When Occupy Vancouver started, there was a lot of hope… we were angry that we live in a broken system who has left us behind… a system to which we remain powerless, nameless and voiceless…

And for a day or two we found ourselves in others… through solidarity, through open communication… we became sisters and brothers in our struggles… we fed each other, we kept each other warm during cold nights, we kept each other motivated and inspired…

As of last night, what I saw was merely a tent city… with large structures that concealed… large structures… too large to be considered a symbolic occupation… the rise of the tent city…

I saw in the last couple of days that the growth and expansion of tent city has taken a priority I personally never expected… the discussions have died down… the general assemblies no longer the force that drives the movement… I began to wonder whether Occupy Vancouver with its physical expansion was only a process of overstaying our welcome…

Personally I did not participate in many general assemblies… from the onset, the general assemblies seem dominated by few voices, known voices and faces… at every assembly, there were still silent voices, nameless faces… These meetings, in my perspective, were inert at points of procedural topics rather than an open discussion on why we were there to begin with…

I see this movement from where I stand now… with the knowledge I have acquired from working within… And I personally think that Occupy Vancouver has lost it’s very essence.

The movement needs focus. The focus is to change our society for the better through reasonable and creative strategies of solidarity not only with each other here, but also our national network of occupy Canada… in order to do so we must gain the trust and respect of the public, who occupiers call part and parcel of the 99%.

I ask, what does blocking a busy intersection during rush hour traffic achieve? What does the disruption of a public Mayoral debate achieve? I would say they both result on a general sense of wary and caution on how the true 99% view and make sense of Occupy Vancouver. These are actions that lack a sense of strategic engagement… we can do better… and in order to win, we must do better…

What I would suggest now is for Occupy Vancouver to stop all committee meetings and all infighting, and take a day to reflect… We have many pressing real concrete issues all Canadians should be addressing as a nation. We have forgotten the very essence of why we gathered together…

I propose a strategic remodeling of Occupy Vancouver, and for this matter, a national united Occupy Canada. A coordinated strategy to organize around issues. I hope you would take the time to read through this and adapt it as you see fit.

I think we can assume that a large group faces difficulties reaching consensus. However we should also consider that not everyone is always interested in the same topics/issues. Breaking up the general assembly into Specific Issue Committees would allow those who are interested and those who are experts in the field to participate in the relevant discussions and hopefully reach a consensus on a proposal on potential campaign ideas to tackle these issues.

I propose a strategy based movement:

1. All committees that deal with finance, infrastructure, etc, should be under a general administration committee and be organized as such outside of the general assembly.
2. General assembly is to be broken into specific issue committees i.e. BILL C-10 committee, CETA committee, Labour committee, Aboriginal committee, etc. This one change would make assemblies much more efficient while allowing people interested in specific issues only focus on those issues while strategizing a campaign. Each committee could be comprised of up to 35 members in order to maintain effectiveness and efficiency.
3. Each committee is to elect a representative that reflects and speaks for the committee and maintains the general assembly updated.
4. Each committee representative is to speak and delegate on decisions achieved through committee consensus.
5. The elected committee representative position can be a rotating position or elected every so often as time or the specific issue requires.
6. The decisions made and strategic proposals are to be presented at the general assemblies with the resources necessary to inform the rest of the committees, upon which people can reach consensus whether the strategy should be immediately implemented.
7. A code of conduct that everyone in Occupy Vancouver is to adhere to

I believe the wish for change is strong, and that once we organize the structure within which we can address real issues affecting Canadians, we will not only be able to achieve change through creative and reasonable strategies but also gain the support and alliance of those who comprise the true 99% of our society.