Occupy Vancouver was supposed to be talking about a revolution against big business greed and obscene income inequality.

Inspired in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement, it was a righteous reaction against Canada's own problems — like the fact that just 3.8 percent of Canadian families control 67 percent of household wealth.

Or that Canada's top 1 percent grabbed 33 percent of all income gains between 1997 and 2007.

British Columbia has powerful reasons for protest. This province has had the worst child poverty rate for seven straight years.

Add in another meltdown of global financial markets and you have a recipe for an energetic populist movement that could change the world for the better.

Instead, the local Occupy movement has turned into a sad parody of a revolution — with absurd demands and no recognition that a squat at the Vancouver Art Gallery does diddly-squat to build support for reforms that would curb corporate control.

But it could help Vancouver's right-wing Non-Partisan Association regain control of the city in the November 19 municipal election, by defeating Mayor Gregor Robertson and his Vision Vancouver and Coalition of Progressive Electors team.

That would be a brilliant "revolution" indeed — electing the NPA's Suzanne Anton as mayor and a council that opposes the issues that Occupy Wall Street is raising. 

The drug overdose death of Ashlie Gough, a 23-year old Victoria woman, was an overwhelmingly clear signal that Occupy Vancouver is unsafe and needs to end immediately in a peaceful manner.

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