They turned my neighbourhood and much of downtown Toronto into a police state.
They arrested more than a thousand people most of them peaceful protesters.
They kettled them for no reason.
They held them for hours in the pouring rain.
And then locked up those they arrested in cages, like animals in a zoo.
But now at last, almost six years after the G20 summit, their victims have won the right to sue the police.
More than 1,000 people arrested in large groups and held in "inhumane conditions" at a makeshift detention centre during the 2010 G20 summit in Toronto won the right to proceed with two class-action lawsuits against police authorities Wednesday.
And let's hope that the police learn their lesson.
The court's decision emphasizes that police cannot arrest a group of civilians "as a way of 'fishing' for particular individuals." It also highlights the role these class actions would play in forcing police behaviour to change.
For it was a police state.
I saw it with my own eyes.
And it must never ever happen again...
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This is great news, Simon. May justice prevail!
ReplyDeletehi Lorne...yes it is good news isn't it? Some justice at last, and hopefully it will serve as a lesson for other police forces. I myself was at the site of the Queen Street settling about an hour before it happened, so I consider myself lucky not to have been arrested. And I can certify that at least when I was there, there were no rowdy demonstrators. And my impression of that whole G20 summit was that apart from a small gang of anarchist vandals, most of the people who turned out were peaceful protesters or just curious. For those of us who live near the convention centre where the summit was taking place it was an absolute nightmare. For the security measures went into effect about a week before the summit started, and even when i sailed my little boat around the bay I was surrounded by what looked like an army of heavily armed ninjas, and trying to get to work by skirting the "security zone" was something right out of Big Brother. And what frustrates me the most is that the command bunker was somewhere near Barrie, and was in direct contact with the PMO, so Harper and his gang of fascists got away with murder....
DeleteAs I recall, Harper had his hand in this mess. Am hoping that this action will spur additional accountability on this matter. I don't believe that this should have ever happened under our Charter. Funny how the folks who protested were probably actual tax payers, unlike the Panama Paper crowd of the G20 elite. Yes, there are very good reasons why there is a Sander's movement.
ReplyDeleteReally appreciate your blog Simon.
TS
hi TS...yes as I just told Lorne, the command bunker was for some bizarre reason located many miles from Toronto, and was in direct contact with the PMO. So I haven't the slightest doubt that it green lighted the police operations ongoing against innocent citizens. But as I also told Lorne, like they did so often they somehow managed to wipe their hands of any responsibility for what happened. Which started of course with their decision to stage the summit in the heart of downtown Toronto. I think they knew there would be trouble, and they were only too delighted. And thank you TS for your kind comment. I really do appreciate it, as I do your contributions to its comment pages...
DeleteGood. No one should be above the law.
ReplyDeletehi Dan...yes, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised, because I didn't know that people had launched a class action suit. It won't repair the damage that was done, but it is justice, and hopefully it will prevent a nightmare like that one from ever happening again....
ReplyDeleteExpect a whitewash and maybe a few mild tongue lashings. Cops and political elites don't have to follow laws like the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteAs a Victim of Police I am still waiting for my apology 7.5 years later. I have noticed that a lot of the commanding officers involved were from Peel Police which is just as bad, even worse as a police FORCE. Recently, a commanding officer from the g20 who works for Peel Police has Retired. It was mentioned in the Brampton Guardian about 2 weeks ago..check it out. He should be Ashamed..contact me joe2320022002@yahoo.ca
ReplyDeletea commanding officer was from Peel Region Police and just retired 2 weeks ago without apologizing..
ReplyDelete