Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty invoked the War Measures Act of October 1970 to justify his role in cracking down on civil liberties last month at the G20 in Toronto. It’s not a perfect analogy but it’s pretty revealing, which is probably why he only made it in a closed Liberal caucus meeting. (I wrote before the G20 weekend that this was shaping up as McGuinty’s ‘just watch me’ moment.)

Then, as now, in a climate of government-media inflamed hysteria, hundreds of community organizers and activists of all stripes were detained and held on completely spurious grounds. And today, just like in 1970, precious few politicians of any stripe are speaking up in defence of civil liberties and against state repression.

The grassroots response, however, has been inspiring. In Vancouver, individuals from many walks of life have signed on to a statement in support of the G8/G20 arrestees. The statement cuts through the bs of police press releases and corporate media hype to pinpoint the real issues at stake:

“The government wants to deflect blame onto those who stood up to protect communities from the daily violence of G8/G20 policies. We stand in support of all of the brave people who protested the G8/G20 in Toronto, including the organizers being targeted via pre-emptive and targeted arrests, who are our allies and friends. As we saw in the streets of Toronto, in preventative and targeted arrests of community organizers and in mass roundups and police violence, the state wants to expand its power against the people. These targeted arrests and politically motivated, malicious charges are intended to make us afraid to speak up, and to silence the dissent the state knows will follow from the undemocratic decisions and austerity measures passed at the G8/G20 meetings that will affect us all.”

The statement makes three clear demands, aimed at preventing the government from using this affair to further criminalize dissent and protest in all its forms:

“-We call for the immediate release of all those being held, most notably of all the much-loved community organizers who are being targeted by politically motivated, pre-emptive, and malicious arrests.

-We call for all these politically motivated charges against community organizers to be dropped immediately.

-Police state tactics such as pre-emptive and targetted arrests and mass roundups seek to quash dissent against G8/G20 policies that affect us all; Vancouver stands in support with all those being held in Toronto.”

In endorsing the Vancouver statement, my friend Charles Demers nicely summed up what the G8/G20 crackdown tells us about the Harper government: “The same government that pleads powerlessness and poverty when it comes to saving our environment, looking after retirees or ensuring that our health and education needs are met seems to discover new virility and incredibly deep pockets when it comes to cracking heads in defense of the most powerful people in the world. It’s a shame.”

Shamefully, over a dozen community organizers and activists remain in jail, while the real criminals — Toronto Police Chief Blair and his political masters — will remain free from interrogation, as all levels of government deny the public outcry for a full and open inquiry.

My week in Toronto for the G20 started with a forum, discussing with other independent journalists the violence of the Canadian state overseas, from the war in Afghanistan to the backing of Israeli war crimes in Palestine. One of the other speakers at the forum was Jesse Rosenfeld, who was writing on the G20 for the Guardian. By the weekend, Jesse was being punched, detained and arrested for being present at a sit-down demonstration. Over a thousand others ending up facing a similar fate for a similar crime: speaking out and taking to the streets in opposition to the G20’s agenda.

The victims of the police brutality in Toronto were many: labour activists and community organizers; social democrats, anarchists, socialists and those without any ideological label; mainstream and indy journalists; seasoned movement veterans, first-time protesters and even curious bystanders; young and old. So let’s remember that an injury to one is an injury to all, and that none of us are free until we’re all free.

If you haven’t already, sign on to a solidarity statement today, and make plans to join a demonstration against the police crackdown and against this historic and grave violation of civil liberties.

Derrick O'Keefe

Derrick O'Keefe

Derrick O'Keefe is a writer in Vancouver, B.C. He served as rabble.ca's editor from 2012 to 2013 and from 2008 to 2009.