Hundreds come out for Canada Day rally to demand public G20 inquiry

TORONTO – Hundreds of people came out Thursday to demand a public inquiry into security practices and preparations for the G8/G20 summits.

The protest began at Queen’s Park before taking to the street.

Demonstrators marched from the south lawn along University, towards Police Headquarters at Yonge and College, before they returned to Queen’s Park.

The peaceful protest stopped outside Police Headquarters were protesters stood and chanted “Shame, shame, shame on you” to the police officers lining the sidewalk.  Before heading back to Queen’s Park the group sang O’Canada and directed it to the officers.

Canadians Advocating Public Participation (CAPP) is calling for an independent public inquiry in response to last weekend’s security preparations and policing during the summits in Huntsville and Toronto.

“We’re also looking to have Chief Bill Blair resign,” Jonathan Allen of CAPP told 680News, “and it’s actually quite sad, because honestly, with all due respect to the police, we love them. Police are generally great people. It’s the fact that under his direction, these abuses of civil liberties happened.”

“We also want to know why these vandals, within spitting distance of the police, were able to get away with everything,” he added, referring to Saturday’s violence.

“Why didn’t the police stop them? Why was it that the police just let them go on this rampage, when there’s 20,000 police that were in the downtown core.”

In Toronto, more than 900 people were arrested over a 36-hour period in a manner the Canadian Civil Liberties Association has described as unprecedented, disproportionate, arbitrary and excessive.

It was one of the largest mass-arrests in Canadian history, with many including journalists and passers-by claiming abuse by police.

In anticipation of the rally, the entertainment stage and any related equipment and props used for Canada Day celebrations were taken down immediately after those events ended.