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By Sean Sullivan

VANCOUVER — It appears the five-week-long Occupy Vancouver protest cost taxpayers nearly $1-million, mostly in overtime costs for police and engineering staff.

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A report sent to Vancouver city council Monday by city manager Penny Ballem and her deputy, Sadhu Johnston, puts the cost of the protest at $981,103 as of Dec. 15.

The largest expenditure was on policing at $590,000, with more than half of that spent in the first few days of the protest. About 5,000 citizens rallied in the downtown core on Oct. 15, the first day of the protest.

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The report also congratulates the city on choosing to have Vancouver firefighters, rather than police officers, monitor the activities at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

“This was an efficient use of resources and more importantly a strategic deployment of personnel who have huge credibility and appropriate skills in dealing with an issue of this nature,” the report says.