay will begin in Victoria!
The Olympic torch relay will begin in Victoria next October before traveling across the province. Communities across BC will be organizing to voice their opposition to the games and to draw attention to local issues. The time to begin mobilizing in Victoria is now!
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