A new group called WAPC (Women Against Poverty Collective" is planning a "Women's Housing Take Over" next June 3rd. They are planning a heavy undertaking.

I attended their 'allies' meeting last April 24th. They are a largely new set of faces. They expressed some frustration at the difficulty in acquiring allies, of getting the word out more widely through existing channels.

Radical politics in Toronto is a savage milieu, a frequent theme in these 'racoon' articles. It is unclear how aware they are of the ways they will be targeted, from what directions, and for what reasons.

They said they have had trouble finding information about past 'squat' and 'tent city' actions in Toronto, especially the 'Pope squat' of 2002. There are some lessons to learn from squats in general, and from Pope Squat and tent city.

It is too much for one article. This is about activists who get squats going. The next will be about the people who live in them.

about squats

Squats are no solution for homelessness. They can only solve a small part of the housing problem. They can do nothing for people who do not fit into a co-operative environment, which includes most of the homeless.

Squats are temporary. They either 'regularise' their status and become a form of housing co-operative, or they end. The big reason squats fail is when the squatters are more interested in ideological and lifestyle statements than in making housing.

The terms 'squat' and 'squatters' originated in frontier times in the US and Canada. Free settlers resented land being grabbed up for large estates, church reserves, and so on. They moved onto these lands and demanded to be allowed to 'homestead' it.

About one sixth of mankind lives in what would be defined in 'the developed world' as 'squats'. Usually they are very nasty places to live, though difficult for even the most repressive authorities to stamp out. People have to live somewhere.

in the developed world

A squatting movement began in the 1960's in western Europe, as part of the anarchist and counterculture ideals that emerged then. After long struggles, they established in many countries the legal right of people to use vacant buildings as housing during times of housing shortages.

In North America groups like 'Homes not Jails" and "Homes not bombs" organise squats. At best, these squats last two or three years. The only examples of squats becoming good, permanent housing are when the squatters gained the co-operation of the local government and a co-operative housing agency.

The best known example is the eleven squatted buildings owned by the city of New York, which were turned over to UHAB (Urban Homesteaders Assistance Board). The squatters acquired tenancy in the buildings. UHAB normally helps residents of privately owned buildings to buy out their landlords and become co-operatives.

Christiania, Copenhagen

The largest, oldest, and most successful squat, Christiania in Copenhagen, was developed nearly forty years ago from an abandoned army barracks. Nearly a thousand people live there.

They have developed a good example of a direct democratic system of government, with decisions made by an assembly of all residents. Several industries developed there; they even manufacture a kind of pedal cart called a 'Christiania bike'.

But Christiania has never gained a legal right to the property. Therefore, they could not raise money to maintain and rebuilt it. Most of its buildings are crumbling.

Since Christiania started, it has been in an endless battle with Danish authorities, who have never accepted it, and with drug dealers. Just last week, on May 14th, police moved in to Christiania and began tearing a building down. The residents have rallied and forced the police and demolition crews to leave.

the pope squat, Toronto

The Pope squat was a project of OCAP (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty). They have done numerous squats over the years, but only to make a demonstration or political protest. They are Trotskyites and 'revolutionary anarchists' who want to 'smash the state', not lay drywall.

The idea was to embarrass the city government while the Pope was holding a youth jamboree in Toronto. By coincidence, they found a building in good shape and the ownership in doubt. Police hands were tied in throwing them out.

To the consternation of the OCAP leaders, some of their following started seriously to try to make housing for homeless people out of it. Everything was done to sabotage it. The people trying to make it work made every possible mistake. They still almost succeeded.

the trials and errors

First, Pope squat became a kind of leftist jamboree. There were showdowns with people who insisted on painting their 'artwork' all over the walls. Super lefties had to be curbed when they tried to bar city inspectors. This would have brought the police in immediately to close the squat.

People from trade unions with money, materials, and skills to offer, began to arrive at the squat. Idiots who wanted a place without rules were told to go away. One by one, rooms became inhabitable as the mold was bleached away. People began moving in from the street.

The city bureaucracy co-operated, and power, then water, and eventually gas, were turned on. The squatters realised they had a building and began making long term plans.

The building had been owned by swindlers who had taken out a series of mortgages on the property and then disappeared. The city and province were butting heads over who had custody of this type of abandoned property.

The last mortgage was for $60 000. If the squat could raise that, they could get title to the building. Several unions, and the Mohawks of Tyendinaga, were interested in putting up some of this money if there was a legal entity in place to receive it, and to be title holder of the property.

So the incorporation of "Norm's place", named after a deceased OCAP member, was rushed through. Attempts were made to rush through a charitable tax number application.

reactions

This sent the 'revolutionaries' in OCAP into fits; people were turning into 'real estate lawyers' and 'landlords'. Cheques sent to the OCAP office to support 'Norm's place' were lost. People offering assistance were treated rudely. Misinformation was spread around.

As soon as there was some money in it, the opportunists began pushing their way in. People who had nothing to do with the squat walked into the mayor's office claiming to speak for it.

Operators with links to the city housing department manoeuvred themselves onto the board of Norm's place. The squat leaders did not know who they really were. Had the squat succeeded, the founders would soon have been pushed out by these people and Norm's place brought into Toronto's social housing empire.

No one knows what provoked the death blow out of the labyrinth of city hall, when it looked like the squat was succeeding. The pretext was that there was a 'fire hazard'. The squat was less of a fire hazard than many city owned buildings near it.

five years on

WAPC is clearly planning very thoroughly, but are keeping these plans tight, for obvious reasons. They plan to maintain a 'tent city' for months if necessary, to keep pressure on the city government.

If a building can be secured, the next step is to create a viable community within it. The pope squat and tent city experiences have much to teach about that.