I reported yesterday on the Civil Liberties rally in Toronto, attended by 300 (a generous estimate at Queen's Park).
Don't get me wrong, it looked like fun sticking it Officer Bubbles...I would be lying to you, though, if I didn't mention the small numbers at this civil liberties event compared to the rally last Saturday which filled out to a respectable 2,500 people.
While 300 people is nothing to shake a stick at, I was left wondering: What happened? The July 17, 2010, rally felt like a deflated balloon. For the long haul (since when changing the world, you're have to be in it for the long haul), do only 300 people in Toronto care that Torontonians had their civil liberties violated last month? Sure, activists who were charged have conditions that prevent them from attending demonstrations, but where was everyone else? I know this city has activists, I've seen them!
At last week's demo, there were 2,500 people at the Civil Liberties rally and the intersection of Queen Street West and Spadina was reclaimed from the police (after the infamous kettling occurred, which the police later defended by saying they are "not perfect").
Where was everyone this time?
As a journalist, I asked myself: Where were the unions? You know, the 25,000 who rallied last month at the G20 Labour/NGO/Peace march that snaked its way through the city from its start to its end location at Queen's Park on Saturday June 26, 2010. Union leaders complained that the black bloc had stolen their thunder but at a moment for them to shine and defend civil liberties, they were a no-show? I saw not one union flag. Nothing. I thought the the Ontario Federation of Labour supports the call for G20 public inquiry.
On Saturday, some in the crowd wanted to reclaim Queen's Park from the police by the thousands since it was here that - according to a formal Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) complaint against the G20 police - the police abused their power.
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The CCLA press release includes the mass entrapment of activists at Queen's Park on June 26, 2010 among five complaints that represent a contravention of the Criminal Code, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and Canadian and international standards of policing:
-- illegal mass arrests of 1,105 persons
--illegal detentions
--unlawful dispersals of peaceful protests
--unlawful use of excessive force on peaceful protestors and passersby
--unlawful and inadequate conditions of detention
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300 people sitting on the lawn listening to music is awesome, but speaks nothing of the potential Toronto has to mobilize mass numbers. I think of how many activists I saw pressuring the government to be accountable for climate change during the Toxic Tour against the government's policy on the Tar Sands so it is possible to motivate people to care and take action. But this event made it look - to those numbers obsessed media and conservatives - like Toronto shrugged off the G20 abuses.
Included in CCLA the list of civil liberties violations are the arrest/detention of 1,090 people over the course of the G20 Summit weekend; of whom 113 were released without charges on the street, 714 were held for breach of the peace and released within 72 hours, and more than 263 released with pending charges. There are still a few activists in custody by last count from the Movement Defence Committee.
At Saturday's rally, one man held a sign that read: "Come on, CUPE, a strike can free our friends!"
Perhaps this was a nod to a division between unions like CUPE and radical activists. Apparently, CUPE was none to happy to see one of their members proudly wave its union flag on the G20 demonstration on Saturday afternoon when police cars were being set on fire in the background.
Here is a sample of the communication from two different sides on the issue of union participation.
In a statement posted late Saturday June 26, 2010, by Ken Georgetti (President; Canadian Labour Congress) on vandalism surrounding Toronto G20 meeting, Georgetti expressed the following opinion:
Quote: "The Canadian Labour Congress abhors the behaviour of a small group of people who have committed vandalism and destroyed property in activities related to the G20 summit in Toronto.
Our rally and march were entirely peaceful from start to finish. It appears that a small group of anarchists, who are unknown to us, became involved in some violent and destructive activities as the day progressed.
We condemn these actions and we will continue to exercise our democratic right to free expression in a peaceful manner at all times."
In a further statement by Fred Hahn (President; CUPE Ontario) and Candace Rennick (Secretary-Treasurer; CUPE Ontario):
Quote: Property was damaged, publically-owned police vehicles were burned, and innocent people were attacked and detained as a result of taking part in protests. All of this is wrong. What we have witnessed is nothing short of the abandonment of the rule of law, both by a small group who took part in the protests, and by a massive and heavily armed police force who were charged with overseeing them.
Due process, civil liberties and the right to peaceful protest have been the victim. And it's a sad day when some of those, who feel powerless to change the direction of their elected leaders, find in that feeling of powerlessness an excuse to break the law and vandalize the property of their fellow citizens and who, in so doing, silence the legitimate voices of so many others whose commitment to protest and dissent is matched by their rejection of violence and vandalism."
