QUEBEC CITY - The "Occupy" protest in Quebec City remained standing Friday after municipal officials gave it a thorough fire safety inspection.
The fire department scoured the tent city Thursday evening and removed objects deemed dangerous, including pieces of lumber, a toaster, and some candles.
The city says that the encampment, which was installed in mid-October, presents a public danger.
City spokesman Jacques Perron says the tent city must come down, it's just not certain when.
"The goal of the city is clear," Perron said. "We want that they dismantle their tents and all the other structures."
But protesters say they have removed any fire hazards and have no plans to leave.
"We'll refrain from making any open fires and the propane tanks were moved away," said one protester. "We spread the tents out. We have a new tent which is made of kevlar, and can't catch fire."
The city's justification for the safety inspection came earlier in the week, when a small fire broke out.
Firefighters have since told city officials that they might be held legally responsible if the encampment is permitted to remain at the Place de l'Universite du Quebec in the Saint-Roche district.
Several occupiers interviewed by CTV Montreal vowed to stay put.
"We're not leaving," said protester Guy Wera, who was unimpressed by the notion that the small community was at a risk for fire. "There's danger of fire in the whole city. So why is he not moving the whole city?"
"In Montreal the police have not removed the people, so why should they do it here?"
Protesters, many whom have been camping out for over two weeks, said they are digging in regardless of what the city orders.
"Together we'll be strong," said Reg Goldsbury, who is from British Columbia. "I'll be sleeping here. They were talking about how we're all going to hold hands or lock our arms together. We're here for the long haul."
"The authorities want to expel us," said protester Olivier Legendre. "They tried it all around the world and we succeeded, all around the world, to keep our place."
"We're trying really hard to respect every security measure that they want us to respect so they have no reason to expel us."
Montreal's protest camp has been going strong since October 15, and the City of Montreal has no plans to remove the hundreds of protesters camping in Victoria Square.
"We go day by day, and as long as there's no problem with security and no one is aggressive and our police men and women tell me that their really monitoring whatever is happening, I'm satisfied with that," said Mayor Gerald Tremblay.
The activists say their goal is to call attention to corporate greed and a corrupt financial system.
