Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been looking back at one of the pivotal moments in Toronto’s recent history: the shameless and brutal suppression of democratic dissent during the G20 summit, right in the heart of downtown. Today, I’d like to explore how the violence came to happen – and what we can do to ensure it never happens here again.

The G20 is an organization of the top 20 economies in the world, designed to promote “financial stability” and ensure “sustained growth” across the globe. It is, in other words, the beating heart of globalization and modern capitalism. As such, it attracts its share of protests.

It is beyond the scope of this column to critique modern capitalism from top to bottom. Suffice to say, it ain’t perfect. But what is within our scope is taking pride in our city and the people who make it great. And the way we were treated that weekend must never be allowed to happen again. Dissent and protest are cornerstones of democracy and civic pride. They are also explicitly protected rights enshrined in the Charter. The brutal suppression of dissent in Canada by agents of the state is not only shameful; it is illegal.

This is something you might expect in a repressive regime like Saudi Arabia – and it is a sign of the G20’s priorities that the group has selected the Kingdom, known largely for misogyny, imperialism, and oil, to host the 2020 summit – but for most of us, it likely doesn’t jibe with our Canadian self-image as a polite, friendly, and open democracy. Yet that self-image is, at least in part, self-deception to begin with.

The controversial practice of carding, including unconstitutional and highly discriminatory “random” stops, has only recently been curtailed by the province and the collected data is still in use. Violence by police officers often remains unchecked by police agencies; a recent case involving a brutal assault with a steel pipe was not reported to the SIU by the police until defence lawyers forced a report of their own.

As regards the G20, let’s not fall into the trap of thinking it was an isolated incident. Suppression of dissent is a trained, fostered strategy of police agencies across Canada. One notable instance involved police officers going undercover during protests in Quebec to act as anarchists, cause trouble, and invite further police aggression. There is no definition of “serve and protect” that calls for deceiving our own citizens in the pursuit of silencing their voices. Oh, and by the way – don’t think it can’t happen right here.

Of course, it could be worse. The time-honoured Canadian excuse is to simply take a certain amount of smug satisfaction through comparison to our neighbours to the south. But the time for excuses has long past. It is not the Americans we must compare ourselves to, but rather to the best version of ourselves. Toronto is the most multicultural city in the world, and we’re rightly proud of it. We pride ourselves on being welcoming, open, and free, and we would not be who we are without hearing and protecting a diversity of voices in democratic assembly. The best Toronto possible is a Toronto that listens, that learns, that cares. What happened at the G20 is not that Toronto. What happens daily across this city is not (yet) that Toronto.

What happens next is what can build that Toronto, for all of us and for generations to come.

As promised, here are a few ways that you can help to build that best Toronto and ensure that we never again let the rich and powerful dictate to us where we can and cannot move within our own city, using our own public servants against us. This is our city, not theirs. The Toronto police work for us, not anybody else.

1. Email Yasir Naqvi, the current Attorney General, and tell him that you want to see the 129 recommendations of Justice Michael Tulloch’s SIU report implemented immediately. You can read the report here, and you can email MPP Naqvi at: AttorneyGeneral@ontario.ca
2. Call your City Councillor and tell them that you are concerned about the lack of justice surrounding G20 police violence, and the potential for similar violence to occur. Ask them what they’re doing to hold local and regional police agencies accountable for what occurred during the G20 and to prevent it from happening again. You can find your City Councillor here.
3. Call your local Liberal party MP or riding association president and tell them that you cannot support their initiatives while Bill Blair, architect of the suppression of charter rights during the G20, holds a ministerial position. Demand that he be demoted to back bencher and ask them to find another candidate for Scarborough Southwest in the next election.
   

Next week, we’ll return with the final piece in our G20 coverage for this year. In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know in the comments how your conversations with your representatives unfolded!

The post Toronto G20 Dissent Suppression Was No Mistake – Nor Out Of Character appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

If you are interested in finding out more about the history of the Toronto Police, see our article and visit The Toronto Police Museum & Discovery Centre in downtown Toronto. It is a not-for-profit that is funded through guided tours, sales from their Gift-Shop, and from requests to do historical research.

CNE, Kids Day, mounted officer and foot constable with lost kids. – August 27, 1929

Policeman, corner of King and Yonge streets. – 1912

Police motorcyle division. – [between 1926 and 1930] Chief Draper is at right. A researcher has identified the location as 69 Dundas Street West, east of Police Station 2, which was at #75-85, between Yonge and Bay streets.

Police officer and (naked) boys on road before 1940

Police officer directing traffic at King Street and Yonge Street. – [ca. 1912]

Open air horse show, 5 police horses : Police Constable Cooper (198), [PC] Phillips, [PC] Lapper, [PC] Coathrup, [PC] Gallagher. July 1, 1930

Kid’s Safety Club, policeman and girls. – April 25, 1928

Electric car accident at Glen Road Bridge. – [1912?]

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I got a chance to chat with their historical researcher at the museum who filled me in on the daily running of the museum, the types of donations they get from police officers and their families, and some of the displays and their history.

The museum has a lot of cool interactive exhibits and displays. Display cases containing everything from weapons to badges to items carried on a belt are all displayed with the variations over the years being compared.

The classic Plymouth Police car from the 1980s has been dissected and installed in one of the rooms. The live feed from the radio inside the car can still be heard by visitors.

Mounted units and motorcycles of several generations are also on display. Plaques outline the history and development of many of the different departments of the Police force.

A series of panels takes you through several decades at a time through the history of the Toronto Police Services that date back to their conception in 1834. This date pre-dates the police forces of both New York City (1845) and Boston (1839). The panels discuss the efficiency and the evolution of the police services as they adapted to the growing city of Toronto.

Many police officers also served our country overseas in the Canadian Military. Some of the donations that the museum receives come from these soldiers and include clothing, medals and flags from tours and service.

Above are 2 different popularized court cases involving murders in Toronto in the past century. Descriptions of the events as well as evidence from the crime scene are available for viewing. In one case a replica of the building the crime took place in has been assembled for display.

Below are cases containing famous artifacts from over the years such as the rope used in the last capital punishment carried out in Canada was the double hanging of Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin on December 11, 1962.

Uniforms from over the decades, as well as uniforms from the different faction of the Toronto Police Service are also on display such as this ETF officer dropping in from the roof and the late 1800s officer pictured below tending the call-box at station #7, a restored section of an old police station.

The picture above shows two officers sitting in what would have been station #7. The old typewriter apparently gets asked about a lot by kids who are too young to know what they are.

Located in the right of the picture is a poster on the wall asking for a reward of Ambrose Small who was a famous businessman and theatre builder who went missing in 1919 and was never heard from again. There was great mystery and press surrounding the event which was re-popularized by the Michael Ondaatje book “In The Skin of a Lion”.

The memorial area contains hats, artifacts, and names of soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty, officers who served over-seas, and those of retired or deceased officers that served on the police force ove the past 100+ years.

The museum is open Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Toronto Police Museum exists solely on the profits of our gift shop and donations. We hold a charitable status and all donations collected during tours or research will go back into the museum reserve fund.

All visits to the museum must be booked ahead of time by calling the museum information line at 416-808-7020, or via e-mail. Visitors will be required to hand-in their booking receipt along with their donation on the day of visit.

Tour groups are welcome but a call in advance is appreciated to avoid any conflict with other groups that may be visiting.  416-808-7720 ids the contact number.

Gift shop hours: Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Suggested Donations

Admission: Children 12yrs. & under $1.00
Seniors 65yrs. & over $2.00
Adults $3.00

http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/museum

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