Jeff Shantz, a labour activist and columnist with Linchpin.ca - from Common Cause wrote in response in critique:
Quote: "Some of the greatest social improvements have resulted from acts of law violation. Virtually every progressive social movement has engaged in acts of law violation to achieve successes that are taken for granted today.
In expressing fidelity to the "rule of law" what is really being affirmed is fidelity to the state and to the bosses. Any union that expresses fidelity to the rule of law is not worthy of the name.
To do so is to negate the rich history of the working class and labour movements. For much of its history, right up to the present, the union movement has been "against the law," its actions criminalized, its organizers arrested and worse. Anyone who's been on a picket line when it really mattered should know how to take the "rule of law."
Would CUPE-O have sided with the rule of law against the sit-down strikers of the 1930s, against the Windsor strikers of 1945, the Mine Mill strikers of 2000-01, against the various general strikes? What about the recent factory occupations?
Siding with the rule of law really does make clear "which side you are on," to answer one of labour's ancient questions. Union's that uphold the "rule of law" in the face of employers who steadfastly and routinely do not are accepting conditions of capitulation and defeat. Nothing less."
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Or perhaps it is the activist movement as a whole that has fallen into the familiar trap - imitating the G8 and G20 Summits themselves -- with the kind of pitch-tent activism that is linked to big ticket political events instead of real, everyday, grassroots issues. It's hard for anything to grow roots if you plant it in the ground only to rip it out 48 hours later. While Summits come and go, issues like the impact that climate change on the environment does not simply disappear a la Get Out of Dodge. Helping to save the planet is an every day struggle we must all commit to in our hearts - for the long haul.
We criticize society for being obsessed with all things disposable but we act like issues and causes are disposable. Civil Liberties. And with community organizers still in jail, are they disposable to the movement, too?
I wish you would stop referring to vandals as activists. Maybe that's why many didn't want a part in the bubbles protest.
My experience is that you simply can not maintain that kind of momentum in the long haul. I have watch protest actions start out at 20,000+, dwindle substantially with each weekly protest on the same theme. People don't have the energy for that.
As well, the labour movement is hard to mobilize for constant action. Their strength lies in their ability to mobilize a lot of people, but that kind of mobilization takes time, hence their focus on high profile events.
You no doubt got some response in the immediate wake of the repression, it is going to be hard to keep that up. Most of all you don't want to create a bad impression by making it seem that public interst is slackening through having events that are billed to be more than what they turn out to be.
Best at this point to aim for a larger action sometime in September, with the explicit support of the labour unions, as opposed to draining the energies of the most active with constant call outs. Several processess are under way that should help keep the issue in the media eye, and these might be complimented with vigils and informational demos, as opposed to mass actions.
Then focus on the main organizational energy on a larger action, when people get back to Toronto after the summer, and when the Toronto council and mayoralty races start heating up, Making "police accountability" an city election issue would be bonus.
A labour day action for civil rights, associated with the the annual labour day parade, or trying to use that as a mobilization tool for some kind of event later in the month.
300 is quite a few people, I live in St. Catharine's and went to the demo there. CUPE helped organize that local protest so.... I have to say while we all learned about the power relations in this `democratic`society the treatment of the protestors should not come as any surprise, glad to see the illusion of rights broken. I have to ask the organizers, Did anyone contact the unions? In the meantime, we do have to organize to stop this austerity agenda being foisted upon us by the G20. I think it is time to resuscitate the Days of Action and this time we build momentum to end in Ottawa not start our from there or Toronto for that matter. And end with a general strike until our agenda is accepted. No more corporate rule, participatory democracy, a real Bank of Canada not the facade we have now, Full employment with a living wage, Guaranteed annual income, Housing education health care, environment, renewable energy, NO MORE IMPERIALIST ADVENTURES and so on.
Yours,
RR
it monsonned here in ottawa... i was hoping to see better attendance myself.
start the paperwrok anyway. LOTS of kids have cell-phone proof of malfesance.
packrat
like the picture indicates if unions wanted to do something effective, they could call for a general strike. walking in circles in the same manner that has not won them a single victory since who the hell knows when (and stopping something in reaction is not a victory, it is your fucking job, victories are when you gain something), is not going to bring change. lets shut this fucking colonial-capitalist country down (and have a nice summer break from destroying the world
).
its too bad that momentum is faltering, but it is typical of folks in canada to only care about things for a week or so, then back to comfortable ostrich lives.
