Occupy Toronto Financial Status – as seen by Bryan Batty, etc.

As there has been a great deal of concern regarding Occupy Toronto’s finances, I hope to address some of these concerns.

What happened to the money?

First, I have SOLE access to the P.O. Box where all of our mail-in donations have been received. We have received around four-thousand dollars in donations through the P.O. Box. NONE of them have been cashed or spent on anything for a number of reasons which I will address in a minute.
The logistics and food teams ALSO received donations from people visiting St. James Park during the occupation there. All money has been accounted for and receipts provided. This will be made public knowledge once the Finance committee has worked out the logistics of keeping books and where our expenses currently lie.

Now, why have I personally not handed the majority of donations over to Occupy Toronto, understand I am one of the original members of Occupy Toronto and have worked hard to garner the trust and support of members of this movement. The reasons are as follows.

1. The Finance Committee, which is open to public inquiry, suggestions, and scrutiny, decided on November 1st to start an account with Alterna Savings Credit Union. This account would be overseen by 6 signatories who were vouched for by various members of the Occupy Toronto community and are NONE of the usual suspects who so many believe are “corrupt”. When the finance committee went to open this account with Alterna, they were informed that an account had been made in Occupy Toronto’s name by Claudia Rodriguez. This account was opened in association with Regenesis, a not-for-profit organization, and would then legally make Occupy Toronto a project of Regenesis, in which Claudia Rodriguez is the President. It must also be noted that Miss Rodriguez is also currently a candidate for The Green Party of Canada’s Presidential bid.

2. After hearing of this news, discussions began about whether the account Claudia started was viable and a more convenient or accessible way of doing business. Lawyers were brought in to give insight  into what form of an account would be more effective and respectful of the process Occupy Toronto uses. The lawyers stated that the account created by Miss Claudia Rodrigueze would make Occupy Toronto a pet-project of Occupy Toronto, ensuring all decisions would essentially be made by the President of Regenesis, Claudia Rodrigueze. The account that the finance committee had hoped to make would essentially make Occupy Toronto an association, which is essentially what this movement is, a group of people associating with each other for a common goal.

3. Upon hearing the differences between each account, the finance committee decided to request the General Assebly’s permission to demand Claudia close the current account, allowing Occupy Toronto autonomy from Regenesis and decentralizing the access to funds to six entrusted individuals. The proposal was made to the General Assembly on December 3rd, and was passed with direct consensus (no blocks). Members of the Finance Committee than took steps to inform Claudia about the decision made. It should also be noted that after the Climate Action March of December 3rd, Miss Rodriguez “mic checked” that there should be a parallel General Assembly at the same time (7 PM) held in St. James Park, instead of City Hall (which has been decided by the GA to be the official location of General Assemblies.) Members of Occupy Toronto strongly blocked and demanded that any form of decision making should be performed at the official General Assembly, which is Nathan Phillips Square at 7 PM. Apparently, this assembly, with members of Miss Rodriguez’s support group, continued at St. James Park. After the members of Occupy Toronto’s Finance committee approached Miss Rodriguez, they were asked to NOT agree to signing or consenting to such an action, while Miss Rodriguez created a not-for-profit organization called Occupy Toronto, again under the umbrella of Regenesis and that any decision by the GA was invalid in her mind.

I bring this to all of your awareness because of the concerns consistently addressed by members of Occupy Toronto about our finances. There is a clear and utter disregard for the process which has been established at Occupy Toronto. Many of the members who have received criticism and or claims regarding influence and corruption are currently entrenched in this on going battle to secure the finances of Occupy Toronto and its autonomy. We have a fair amount of funds to work with and currently cannot work with due to the lack of respect to the process by Miss Rodriguez and her cohorts. While attending December 3rds General Assembly, Claudia was asked to explain her recent statement regarding creating a Not-For-Profit without a mandate and against the wishes of the General Assembly, she began to walk away, informing members who were requesting her response to “not step near me, you creep.”  This problem has existed for a month. Many of Occupy Toronto’s die hard members, most committed, and trusted members have worked hard to resolve this problem, yet with the stubbornness and ignorance of a few we have been able to make little to no progress. In essence, our financial status has been hi-jacked by a power-tripping person who has no respect for the decisions and opinions of others, and the mandate set up by the collective agreement of Occupy Toronto’s General Assembly.

I am asking any and all members of Occupy Toronto to demand that Claudia Rodriguez – CEASE AND DECIST in all actions regarding the funding and official status of Occupy Toronto until the General Assembly has consented upon those exact actions.

Written and Proposed by Bryan Batty

Agreed by
Julie Pearo
Jordan Walsh
Nick Bailey
Aidan Mehak
Brooks Ash
Edward Lutz
Chantel Tophen
and anyone else who LIKES this status update

Read more at Occupy Toronto