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A Toronto judge has postponed the eviction of Occupy Toronto protesters while he rules on constitutional issues raised by applicants for an injunction against city bylaw officers.

Ontario Superior Court Justice David Brown said everything at the St. James Park protest site must remain the same until his decision is made, no later than 6 p.m. on Saturday.

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“I think the most appropriate way to balance the interests of all concerned is to maintain the status quo for a very short period of time,” Judge Brown said in granting a temporary stay of the eviction notice. He will hear arguments on Friday. Noting the city’s concern that the camp could swell in the interim, Judge Brown also ordered that no new tents be erected, adding the stay was “not an invitation to crank up the intensity of the protest.”

The move ended a tense day at the park in which bylaw officers plastered the downtown tent city with eviction notices and expectations rose that the police would soon follow.