You people are so stupid, the cops treat people like that everyday of the freakin week! This is nothing new, And the treatment of the protestor's is not the issue here do you even remember why you went to protest in the first place? Now you are blaming the unions for not coming to your resuce? The people who were illegally arrested didn't even show up given the numbers quoted here. Democracy and civil rights in a capitalist society are expendable as soon as they become an inconvenience don't you know that? That is the lesson you are supposed to learn from these arrests. Now do you know what it will take to change this system? Go help the dock workers in Montreal who just got locked out of work, and start there, Maybe that will turn itself into a situation where a general strike will occur, it ain't gonna hapen here.
weekly demos are hard enough to sustain, never mind when most activists are exhausted from doing jail support. time for something more creative as per my article: Protest Culture: How's it working for us - posted this week on rabble
Why demonstrate on a Saturday? Far fewer people watch the news on Saturday than say a Monday and there are often far fewer people around in many downtown areas. So many adults get wasted, drunk, high, etc on a Saturday night so what impact would it have. We should be selective when we do things to have actual impact.
Admittedly, I bailed on the rally this past weekend. I'm tired. The last month has been absolutely exhausting. And truthfully, I really feel like I haven't had a damn summer. So I decided for my own peace of mind to take it easy this past weekend. Because the fight DOES go on.
There have been other events besides these rallies. Lots of them. Community meetings, non-violent action seminars and discussion groups have popped up absolutely everywhere. People looking to discuss and figure a way through all this bureaucratic red tape--because there's effing miles of it. Trying to get individuals to file formal police complaints has been a big focus for many action groups including the CCLA who placed a formal deadline for the collection of complaints for the day before the rally on the 17th. The 'process' is so tedious, so filled with nitpicky bullshittery. It's a nightmare. I've also been trying to help out a a friend who was detained, who is looking to co-ordinate material for a documentary. My point is, there's a buttload of stuff going on. So the long haul doesn't necessarily mean spending your Saturday baking in Queen's Park, demonstrating in front of a bored looking CBC cameraman looking desperately for a 'sensational' angle on the story and for the only people inside the building--the cleaning crew--because no politicians are actually on the property, anyway.
Alls I'm sayin' is, maybe we need to cool our jets and take a deep breath. The long haul is...well, long. We gotta stay strong and positive here or else we're all gonna fizzle out long before the battle is won and that won't be useful for anyone. We've got to keep fostering this movement in new and creative ways.
a radical activist lol like what is that a radical reformer hahaha that is radical alraight. Looks like everyone's consciousness needs raising including the bread and butter unions. And I say thank god for the every day work that those pitch tent activists do even if they are a reformist lot-they provide alot of data that we all need and that is not easy to do. It takes talent skills and dedication just to find this information. Also at our demo in another city (St, Catharines) a pot luck fundraiser was announced with speaker Rebick and and labour historian Palmer speaking, This is going to happen September 5th This is being funded by CUPE down here Do you know I met this guy over 15 years ago when I was at university and he is still handing out flyers and has been like when we protested against getting involved in the war in Iraq Afghan) on terror so this is long haul activism and real commitment if you ask me.
Cheers,
RR
I did make it on Saturday for about an hour. While 300 doesn't sound like a lot, that's certainly not disaster territory in T.O. Most of the small groups with literature tables don't have that kind of mobilizing power. I've been to lots of Queen's Park & US Consulate demos with a lot less people.
I agree with the "baking in the sun" comment. Let's also keep in mind that CAPP - the organizers - held actions in different communities around the country who haven't been out every week. Bravo. My suggestion is that organizers try to select a venue that they can fill. 300 people at Queen's Park can be a formula for demoralization for those that do attend. 300 people shoulder to shoulder in a smaller (shady) parkette or something can feel (and look) more empowering.
Not to be too nit-picky - changing the start time (and still starting late) and the length of the event the day before (from 2 hours to 3.5 hours) on a summer Saturday may not be the most effective way to get people out and keep them there.