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International Women's Day Toronto 2006
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The march was led by striking hotel workers. They want a living wage and the march highlights the fact that Toronto is split between many low wage part time workers and low wage union workers, while another large sector of management and elite union members like police and firefighters receive top pay and benefits.Childcare was another theme with women vowing to foil Prime Minister Stephen Harper's attack on Day Care Programs.
By Gary Morton
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Photos Caribana 2004
Photo1, Photo 2, Photos 3, Photo 4, Photo 5
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OCAP at the Expressway – May.29.2004
By Gary Morton
Photo http://frightlibrary.org/pic/clarke1.jpg
John Clarke knows they didn’t give us much in the difference. Mayor Miller is little better than Mel when it comes to the homeless. He sort of got lost in an idea of cleaning up and it went too far till he washed the city clean of bacteria and life.
Hey! Clean up the streets then go to sleep at night with dead bodies for a pillow.
Unless you go down to rest under the expressway.
And when we are all forgotten by the greedy we will remember the humble nature of our lives.
But for now we have been officially forgotten by all levels of government and we don’t care.
In the absence of media, John Clarke woke me up with his talk today. I realized that I had forgotten too … about the homeless. And I also realized that John Clarke is one of the few people with the courage to tell the truth inside of a society in denial. In some ways he’s the only one.
It truly is a disgrace that in Toronto … one of the wealthiest areas in the world … that people live in a state of desperate homelessness.
I have lost faith in the lies of the powers that be. They reach for electoral power and we know they don’t care … but can’t fully admit it.
In all these years I had questions. But this time I believe in John Clarke. I believe in the homeless people living under a bridge … because they are there, when our society owes them something much better.
I remember most the woman with a kitten on a leash, and another woman screaming that Miller gave an apartment to a man and left women in the dirt under the expressway.
A token apartment and people fighting for shelter does please the media … and sometimes the spring sunshine reminds some of us that hope belongs to us all.
Death on the street can end up as the truth, when those cops suck us all down the drain … so believe in … believe in … I can’t tell you what to believe in … so stick together.
I said it earlier … after all these years … I believe in John Clarke … never a close friend of mine … but always a great guy and up there at the front … coming across with the message … till I finally understood its importance. And I saw it in his eyes this time. I knew he was telling it like it is …
We all have a right to a home … damn it.
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Photos: Protest against Inco – April 2004
Inco is Canada's Worst Polluter, damaging the environment world-wide
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Photo: OCAP Protests for a Raise in ODSP and Welfare – April 2004
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--------Photos: Ontarians Protest P3 Hospitals - April 2004
Articles on Hospital Privatization in Ontario and Canada
- Newly Released Documents Confirm Massive Hospital Privatization
- The Ontario Health Coalition's Notes From P3 DocumentsProtest Photos:
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/health42.jpg
http://frightlibrary.org/pic/health43.jpg- more photos http://erelda.ca/photo/NoP3Demo3404Gallery/index.htm
--------Photos: Toronto Protests the Iraq War in 2004
By Gary Morton at http://citizensontheweb.ca* The photo links are beneath this antiwar note.
A year has passed since the Bush administration rained cruise missiles on Iraq.
The Occupation and explosions continue, and no one predicted that it would turn out like this ... with new surprises and horrors daily proving that war and occupation are an opened Pandora’s Box.
A year later there is a mountain of news, confusion and suffering … battles rage on and continue to tear Iraqis apart … limb by limb … it cuts their hearts and values to pieces. If you support the Americans and their new order the insurgents kill you … if you support the resistance the Americans kill you … the Shiites are turned against the Sunnis and Kurds against the … until it gets so confusing in the dust of poverty and dried blood that no one can figure it out … and then there are the maimed, the sick, the elderly, the weak and the children.
In Canada the lesson remains unlearned. Most of our media paints a pro Bush-invasion picture. Leaving us to piece together the truth from a jigsaw puzzle of news reports … and in a skewed picture of reality Paul Martin can cozy up to Bush and profit from it.
Bush and some big American corporations are making a killing out of killing. They rebuild Iraq and pay themselves off with the taxpayers’ dollars that fund the occupation of “The Authority” and the Reconstruction and of course they will get full control of the OIL.
Saddam has been replaced with several tiers of looters and terrorists … running from small time copper thieves to corporate robbers like Bechtel, heavily armed insurgents and out-of-control occupation forces. Politics is a mess with a lot of talk about democracy … when Bush is really manufacturing a DEMONocracy that will keep Uncle Sam in Iraq under the guise of keeping the peace.
American soldiers unless on a raid now stay in the green zones … called that in a new Iraq that has been polluted with hot bombs, radiation and armies of terrorists. Soldiers have built a McDonald’s and fried chicken and pizza joints so they can die of good old Yankee saturated fat near Baghdad airport.
They rebuild Iraq in a faded and militarized free-trade image of the West … of corporations that want Iraqis as sweat shop laborers and consumers with enough wages to profit some food and no-frills chains. Denoting that Bush’s rebuilding of Iraq in a Western image is a lie of the largest sort … because if the whole world suddenly functioned like the West, resources would be depleted in a year.
This year nearly all foreigners and the corporate invaders of Iraq dress as Arabs as they travel. Looking like someone connected to the Authority makes chances of survival on the road thin.
Radioactive dust blows in a nation that has become one large coffin, daily shifting the sands and smoke of instability to reveal new piles of flesh and bones.
