The Occupation of Vancouver continues—and taxpayers are now on the hook for $500,000, and growing. Yes, Occupy Vancouver, the protest-turned-camp that purports to speak for the unwealthy 99% of residents, is actually running up a huge bill for the same Vancouver taxpayers they claim to be helping.

From The Province newspaper:

Occupy Vancouver has cost the city more than $500,000 since it began Saturday at the Vancouver Art Galley.
Vancouver Non-Partisan Association mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton has been pressing the city for some accounting of the costs of policing the tent city occupying the plaza outside the gallery, and late Thursday an answer was finally provided.

Vancouver police have been staffing the protest on a 24-hours-a-day basis since it began, but had steadfastly refused to reveal their costs.

But Thursday’s release from the city indicated the VPD incurred an extra estimated $390,000 “over the first few days of the protest.”

“There is an additional $50,000 for an RCMP tactical unit which was on standby for last Saturday,” said the release. “Throughout the week overtime costs for VPD have been reduced and as of today [Thursday] there are no incremental costs resulting from the protests.”

City charges add another $87,000 to the total for the first five days of the protest. But given the so-far peaceful nature of the protest, daily costs have been reduced to $1,000.

By the way, anyone who has been down there chortles at the idea that the City is now paying only $1,000 a day to keep an eye on things. It’s just not realistic for the police and staff time going in there.

We have an idea for the City of Vancouver: charge the half-million back to all of the groups and unions that were so excited to legitimize Occupy Vancouver. Blogger Alex Tsakumis helpfully provides a list of Saturday’s speakers:

David Malmo-Levine (Drug war historian)
Jens Skovgaard (Canadian Action Party)
Chris Bennett (Author cannabis and the soma solution, owner Urban Shaman)
Jamie Scott (Truth Party)
Paul Glumaz (Larouche PAC)
Paul Grignon (Money as Debt)
Greg Renouf (Take Money Out)
Tim Moorley (Lead plaintiff against Pfizer)
Betty Krawczyk (Eagle Bluffs Activist, Women’s Party)
Claudia Medina (Life After Growth)
Zeno Serban (Grade 12 student)
Ian Beeching (Stop War, International Socialists)
Seth Klein (Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives)
Dave Christie (LYM Congressional Candidate)
Laila Yuile (Freelance Writer)
Joshua Blakeney (Scholar, activist -geopolitics)
David Eby (BCCLA)
Tania Fiolleau (Save the Women)

Those groups should pass the hat. Add in the BC Federation of Labour, the BCGEU, the BCTF and the other unions who jumpstarted this thing, and you have more than enough dough to cover it (especially from their rich corporate holdings!). We see David Suzuki is dropping by on Saturday—he can chip in too.

One other funding source, although modest, is Occupy Vancouver’s own kitty. According to their financial report, they have collected $4,279.29. That should cover the cost of some of the permits and bylaw fines they should be incurring. Of course, the City of Vancouver will never enforce its bylaws or rules on the Occupiers—only on hard-working, contributing, every day citizens and businesses.

Democracy is a great thing, and protests are an important part of making change. But Occupy Vancouver has moved past that point, and it's unfair to taxpayers to keep ringing up our bill.