© Colin Butler/CBCAn Occupy Toronto protester remains defiant in the face of eviction notices issued by the city on Tuesday morning.
Toronto bylaw officers began handing out the notices about 10 a.m. ET.
The notices order occupiers to "remove your tents, structures, equipment and personal belongings from the park.
"The city recognizes the rights of Canadians to gather and protest. However the city has determined that it cannot allow the current use of St. James Park to continue," they say.
"In particular, the city can no longer sanction the appropriation of St. James Park by a relatively small group of people to the exclusion of all others wishing to use the park and to the detriment of those in the vicinity of the park."
The notice also says the protesters, who have set up dozens of tents in the park, must stop using it between 12:01 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.
Citing the Trespass to Property Act as the legal basis for the eviction, the notices also say the city "will take necessary steps to remove the tents and other structures." The city has offered to make staff available to help protesters move.
The notices come the same day police moved Occupy Wall Street protesters out of a park in Manhattan, where the Occupy movement started in September. The protests spread around the world by mid-October, when an international Day of Action was held. Occupy groups are diverse and appear generally leaderless, and while each emphasizes various concerns, they generally are fighting against the gap between the rich and poor.
Reporting from St. James Park, CBC's Colin Butler said the eviction notices drew a mixed reaction from protesters.
"Some began dismantling their tents and started to move on, while others are refusing to budge," Butler reported. "One protester has written 'I am not moving' on his tent."
CBC Toronto City Hall reporter Jamie Strashin said council members allied with Mayor Rob Ford have all spoken in favour of the eviction orders, while other left-leaning council members have said protesters have not been given enough time to have their message heard.
No council members have said what will happen if protesters refuse to leave.
"When pressed about a Plan B, no one is talking about that," Strashin reported.
At an afternoon press conference Coun. Doug Holyday, the deputy mayor, said it's time for the protest to end and the park to reopen to other uses.
"I think they've had a good deal of time to protest in our park at the inconvenience of the people and businesses there," said Holyday.
Holyday said Ford was too busy with meetings to speak publicly about the eviction orders.
"Mayor Ford wants this to end peacefully," said Holyday, who added that protesters would not be allowed to set up camp at another city property.
Earlier in the day, some of the protesters said they weren't worried about being evicted.
"We have a lot of positive support throughout the community," protester Anna Crooke told CBC News in the morning, before the eviction notices were issued.
Damage to the park
Merchants near the park have said the protest has hurt their business and some residents in the area have said the park has become an eyesore.
The eviction notices issued Tuesday said the occupation "is causing damage to the park and interfering with necessary winter maintenance."
Weeks of camping have worn away the grass and recent rains have left muddy paths in the park, which is at the corner of King Street East and Church Street.
"The city is well aware of damages to the park and we regret them," said Coun. Norm Kelly, chair of the city's parks committee.
He said protesters need to move out so the park can be winterized.
Plumbing lines for drinking fountains and sprinkler systems could burst if they are not drained before sub-zero weather arrives, city officials have said.
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