" ... In early January 1946, one veteran, who had camped out with three others in a tent on the lawn of the provincial court house (now the Vancouver Art Gallery) to protest the lack of decent housing, was ordered by police to move on. He ended up at a meeting of veterans at the Legion Hall on Seymour Street. The 35 men at the meeting decided to occupy the old hotel and open it up for others in their position. The guards on duty did not even try to stop them. They hung a banner outside reading "Action at Last Veterans! Rooms for You. Come and Get Them." Soon they were 700 men registered in the old hotel and nobody wanted to tell them to leave. In fact, many local businesses and the public supplied meals. ... "
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