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Photos:
This photo of the New Iraq has a McBaghdad and Shellborough
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Protest sign has photos of US War Criminals
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Photos of the march in the rain
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/war20046.jpgTwo photos of pro-war protesters hiding behind police
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/war20048.jpgA group had gathered opposite to them chanting anti war stuff … while the people supporting the invasion of Iraq yelled crazy nonsense. They sang a song for the anniversary of the Republican Party, did a lot of yelling to blame the rest us for Yasser Arafat, wrapped themselves in American flags, cheered Condoleeza Rice … and generally gave the impression that they weren’t there to protest … but were a strange group of juvenile delinquents that got a charge out of perverse things … like shouting their love for Israel’s Ariel Sharon.
March 2004
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Photos: Toronto Protest Against the Garden Brothers Circus – March 2004http://frightlibrary.org/pic/cir1.jpg
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/cir3.jpgFor Circus Cruelty see http://www.circuses.com/
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Protesters at the Security Certificate Perimeter – Dec.13.2003
By Gary Morton
Photos:
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/noone7.jpgThe No-One-is-Illegal crowd of protesters walks in long grass behind the Metro West Detention Centre. They chant to the unseen prisoners inside. At the back, the windows are bigger than the gun slits at the front and beyond two layers of tall fencing and big camera 4 the prisoners are pounding desperately on the walls.
We hear the thumping … and the background is of cold winter, softly drifting clouds, wilted weeds, nearby freeways, and horseback cops riding down to us. The people feel good because prisoners inside the detention centre now know that they haven’t been abandoned by the whole of society.
The Canadian government has jailed people through Security Certificates and left them to rot ... never revealing the evidence against them … people like Mohamed Harkat. Only the (CSIS) intelligence agency really knows what the case is and of course evidence the public can’t see is not substantiated evidence.
Anyone who has seen police disclosures in criminal cases can tell you that often evidence is ridiculous and quickly discarded.
So invisibility of facts and rulings by a hidden court are not legitimate grounds for incarceration, and a danger to the public as politicians and security forces exercising those rules could pose a sudden and great danger to us all.
That is why protesters came to the Metro West … to call for freedom for detainees and an end to other policies that victimize immigrants.
The latest news on the federal front is that MPs Judy Sgro and Anne McLellan have risen in the new Paul Martin government and are in charge of a Canadian version of US Homeland Security.
The Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ministry will oversee intelligence and security functions and co-ordinate border operations. Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan is now the link with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
Anne McLellan says the new ministry does not encompass any immigration functions. But that seems impossible to believe when you consider that it will complete implementation of the 2001 Smart Border Accord. Examining additional measures that would speed low-risk, cross-border commerce while maintaining vigilance against security threats.
People grabbed as security threats are nearly always immigrants, so unless the government is saying that it is now looking more at citizens and activists as possible security threats, the new ministry will have to deal somewhat with the movements of immigrants.
The Martin government also plans an independent review process to oversee the RCMP's national security efforts. In response to concerns that the RCMP ill-advisedly provided intelligence to Washington in the Maher Arar case.
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Photos: Nov 11th, Toronto Protest Against The Island Airport Expansion
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Photos: Toronto Protest Against Israel's Apartheid Wall
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Report from a Protest Against Secret Trials
- Five Arrested as Costumed Crusaders Demand CSIS, RCMP Stop Terrorizing Canada's Arabic, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Muslim Communities
- read the full report - Oct.31.2003
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Bike Cop harassment Continues at Toronto' Critical Mass Ride - Oct.31.2003
- read the full story
* News updates will be added.
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Photos: OCAP Squat Leads to Housing Victory – Nov.8.2003By Gary Morton at http://CitizensontheWeb.ca
* Note on Media Coverage. Denis Black filmed nearly the whole squat action, from the police grabbing of a baby to the arrests. I have his email but don’t want to post it online. He said he’s making a documentary.
The few photos I’m posting were taken with a small police-battered digital camera, so I’m not one of those people you see around with 2000-dollar zoom lenses. When police announced they were going to raid the squat, I deleted most of my photos for memory space, so I could attempt to get pics of the bust. It didn’t go down in the end so these were what I had left. My web site listed above used to be a .com, but changed last month after domain name pirates stole it.
Victory
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People are cheering as the OCAP protesters that occupied the squat have emerged.
People on a narrow stairway inside the squat
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Each window of the squat gave you a different view of various police armies. This one is of the Kentucky Fried Chicken Cops.
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Masked guy in black waves flags from the squat
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The police raid was supposed to be justified by the bad condition of the building. This photo shows how good the condition really is. It’s a nice house.
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Banner at the door
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Dennis Mills, the Liberal Saviour arrives
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Notes on the Action:
All Saints Church was full for a meal. Sarah and John Clarke spoke, an activist from Belleville and others followed then people spilled out and immediately took the street from the cops. It was a fairly long march in sunlight with chants and one scuffle with the cops. We crossed the bridge over the Don River on Gerrard Street and were passing an ancient relic known as the Don Jail when some marchers suddenly dashed to the north to an opened door of the squat. Cycle cops tried to stop the action but were overpowered by demonstrators.
A test of strength followed but the mass of protesters took the building and the grounds around it. After that various things happened. A young woman got arrested. One guy got video of that and of the police grabbing of a two-year-old child.
One demonstrator had brought the kid along on his shoulders and there was a lot of shouting and pushing after cops grabbed the kid. Later all the top media cops were brought in and they watched from a distance. Jim Muscat, the cop you see on TV directing searches after child abductions was there, and various points on the police child abduction were given in meetings on the street with Stefan.
