Open Letter To:
The Municipal Leaders of Toronto,
Provincial Leaders of Ontario
Federal Leaders of Canada
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Re: Unanswered Questions About the June 2010 G20 Toronto Summit Security
Nearly two months have passed without answers to legitimate questions raised during the Toronto G20 Summit and without initiation of a reasonable inquiry.
We repeatedly have sought explanation for some disturbing events and amateurish conduct by high officials appearing to contravene the Canadian Constitution and its concomitant Bill of Rights as well as for other broken statutes which appear to have been violated by government officials and police.
We and people like us are confused by the publicly alleged misspeak of Toronto Police Chief Blair and Ontario Premier McGuinty on the 'G20 5-Meter Law'. It now seems this was a deliberate deception and officials involved believe they pulled the wool over Canadians' heads. Someone needs to step forward and explain this amateurish conduct in such a grave matter law by high officials and also explain how various consequential damages to tens of thousands of Canadians will be repaired.
That Toronto Police Chief, Mr. William Blair's concept of due process in this G20 Security context could conflict so severely with traditional Canadian core values of civil liberty and freedom of speech is a matter of dire concern. Upholding the federal and provincial statutes--the law of the land--is mandatory for the Toronto Police Chief for as long as he is in command.
The Chief wasn't in command, he says. To whom did he resign his command? Why is he still on the job? We want legitimate, truthful answers.
Canadian core values of free speech, liberty and assembly were demonstrably trashed June 26 & 27, 2010 when thousands of protesters were prevented from being heard by hundreds of frivolous and vexatious arrests, physical obstruction of thousands of peaceful marchers, and theatrically staged criminal media diversions such as burning police cars (alleged by a few to have been done by police).
We see partisan political tactics used to spin-doctor and media-manage events of June 26-27 in Toronto, creating misconceptions and casting ill-repute upon innocent Canadians who raised their voices with a counter-view to government policies.
Consider this quote of Diefenbaker: "I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind."
Is free speech only permitted if it endorses your view? You promised to uphold Canadian values. Did you use this as a lie to gain power, not intending to uphold these values of your constituents? Your indifference these last 60 days speaks of betrayal to yours and our fathers and sons.
We lost a dad recently. He fought in WWII, one of few remaining veterans. Did you forget what they did? We lost loved friends in Afghanistan. Fix this or you are lying to troops about why they fight. Bring them home. There is clearly greater trouble at home in Canada and their voices should be heard.
Are you interested in joining us in seeking the return of core Canadian values of freedom, tolerance, liberty and justice? If not, then just exactly what is your view of Canada these days?
We refer to the alleged existence of a provincial statute providing instant extraordinary powers to police. The effect of this was de facto Martial Law in Toronto (Quote: "This is not Canada, this is the G20 zone and Canadian Law Does not apply" --York Region Services Sergeant on 27 June) and police hurt, detained, arrested, violated, imprisoned and abused innocent bystanders while allowing criminals to conduct their criminal activities against property and persons. All the while, leaders either by omission or commission allowed police officers to be trained in the culture of 'Martial 'Law based on some false, whimsical interpretation of a 1939 Act that was intended by the people's 1939 representative parliament to protect Ontario government buildings from Nazi saboteurs in WWII.
G20 security police were deliberately brought together from various Canadian provinces in a no-accountability security-force model. In addition to conflicting or ambiguous standards within the provincially-mandated statues for law enforcement, accountability for actions of police from many jurisdictions was foiled by the almost universal misconduct and alteration of individual police uniforms, probably done under order, whereby it was nearly impossible to identify an officer and determine what jurisdiction and under what Provincial statues he or she was trained and sworn to duty.
Because of this no-accountability model there is no redress available to the public save to demand accountability from the Toronto Chief of Police, the Toronto Mayor, the Provincial Premiere, the Federal Minister for Public Safety; and the Prime Minister. In the alternative, a private information must be sworn by the public bringing criminal charges against any of these parties and brought before a Justice of the Peace; thereafter 'Carriage of The File' must fall to a party independent of government who must then fight the jurisdictional battles for perhaps decades to come. Or in the alternative an action must be brought in civil court where jurisdictional battles must also go infinatum.
In short the machinations of the G20 Security model provide no clear accountability and therefore raise suspicions that the perpetrators deliberately exploited a series of failing, ancient Canadian institutions to allow abuses of power including the letting of untendered contracts for security personnel, fences, consultants, guns, sound canons, listening devices, cloaking devices, armour and more. Do we have a serious corruption problem in Canada?
We see raw video shot by CTV on 27 June, 2010 setting out some criminal occurrences evolving along Yonge Street to College Street having begun in the vicinity of Queen & Spadina (see: CTV film http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/the-mayhem/#clip318869). A television camera person is filming a group of "black-bloc-tactic" criminals and their accomplices.
A series of criminal acts by a handful number of people takes place to the EXTREME embarrassment of all Canadians while the G20 Summit is being conducted nearby at the Toronto Convention Centre.
The group of criminals, recently dubbed by the media as being "black bloc, were seen on the late afternoon of 26 June with apparent criminal intent assault numerous camera carrying citizens; destroyed property including damaging bricked sidewalks on Yonge Street; damaging gardens of private homes on Soho Street, smashing windows and other property of merchants on Queen and Yonge Streets; disturbed the peace in a wide area of Toronto; looted private property; and did other crimes.
We observed police on Queen Street, police on Yonge Street and police on intersecting streets to Yonge Street running the opposite direction from these criminals instead of apprehending them. The criminals have still not been apprehended.
