As eviction notices are handed out this week to Occupy protesters in Canadian and American cities, I’m reminded of the rally on October 15, the day that the Occupy Movement came to Edmonton. More than a thousand people assembled at Sir Winston Churchill Square before City Hall. One protester held a sign bearing a “To do” list that included a diverse grab bag of political grievances: support Palestinian statehood, end advertising to children, legalize marijuana, cancel third world debt, subsidize organic food.

On the other hand, the protester’s to-do list did include two actionable items with a bearing on business: initiate a Tobin tax and increase taxes on the richest Canadians, or as Occupiers call them, the one per cent. These two calls to action are clear. These are achievable policy items that the self-proclaimed 99 per cent could champion, if only they would. The Occupy movement in Canada fails because it refuses to take a focused stand and campaign for change on one or more issues. It has also failed to attract the same loyal following or broad support base as in the U.S.

Adbusters magazine, which first galvanized its readers into occupying Wall Street in a call to action in the May/June 2011 issue says voting and lobbying for change to the economic system doesn’t work and that these and “all other tactics have been tried unsuccessfully.” I bought that edition of Adbusters in June which included the call to occupy Wall Street. The following is clipped from that essay:

For decades, since the end of democracy in America first became undeniable, we have tried every tactic to avert catastrophe. We have voted, written letters, donated money, held signs, protested in marches, clicked links, signed petitions, tweeted websites, written books, taught classes, knitted sweaters, learned how to farm, turned off the television, programmed apps, engaged in direct action, committed petty vandalism… All this has been for naught. Popular revolution remains the only reasonably viable tactic remaining.

The idea that all other tactics have been exhausted is ludicrous. The protesters at Occupy Edmonton don’t even believe that. Many were carrying election campaign signs that had been plastered over and repurposed to read, “We are the 99 per cent.” So Occupiers are in fact using the Canadian political system to effect change and, in some cases, making strategic consumer choices for the same purpose.

I also bought an edition of Adbusters in 2008, shortly after the Canadian and American governments bailed out General Motors and Chrysler with high-interest loans. It contained a full page phony ad which included the logos of American car manufacturers that read: “You wouldn’t buy our shitty cars, so we’ll be taking your money anyway.” It was a clear and focused shot at the loans many felt were unjustified for the automotive industry, and a far cry from the unfocused chorus of grievances championed by the Occupy movement in Canadian cities.