It became clear that police viewed the incident involving the child as a possible public relations error that they wanted to swing in their favour. My own opinion is to look at it in a positive aspect and say the kid is starting young and may be a real future leader, getting arrested at two years of age.
I had trouble getting clear info on the arrests. I heard three CUPE members got taken in, but the young girl I saw getting arrested didn’t look like a CUPE member.
A sunny period followed and a crowd went in to check out the squat (558 Gerrard Street East) … which was in good condition. Its biggest drawback being the narrow staircase.
I have to go to court on other matters. Hoping to avoid arrest I later joined the people outside. The weather got gloomy, and police came forward saying they were going to raid the squat in ten minutes. That time stretched to an hour as police gathered. They blocked off Gerrard Street and the entire area around the squat. Cycle cops, police brass, undercover guys in baseball caps that filtered in, riot cops with gas masks up by the Don, more yellow jackets with binoculars on the grounds east of the squat. Police prepared a huge banner up at the jail that said …. This Area Will Be Cleared by Force. Indicating that the whole area was boxed in and when the police moved, they were going after everyone, not just the people in the squat.
Protesters remained gathered at the front of the squat, many of them very young. They showed no fear. But I did have fears. I thought that in the gloom a very ugly situation was going to take place. I wrote the jail support number on my arm because it looked like trying to get photos of the police raid would get me arrested with the rest. So much for freedom of the press … police obviously planned to do the raid off camera … mainly because it would have been brutal. Rushing the people in the front yard and then trying to fight people down that narrow staircase would have led to serious injuries … and they had special ambulances there to cover that.
I remember some demonstrators mocking some suited religious guys that passed. They were shouting something to the effect of pray for us and see what it does … and maybe they did pray … and prove that God is a Liberal … because the Saviour arrived in the form of Federal MP Dennis Mills.
Mills toured the building and worked on negotiating a deal. Over at Kentucky Fried Chicken I talked to an old guy who wasn’t part of the protest. He said Mills is always pulling publicity stunts, like bringing in the Rolling Stones and so on.
Mills eventually signed a deal saying he’d have the wheels moving to turn the place into housing in a month or he’d resign. And he probably can do it. The provincial government has changed to liberal, plus the provincial correction ministry owns it as part of the Don Jail. The Don has been slated for closure for twenty-five years … so turning that part of the property and maybe the larger building next to it into housing would be possible.
In the politics of the day some people expected the mayoral candidates to arrive … but I knew they wouldn’t. The reason is that the city election is Monday and handlers for the various candidates would never allow them to takes risks just before the vote. Announcements were to the effect that Tory or Miller would be mayor, but the truth is that Miller is in as polls on Friday showed him seven points ahead.
Miller is the NDP candidate and he has a policy in favour of turning abandoned buildings into housing. Yet in housing areas none of the candidates are perfect. The best strategy would be to keep enough shelter beds open till you can move people to housing via rent supplements and new construction of social housing.
Miller says nothing about rent supplements. Barbara Hall supports rent supplements but she wants to close shelter beds. And the other top mayoral candidates are police candidates that want to put everyone in jail.
The city election represents a split in the establishment powers that run the City of Toronto. Barbara Hall has been supported by the Provincial Liberals. John Tory is the candidate of the old Mel Lastman establishment, supported by big business, the police chief, police union, Tory Party and so on. David Miller wins on Monday, meaning the NDP, City TV, NowToronto, Eye Magazine and the Celebrity Class (highlighted by people like David Cronenberg) and nearly all of the city’s aging community activists have become the city’s dominant political force. So the new class society, which is the Celebrity Class and the Nobody Class is fully in place here.
Denis Mills fits into this as a liberal member of the celebrity class (the ruling class). NDP leader Jack Layton lost to him by a wide margin in a past federal election. If Mills pulls this housing deal off, he kicks Layton in the butt, gets an up on Miller and proves himself as a politician who is willing to take chances.
I remember talking to Mills via email years back. He read my web site then and he was one of the first politicians online with his own site. I’ve never been able to figure him out but I did get along with him without selling out to the liberals. My guess is that he has no reason to keep derelict housing in his riding. He probably hopes OCAP will give him a reason to turn it all into vibrant housing for the community.
There will probably be some debate as to whether the squat action was a victory. I think it was … because the place will almost certainly become housing, and the police were pissed as hell when they didn’t get to launch their final attack and solution.
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Photos: Toronto Rally to End the Occupation - Oct 25th 2003
People in Toronto and many other cities around the world rallied today in support of a larger Washington rally to end the Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.
The US lie is that democracy is being delivered and terrorism ended. Yet the truth is there is more violence than ever and zero democracy gets delivered via tanks and troops.
Below are links to a couple photos of the Toronto march. It took place even though organizers from the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War called it off. They wanted to remain at the rally location, but Muslim youth and others, most of the crowd, went on a march around downtown anyway. This march was energetic with drumming and strong chants from beginning to end.
Police backed off. Apparently organizers feared arrests, due to lack of funds or support for any arrestees. One of the young people who marched told me that if you want to be afraid of the police you have to be afraid of them every day. This about liberating people in occupied territories, not about being afraid of police here.
http://frightlibrary.org/pic/resist1.jpg
http://frightlibrary.org/pic/resist2.jpgGary Morton
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Anti-Fur Season Begins – Oct.18.2003
Annual fall anti fur actions began in Toronto today with a small Boycott the Bay Demo at Queen and Yonge. The public was receptive to the action, though a few hostile people appeared.