Toronto Police apparently left some of their police cars parked in the middle of streets for some time, unlocked, far from any tree, telephone pole, overhead wires and buildings. These cars were set afire by masked individuals and burned for over an hour in some cases before any authority attended on them.
We are told that Toronto Chief Blair says that a federal authority, directed by Prime Minister Harper's Office, issued orders that the criminals not be apprehended. We have been provided video evidence to suggest that unidentified plainclothes police assisted by uniformed riot police were seen extracting these black-clad, masked individuals into their police vehicles at the end of a 'black-bloc' rampage. TPS claims it was not leading that operation. Who was leading this operation?
By 5:00pm June 26, things had been very quiet throughout the G8/G20 week—no security issues
The Government's security preparations looked like a zealous over-reaction of over-spending tax dollars. There were abnormally empty streets in Toronto which was a ghost town save a few thousand protesters and 10-20 thousand riot police plus swat teams, scout units, plainclothes police, bicycle detachments, mounted police and so on. (Toronto handles a million people on the streets for Gay Pride week without 20 thousand police.) The setting fire to police cars, smashing property, looting and assaults committed by the masked tacticians broke the peace 24 hours before the end of G8/G20 week. Were the acts of the black-clad tacticians instigated by the PMO? If not, then by whom? Why were they not stopped?
By late Sunday June 27 after the G20 ended, Toronto Police held 1,105 detainees on Eastern Avenue.
Why were police instructed to use military-like force to corral a large crowd of citizens at Queen and Spadina Streets in the pouring rain? It seems in the aftermath that no person in command knew where else to detain these people since Eastern Avenue temporary facilities were at its capacity of processing 50 people per hour and imprisoning a total of one thousand.
We are allowed by a lack of answers to speculate that notwithstanding the overstuffed jails, some draconian official on a wrongful mission saw one last opportunity to attack and malign more of these "protesters" deemed by neo-con masters to be eternal vagabonds, destructive to loyal populations that supported commercialism, international trade and finance.
Reality in the G20 Summit surrounds was not so dramatic. These were ordinary Canadians, many just going about their lives.
There were local residents, shoppers with grocery bags, dog walkers, TTC
workers, a lawyer out for a walk, off-duty security people, writers from The
National Post, a photographer, The Globe and Mail reporter, The Toronto Star
camera guy, TVO, CBC, CTV journalists, and so on. They were corralled in the
pouring rain without lawful cause held against their will. They were innocent of
even the trumped up charge of being 'protesters'. After 4-5 hours in that deluge
they were tired, weeping, shivering, frustrated, dehydrated, hungry, pleading,
victims of a criminal act of police.
Many of them we have talked to and they are still weeping at night, alone, face buried in a pillow. For some it was a terrifying experience. The indifference of leaders makes their being in power the most destructive thing to have happened to our country. Their sin is much more offensive than any person who raised their voice in even the most silly of protest. None who sits these days in the Commons with indifference to civil rights should ever again be elected to public office. They should leave now in shame or change their tune.
Chief Blair must resign his post or be removed because it does not matter who he claims told him what to do, his city is Toronto and his sworn duty is to respect his people and our property and to prevent crime, especially crime by police officers. Notwithstanding his sending innocents to jail while allowing guilty ones go free Chief Blair deliberately tainted the reputation of large groups of ordinary citizens who were not perpetrators of any crimes, to justify his lies, his illegitimacies and his amateurish blunders.
Sending innocent men to jail while allowing guilty ones go free is despotic.
While fecklessly permitting guilty persons go free we saw law enforcement brutally arrest innocent people whose conduct was acceptable
Sparing real criminals you arrested our bus drivers, ticket takers, caretakers, nurses, doctors, smokers outside a pub, a one legged man, media spokespersons, videographers, passersby, a restaurant cook outside for a smoke break, etc and called them criminals, jailing and mistreating them.
We need a truthful answer to our questions.
1. Why did the Federal Government, by coercing a local Toronto official to abandon his duties, cause or allow the spectacle of burning cars and ransacking of Yonge Street? The Toronto Police were in situ and more than competent to deal with it and were told to run and hide by feckless leaders. 'Withdraw', they were told. Some officers at first even began to disobey orders but were called back. Why, even after hearing the contrary advice of police were they ordered to stand down and let the criminals proceed?
These are not criminals, these are your kids. Seven Toronto Universities joined Amnesty International in demanding a public inquiry into Toronto G20 Security Events.2. Who ordered the detention of so many innocent, uncharged people denying detainees water, food phone calls, and forcing upwards of three dozen people into a single 3-by-7meter cell?
Unnecessary Police Violence Captured on Film3. Why were there so many complaints about mistreatment of prisoners including sexual assault, improper processing and blunt violence.
4. Where any of these black-bloc-tacticians planted by the RCMP?
5. If not in part RCMP, then who are the black-bloc-tacticians who led the vandalism in Toronto?
6. What security advice did the government consider before moving the summit to Toronto?
7. Why did PM Harper ignore advice not to hold the G20 in Toronto?
8. Why if Toronto was the only option did the PM Harper ignore Toronto's plea to host the G20 at the Canadian National Exhibition grounds?
9. Who designed and approved the G20 security plan and its astronomical price tag
10. Who was ultimately giving security commands in Toronto?
11. Did anyone on the political side got involved - directly or through PCO - in operational decisions during the summit?
Yours sincerely,
Kathleen and Micheal O'Brien,
Eglinton-Lawrence, Toronto
Never again must there be one of these events in a major, built-up area.
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