Heard at Occupy Vancouver’s West Coast Port Shutdown:

“If people want to grab a sign, we’ll have an awesome photo op for all the media”

-Occupy Vancouver demonstrators speaking through the people’s mic

After a three and a half week sabbatical, Occupy Vancouver returned to the front pages as it got set for the Vancouver version of the West Coast Port Shutdown—a call started by Oakland’s Occupy movement.

The day began on a promising note—as far as the demonstration was concerned—with protesters (anywhere from 12 to 25 people depending on which report you believe) showing up at the Port of Vancouver five hours ahead of schedule. The small group stood at the Heatley and Clark entrances before dispersing at 8:30 a.m.

As noon approached, demonstrators and media began to converge at Callister Park in anticipation of the “official” march on the ports. However, it was virtually a one to one ratio of journalists and demonstrators.

The meager demonstration could be attributed to the BC Federation of Labour's (BCFed) opposition to the action.

"The BC Federation of Labour does not support this action, or any action by the Occupy Vancouver group at Vancouver area ports that seeks to prevent our members from carrying out their assigned duties and working safely, and notes that the demonstration will not constitute a picket line as defined in the B.C. Federation of Labour’s picket line policy," an official statement by the BCFed reads.

As we reported last week, the demonstration was supposedly organized as a means to show solidarity with longshore workers. To follow the march, check out the livestream below.