Photos:
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/fur2003-4.jpgBasic Facts On the Fur Industry
- About 1.1 million animals--raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, lynxes, foxes, beavers, otters, and others-are killed each year for their fur by trappers in Canada. Another 1.1 million animals are raised and killed in extremely cruel conditions on fur "farms."
- Trapping weakens wildlife populations by killing healthy animals.
- Canada's native people, as well as its wild animals, are victims of the fur industry.
- Every year, thousands of dogs, cats, raptors, and other so-called "trash" animals (including endangered species like the bald eagle) are crippled or killed by traps.
* See http://geocities.com/boycottthebay/
This report by Gary Morton
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Summary: Reclaim the Streets 2003 ArrestsBy Gary Morton, Oct.2003
* Three people were arrested (including me) and need witnesses for court in late November. Contact gary@freeuoft.org if you witnessed an arrest. .
--------Background to the Arrests,
This year’s Reclaim the Streets party came with a pattern of police aggression leading to arrests. Trouble didn’t arise from any attitude of the demonstrators, but from police politics regarding the right to protest and Dundas Square.
Early in 2003 Federal Justice Minister M. Cauchon refused a request from Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino. The Chief wanted all protest activity to be controlled by permits through the city and police.
Freedom of expression and assembly rights guaranteed in the Charter would be gone if the federal government had granted the Chief’s request, so like many other people I emailed Mr. Cauchon asking him not to grant Fantino’s request.
A deeper look shows what the police really intend on this issue. The September 18th 2003 minutes of the Police Services Board contain a letter from Julian Fantino titled “The Impact of the New Dundas Square on Police Operations.” He refers unhappily to the fact that early in the year Dundas Square got called Protest Square as several anti-war protests took place there. He says a problem is arising where portions of the public believe that Dundas Square is a public space.
Chief Fantino’s letter shows how he and 52 Division would find themselves at odds with protestors, especially public space supporters that show for Critical Mass and Reclaim the Streets. Permits are the Chief’s ticket to funding. His submission to the police services board outlines how events at the square will be policed and what money the police expect the city to pay for policing. He sees a cost as high as 1.4 million dollars for policing seventy events at Dundas Square. Political action and protest is a problem for him because he applies for funding by amount of permits. No permit, no money for the police. But if all political actions were governed by permit, then the police would get more money and they could prohibit events they didn’t like.
The permit system for Dundas Square works as follows. A volunteer board of management appointed by city hall governs Dundas Square. A permit and use of the square costs up to 4,000 dollars and that’s a sum beyond the means of any protest group. Business leaders and a police representative are on the board. Superintendent Paul Gottschalk, Unit Commander of 52 Division is the current police representative on the board.
Having all protest by permit would mean there would be almost no protest due to the cost, and if any group could afford it the board could simply refuse the request for a permit.
This is the model our police chief wanted to have city wide - one that would allow the police to shape some dissent and get paid for it while ending most of it.
That puts Chief Fantino most at odds with groups like anti war protesters and public space and green advocates like those in Reclaim the Streets.
Organizers of this year’s Reclaim the Streets said the police came down hard and made arrests due to lack of a senior officer. I maintain that there were two senior officers with a strong interest in cracking down hard on Reclaim the Streets. One is Police Chief Julian Fantino and the other is Superintendent Paul Gottschalk, Unit Commander of 52 Division. They are both involved in Dundas Square politics and both are unhappy that protest via permit hasn’t taken hold in Toronto.
When the flyers hit the 52 Division Streets for a Reclaim the Streets party at Dundas Square, you can be sure they made the decision to use more force than necessary. If they aren’t going to get money for policing protests via their permit system, then they will simply bust up protests and discourage people from coming out.
Chris, Rose and I wouldn’t have been arrested under ordinary circumstances. I certainly didn’t assault police, yet they still came up with that vastly exaggerated charge, and I think it was based solely on political motives.
Gary at http://CitizensontheWeb.com Oct.09.2003
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This next part of the summary uses facts from articles written about this year’s Reclaim the Streets to demonstrate a pattern of police abuse of demonstrators.
* Three people were arrested at Reclaim the Streets 2003. Chris Smith got taken in for videotaping police actions against protesters. All Rose did was argue mildly with an officer trying to bully her during the march to Dundas Square. Police tackled me (Gary Morton) to the road on the crosswalk of Richmond and Bay. That was after an officer on a police horse rode into the people and was trying to force us ahead. The horse stepped on a man's foot so I patted it on the neck to direct it away. For that I got charged with obstruction, mischief and assault police. I didn’t assault police, and I don’t support the use of horses for crowd control. That is knowingly putting the animals in situations where they could get hurt or injure people.
Most disturbing to me was the violence of my arrest. Being tackled to the road by a number of officers, with six of them being involved in my arrest. While on the ground one officer insisted that I was struggling when I said I was not. He nearly caused the other officers to use much more force on me. I later found out that a camera person nearby was held back forcefully by an officer wearing a button in support of the four officers charged with tackling and killing Otto Vass.
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Information on Police Political Involvement and Harassment - gathered from News Posts.
1. NowToronto's Oct 2-8th issue has an article titled Dancing in the Dark by Mike Smith
Mike notes that Reclaim the Streets has been a phenomenon for the last six years in Toronto. Police Chief Julian Fantino has now gotten involved in a political way. He sent a report to the September 18th meeting of the police services board.
