Mission Accomplished: 'Spirit Train' Launch Disrupted!

The official launch of the CP 'Spirit Train' from Port Moody, BC (a suburb of Vancouver) was successfully disrupted by up to 75 protesters, who took over the front of the stage area holding banners and drowning out event performers and MC's with megaphones, foghorns, pots & pans, and chants. The official ceremony, which was to include government officials, was cancelled. 2 persons were arrested, and one cop car was hit with a paint bomb.

Below are some corporate media accounts:

Protesters disrupt Olympic Spirit Train kickoff
By Ian Austin, Vancouver Province
Published: Sunday, September 21, 2008

Police arrested two people Sunday as protesters armed with placards, air horns and megaphones overpowered the kickoff of the Canadian Pacific Spirit Train in Port Moody.

Shouting "Homes, no games!" and drowning out the scheduled entertainment, the noisy protesters chanted for more than an hour. The performers continually turned up the volume, but were eventually unable to proceed.

"I think the idea is to make some f---in' noise here," said Garth Mullins, a fixture at anti-Olympic protests. "They're trying to drown us out, so let's drown them out."

The Spirit Train is scheduled to travel to 10 communities across Canada, carrying activities and exhibits related to the Vancouver 2010 Games. Vancouver's Colin James is among the performers participating.

As the show began Sunday under the watchful eye of dozens of police officers, the protesters positioned two large banners directly in front of the stage so nobody could see the featured entertainment.

Kelly Worrall, a spectator, intervened and hauled down the sign down so the crowd could see.

"I'm not politically motivated, I'm just trying to see the show," Worrall said. "Freedom only goes as far as when it affects me. You can't accept this type of behaviour."

Colin Hansen, the B.C. minister responsible for the Olympics, huddled with aides and Canadian Pacific staff to decide whether to go on stage with the protesters so close.

"I think it shows the strength of Canadian democracy, that there's room for protesters. It's a shame that a small number of protesters can ruin this for the vast majority," Hansen said.

"They claim to be in favour of First Nations, but they're shouting down an aboriginal band on stage."

Police moved in at 3 p.m., handcuffing a man and carrying him to the back of a police van. Another woman moved in to help the first man. She was handcuffed while protesters shouted that the man had been assaulted by a media cameraman.

The protesters moved over to the Canadian Pacific corporate tent at about 3:15 p.m., where they shouted anti-Olympic slogans next to a table where families were collecting autographed postcards.

Police had to restrain a woman who tried to snatch a megaphone from one of the protesters, but eventually the group retreated and left the event at about 3:30 p.m.

Charges have not been laid against the man and woman arrested.

© Vancouver Province 2008

Protesters aim to derail 2010 train

Updated Sun. Sep. 21 2008 7:43 PM ET

The Canadian Press/CTV News

Port Moody, B.C. -- The departure of a cross-country rail trip designed to boost enthusiasm for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics is being overshadowed by noisy protesters.

About three dozen protesters attempted to drown out a ceremony in Port Moody, B.C., held to mark the departure of the Canadian Pacific Spirit Train.

There were scuffles with police as officers tried to hold the protesters back, and one man was arrested and carried away by his arms and legs.

With several hundred people attending the event, the group -- a mix of First Nations and non-First Nations protesters -- yelled slogans about stolen native land and housing.

The train is staging a 10-city tour, and anti-Olympic activists have pledged to meet the train at every stop.

A group calling itself the Olympic Resistance Network says the Olympics will displace Vancouver's homeless population, hurt the environment and perpetuate the "theft of indigenous land.''

The federal government has worked hard to counter such criticism, signing agreements worth billions of dollars with the four bands whose traditional territories are home to the Games.

The Spirit Train is scheduled to stop in Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Mississauga and Smith Falls, Ont., before ending its journey in Montreal on Oct. 18.

The train will make a repeat journey in the fall of next year and potentially after the Games as a tour for medallists.

CP Rail paid somewhere between $3 million and $15 million to be the official rail freight services supplier to the 2010 Olympics.

With a report from The Canadian Press