Fantino says that "A problem is now arising where portions of the public believe that Dundas Square is a public space." Mikes says the chief elaborates on the problem, reminding us that "anti-war demonstrators in the first quarter of 2003. utilized the square as a meeting point without proper authorization."
The NowToronto article outlines some police harassment. Mike notes three random arrests. In describing my arrest he says, "Numerous officers heroically threw themselves on one man as if he were holding a hand grenade after he touched the flank of a police horse."
At Dundas Square Mike's article adds some humour to the efforts of officers to shut off the street dance music. The police finally turned off the music at 9:45 though the noise curfew is 11 pm.
In the end people waited outside of 52 Division for the arrestees to be released ….
2. In my own article, posted on Indy Media I note that I was in the paddy wagon when they tossed Rose in the cell in front of me. At that time I wondered why the police would arrest a woman who looked like the most harmless person who ever lived. Later a woman in the jail support crowd told me of numerous cases of women being bullied by police.
My main reason for turning to face the police horse was that it was in the crowd on a crosswalk and had stepped on a man's foot. I'd still like to find him as a witness for court.
3. In an email message to me after I was released, Darren Stehr tells me that he was on the other side of the street when I got arrested. He was photographing my arrest by the six cops. Darren says he got nailed by a cop when he tried getting closer and the cop wore a button supporting the four officers that killed Otto Vass in a takedown.
This is more political involvement by police. You can be sure the arresting officers support tackling people to the pavement over easier methods of arrest, and if a person gets killed in the takedown, they put on buttons in support of the officers involved.
Wearing the buttons on duty does nothing for freedom of expression, yet it does serve a purpose in offending and frightening people. I would call the buttons police harassment of a sort.
4. The Critical Mass Bike Ride also coincided with Reclaim the Streets. I intended to go on it, but so many police went along for the ride that I decided to avoid it and went back and drank beer at the Temperance Society.
In an Indy Media article titled Critical Mass, Agnes Sroczynski describes police abuse on the ride of Friday, September 26, 2003.
She describes the bike ride as escorted by "bitter cops, on bicycles of their own, in cars, and mounted." Agnes goes on to say that, "The peacefulness and what I can only call sheer gleefulness of the demonstration was interrupted only by vulgar, fascist, violent cops, one of whom shoved me with his heavy elbow from atop his bike, forcing me to abandon my vehicle as it clamoured to the pavement, resulting in the smashing of my front reflector. His issue with me had been regarding blinking lights, of which I had none. This large heavy man, feeling no shame in knocking a 115 pound, 5ft5 young woman violently to the ground, claimed that my lack of not having such lights would soon result in my "having a summons", as he so irritatingly repeated, over and over."
Later at Reclaim the Streets, she describes the police accompanying the demo as "unable to release themselves from their scowls…"
5 In a post titled Three arrested at Reclaim the Streets from mosquito Fri Sep 26 '03 it is noted that three people were arrested
The writer notes that one person (Gary) was wrestled to the ground by three or four police officers for allegedly touching a police horse. Another person (Chris), who was making a video, was apparently taken in for brushing up against a police bicycle. The third person (Rose) was arrested on Yonge Street for not obeying instructions from police. Organizers attribute the heavy action to the absence of any senior police officer. "The police were free to just go nuts," said one organizer.
The article continues saying that very aggressive policing prevented the Reclaim the Street banner from actually taking to the streets. The whole evening was marked by intimidation and aggression on the part of the police.
To add a comment to this article, I would say that there would be no need for a senior officer if orders were coming from the top, to the effect that Reclaim the Streets should be busted up quickly.
6 In Reclaim the Sound! By krystalline Kraus Oct 3 '03 at Indy Media, she says the reclaimers were at odds with the police in regards to their right to enjoy public space and who actually fit into the definition of public.
The police are described as annoyed in attitude and then violent. On the Dundas Square issue, she notes that it would now cost 4,000 dollars for a permit to use it and that is not in tune with people who believe in free public space.
At Dundas Square the event eventually got shut down in a, “… fit of chord pulling and switch flipping by the police ….”
7 Greg Bonser, a green party activist and candidate for city council in Jack Layton’s old ward got pepper sprayed at a previous Reclaim the Streets. His email to me on Tuesday October 7th had this to say about the assault police charge.
“I assume that the assault police charge was added to make it seem as if you are some sort of lunatic - it gives them a better case. Assault police is a really over used charge. It's very serious, so it's used to "teach a lesson" to activists.”
Due to my election site http://MegacityElection.com two other council candidates contacted me about police and Reclaim the Streets. Jeff Brown is running against Olivia Chow in Ward 19, Trinity - Spadina. In his email he told me that he does attend the Critical Mass bike ride but skipped out when he heard Reclaim the Streets was happening due to fear of arrest. Not because he would have done anything illegal, but because politicians fear police these days. His opponent Olivia Chow also has some fear of police after the police and media ran a smear campaign against her for witnessing events at the OCAP June 15th protest.To a large extent we already live in Julian Fantino’s world, where only some are permitted to protest. Politicians have bought the media/police propaganda that prohibits them from protesting. But most of them haven’t bought into the idea of complete police control. They want others to protest for them while they measure dissent and shape legislation. So currently the right to protest is now being exercised by an increasingly smaller number of activists.
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Overall the 2003 combined Critical Mass/Reclaim the Streets was a peaceful act by people who believe in public space and dancing. It was marred by politically motivated police who grew nasty and violent. Their actions became uniformly rough and aggressive and telescoped into the shutting down of the event and the arrests of three people lacking in any criminal background.
Charges laid were unnecessary and exaggerated, being an outgrowth of a nasty and politically biased attitude of Toronto Police that is best symbolized in the politics of Chief Julian Fantino.
The Dundas Square issue may be new, but political disputes regarding Reclaim the Streets in Toronto are not. Toronto police were sued after the arrests of Brian Burch and Kevin Thomas for Unlawful Assembly at the 1998 Toronto event.
Since Reclaim the Streets has now taken form as a peaceful dance and party in public space, there isn’t any real reason for society to block it. And there isn’t an attempt by social forces to obstruct it. Police, who want to defend a corporate viewpoint, criminalize dissent and gain money and control via permits are the opponents of Reclaim the Streets.
In a note on the Burch/Thomas lawsuit against police, Clayton Ruby said, “Denial of Charter guarantees of the rights of assembly and expression should not go unchallenged.”
We can take that to mean that Reclaim the Streets and our belief in pubic space will continue in spite of aggression and arrests.
Gary
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News: Emperor Bush Crowned – Aug.23.2003
Photos & Report by Gary Morton
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/crown3.jpgI heard that George Bush was to be crowned Emperor so I went down hoping for leniency and a share of the publicity. It was like attending one of his regal executions of mentally incapacitated children, but better since he was there in person.
There were Roman Soldiers in full armour and friends of Bush in togas. Bush mainly hung about grinning in his chariot. All omens and voices told me that the slim American President had a hold on destiny. The upcoming coronation could only be fate in waiting.
His credentials line up as impeccable. There are the executions, and don’t forget those Enron corporate ties, election fraud, the killing of UN Funds, the International Criminal court, Kyoto, War and the occupation of Iraq.
The march across town to Grange Park was wonderful. Summer sunshine, Bush tossing gold coins from his chariot, the handsome Roman guard, and the feeling that I needed the protection of the sword. Mainly from clusters of ungrateful Americans, some from Detroit, who got upset because Warren had the Yankee flag upside down.
But I wasn’t dismayed as we all know that the Emperor frowns on political correctness.
It all worked out okay in the end. Pillars of Capitalism shook and people cheered and trembled as Bush reminded them that there is no empire without an emperor.
So Bush is the big guy now and later a friend left for the OCAP protest in Yorkville. A sort of gathering to have a free meal and support the concepts of a living wage, affordable housing and decent benefits for the disadvantaged. Things that have been cut by the emperor’s cronies at Queen’s Park.
My friend told me he almost didn’t get there. First he was scared to go because he’s running for city council. Meaning the colonial news media like Global, City TV and the Toronto Star would attack him mercilessly for attempting to exercise his right to protest. As they have done in the past to politicians that attended OCAP rallies.
Then he got in trouble with the Imperial Guard, who surrounded and grabbed him in Yorkville, seized his anti Star Wars sign, an emperor Bush button and documents they found in his bag that they termed Marxist literature.
Eventually he was released and he said. “I felt like yelling out - Racist F…ing Police!” And he wondered what would have happened had he done so.
Earlier just before noon I saw Mayor Melvin Lastman, decked out in his best suit, addressing an army of cops in Yorkville. I’m pretty sure he said that no one gets through unless they shout - Hail Emperor Bush!
So that’s the password. Skip the Racist F…ing Police line. It’s Hail Emperor Bush that gets you places in this town.
---------Bad Landlord Award – July.9.2003
This evening tenants of 40 and 60 Tyndall Avenue in Parkdale publicly condemned their buildings as not fit for housing. City inspectors are being called about the conditions in the buildings and to deal with a landlord that tenants can’t find. This owner received the Golden Cockroach Award for the worst landlord of the year.Photos:
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Toronto Pride Parade – June.29.2003
The Gay Pride parade flowed through the city core like a colorful carnival again this year. Only this time around gay marriage has been legally and socially accepted in the city, giving the revelers something more to celebrate.
Photos:
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----------Canadians Oppose Bush’s Star Wars Weapons in Space - June 14.2003
Photo of poster
http://frightlibrary.org/pic/spacew.jpgThe No Missile Defense Campaign and the Canadian Peace Alliance rallied in Toronto today in opposition to Canada's role in the National Missile Defense Program. Missile Defense is an aggressive program pushed by George Bush, and it is really about offense through increasing the USA’s military superiority. It is expected to cost trillions of dollars in taxpayer money. Social programs and aid will end up cut as space gets turned into a minefield of floating tactical weapons. Space based lasers and kinetic kill weapons will orbit the planet in constellations.
NDPer Marilyn Churley appeared and spoke at the Toronto rally. Sid Lacombe of the NoMD Campaign says the missile plan gives the US administration permission to occupy Canada from above. Dylan Penner of ACT for Disarmament points out that NATO has appropriated Innu land in Labrador for a staging ground for the NMD.
The Pentagon’s missile defense works to expand its domination over the skies of Earth. China and Russia have already expanded their nuclear capacity in anticipation of a U.S. missile shield. They fear the deployment of offensive weapons in space, allowing for an overwhelming US first-strike capability.
Nations around the world through the UN have opposed the weaponization of space since 1981, and it is hypocritical for Canada to be pursuing a ban on space weapons while seeking participation in a Star Wars program that would create them.
For more information contact
noMDC@yahoo.com or info@nowis.org
http://www.nowis.org
Report by Gary Morton at http://CitizensontheWeb.com
--------Community Air in their Hair– May.24.2003
Photos of today’s demonstration
- Banner
- Marchers
- Print of proposed bridge to the IslandThe local citizens in the Community AIR protest group want to help deliver on Toronto's promise of a clean, green waterfront. They held a rally to STOP ISLAND AIRPORT EXPANSION today at Little Norway Park at the Island Airport entrance. A fixed link bridge is scheduled for construction and a key protest issue is the environmental assessment. The Federal Toronto Port Authority hired the same company that is building the bridge to do the environmental assessment on it.
Community Air people marched from the park to the nearby community center and confronted the corporate reps as they held an information meeting on the fixed link bridge.Numerous arguments against the airport expansion are listed in the Community Air flyer.
- Every few minutes 78 planes will land and take off, adding to smog and noise in the city.
- The bridge opens the way for conversion of the island to parking lots.
- The airport is next to a bird sanctuary and migratory bird paths. To keep the birds away cannon shot noises will go off continually.
- Mature trees and dune eco systems are being bulldozed by the Port Authority.
- Polluted wastewater from plane deicing and runway cleans goes straight into the water near the water filtration plant and swimming areas.
- Taxpayer subsidies run the Federal Port Authority and the airport expansion will be another loser. Every passenger flying out of Island Airport is subsidized 50 dollars per ticket.
- The Portlands redevelopment site will be under the main flight plan.
- The expansion of Pearson Airport and the rail link to it from Union Station will make the Island Airport redundant.
To help oppose the island airport expansion
Contact info@communityair.org
http://www.communityair.org
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End the Occupations – May.24.2003Photos of today’s march
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/pic242.jpgThe Coalition to Stop the War held a rally and march to END the OCCUPATIONS from Iraq to Palestine. It was also in opposition to Canada’s First Nations Governance Act. This march included more young people than other political action in TO does and went from the US Consulate to Queen’s Park.
Occupations in our times have been brutal failures. Palestine is an ongoing horror story with civilians and activists being killed by Israeli forces. Homes are bulldozed and neighbourhoods destroyed as the occupiers hunt militants. But as the occupation continues so does the anger and suicide bombings that kill and maim Israelis.
Iraq under occupation is a complete failure. In Iraq President Bush created chaos. The UN has handed it to him to govern as the destruction continues. And US/UK forces aren’t motivated to genuinely aid in establishing local democratic government or law and order. They need a reason to be there and in control of the oil and territory.
Looters that often include US soldiers are still at work. They’ve hit nuclear installations and such material may have gone to terrorists. Another recent report noted that looters are tearing out everything copper including cables and phone wire and selling it in bulk at the border. From war to occupation Iraq is headed back into the Stone Age under Bush.
For daily breaking news on the US/UK occupation of Iraq see –http://home.eol.ca/~command/citizen/iraqwar.htm
also see http://www.nowar.ca
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Ontario Health Coalition Protests - May 10.2003Photo: http://frightlibrary.org/pic/ohc1.jpg
The OHC held a Caravan of Protest in Ontario today to demonstrate opposition to Provincial Government plans to build for-profit hospitals and MRI/CT clinics.
OHC supporters have gathered over 100,000 pledge forms supporting strengthened pubic Medicare. They say that for-profit hospitals and clinics cost more and they lead to bed and staff cuts. Diminished access and standards are caused by privatization in home and long term care.
The coalition pledge calls for Ontarians to commit to only support election candidates who will work to strengthen Medicare.
- Stop For-Profit Healthcare
- Stop for-profit hospitals, MRI/CT clinics and labs, and redirect funding to public hospitals and clinics
- Promote non-profit community health centres
- Stop the privatization of nursing homes and increase public control over them
- Stop delisting medically necessary OHIP services
- Restore the federal share of health spending to at least 25% and ensure health spending goes to healthcare
- Cover homecare, rehabilitation, diagnostics and pharmacare with the principles of Medicare
- Protect Medicare from trade agreements
- Control the costs of drugs and get cheaper generic drugs to the market faster
- Improve conditions in nursing homes and provide supportive care at home for seniors and those with disabilitiesThis report from Gary Morton at http://CitizensontheWeb.com
Contact Ontario Health Coalition
www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca
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Photos – NO to the Bombing of Iraq
(Toronto Mass demonstration Saturday, March 22.2003)Digital Photos:
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/peacem6.jpgAs Iraq and especially Baghdad, burn and remain under heavy US bombing, Torontonians hit the streets in protest again. This was huge march in sprinkling spring rain. Lots of no war chants and people dancing and drumming.
It was peaceful but ended in a sour note after the march at the US Consulate. The police presence was unusually huge with riot cops with shields and horses. They provoked the crowd, creating some conflict that led to four arrests.
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Snake Marches Rock Toronto as Bombing Continues – Mar.20.2003
* Arrests included Lindsay Tabah, James Semple, Stefan Cepin, Juan Colmenares and Tooker Gomberg,
Students rocked Toronto today. They blocked streets and danced in snake marches in light rain. Yonge and Bloor was shut by a die-in and later a march of mostly students left the US consulate ahead of the main group. It turned into a chaotic snake march in the downtown that stopped traffic and caught the police off guard.
Conflict occurred at College Street when police tried to arrest a couple students banging on windows. But the arrests failed as police were opposed by a chanting crowd that boxed them in.
On Yonge Street two women got snatched by police and there was a long scene with protesters chanting - Let them go! The cop van finally managed to back out with the women in custody and the people marched down a side street as horseback cops and a bunch of riot cops were organizing to trap them for a larger arrest.
That march ended at the Church of the Holy Trinity where doors got slammed to keep the protesters out … and at that point the larger march was coming down Yonge … people joined it as it turned on Queen and became another rowdy march thru the city. Up at City TV they pulled down the shutters so their viewers wouldn’t see the protesters ... and maybe something should be done about that at future demos.
… in war news … the US tipped its hand in propaganda releases. US forces are moving in hard to secure the oil fields after a few wells burned … so I guess we know what the first priority is in Iraq.
Rumsfeld accused Saddam of telling lies as Saddam had said he wouldn’t burn oil wells … and there are rumours of a CIA report that proves Saddam did not say his prayers last night. Big Media and the CIA speculated that the Saddam on TV might not be the real Saddam, even though they have face recognition technology that tells them the truth instantly. Apparently they have become like Saddam and tell lies and don’t say their prayers.
Meanwhile, the body bags are starting to come in with 16 British and American troops perishing in a helicopter crash.
-------Photos - NO to War! YES to Housing!
(Toronto Mass demonstration Saturday, March 15, 2003)Photos
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/stopwar8.jpgBrilliant sunshine beamed through the Toronto high-rises as thousands of people demonstrated against war today.
With the USA’s war on Iraq looming the Coalition to Stop the War worked with Homes Not Bombs and the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee to do a demo with a different flavour.
It began with public speaking and chanting at the US Consulate, and ended with the marchers surrounding the Moss Park Armoury on Queen Street East.
The armoury is a huge building the military uses little … which is why housing advocates and thousands of drumming and chanting supporters want it opened as an emergency homeless shelter.
It was an unusual ending for a protest, and a bit of a spectacle to watch a singing crowd in the melting snow of a military building. The big gun there ended up decorated with flowers and the names of homeless people who have died.
A stranger twist is that the armoury had less of a military presence than the US Consulate did. There were a lot of police there, but at the Consulate I counted 80 police vehicles … cars, vans, buses, paddywagons and the all-important police video services truck … which looks like an import from some other totalitarian state … like the USA perhaps. There were cops in dress caps, cops in baseball caps and flak jackets, helmeted horseback guys, and a cop in a fire truck behind the Consulate, with fire men watching the demo through binoculars.
Apparently Toronto Police would like to really clamp down on demos. For info on that see Eye Magazine
- Fantino demonstrates his views on protestersFor info on the demo contact
stopthewar@sympatico.ca
Homes Not Bombs Toronto tasc@web.ca
Toronto Disaster Relief Committee 416-599-8372
This report by Gary Morton
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Photos - International Women's Day Toronto – Mar.8.2003
Stand Together For PeacePhotos:
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/iwd5.jpgAs the photos show, Stand Together For Peace became the theme of the Toronto IWD rally and march. The event packed the auditorium at OISE. Like many others I didn’t get in but waited outside. A sound system broadcast the event though I couldn’t hear at my spot.
Peace is the focus of women with war on Iraq looming. Women and children are the main victims of war. In the last installment of the Gulf War Bush’s daddy stopped short of Baghdad. This time around the younger Bush wants all of Iraq, and a regime change. His war cabinet prays before it meets, and they probably believe that a miracle will help them take Saddam out quickly.
Other proponents of war have a similar message. They believe the USA is so much stronger now and with the will of Bush it can quickly knock out any enemy.
If it all goes wrong, which is the most likely scenario, this is what will happen. Saddam has had years if not months to dig in … especially under and around Baghdad. Since most men are in the army, women, children, the lame, animals and wildlife will be above ground in the streets, buildings and poorer bomb shelters.
Instead of meeting Bush with an armored army that will get fried by air power, Saddam will hide his men underground and wait for guerilla action in Baghdad. The Americans are afraid to lose a man so they will use prolonged bombing to get at the bunkers, and that will maim, torture, starve and kill the women and children of Baghdad.
I believe the city has about 4 million people like the Greater Toronto Area. It must be true that when Bush and his generals say their prayers it is with the knowledge that they are almost certainly going to massacre a whole city of civilians … because they want the trillions in oil in Iraq … plus control of the Middle East … and to turn Iraq into a sweat shop nation producing for Walmart and JC Penny as they have done elsewhere in the area.
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Peace Moves to Number One – Feb.15.2003
NOWAR - Photos & Report (Toronto) by gary@freeuoft.orgPhotos
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http://frightlibrary.org/pic/nowar6.jpgNews from gary@freeuoft.org
Millions of people protested worldwide Saturday, proving that peace and opposition to war are still the number one reasons to demonstrate. The biggest protest in British history took place, yet an unmoved Tony Blair continued to describe war as a Labour Project. Admitting that innocents would be killed Blair said roughly that eliminating Saddam and the sanctions would save lives.
In Toronto the weather was bitterly cold but a huge crowd came out. Estimates ranged from 10,000 by some corporate media to 100,000 by other groups.
Eye witness report
Traveling to the demo I saw mostly youth moving through the cold downtown neighbourhoods. At Dundas Square a crowd had gathered. More young people, now mixed in with older peace protesters.
I went behind and up on a stone platform to take a photo. Looking bleakly through lobotomized eyes I mistakenly took a shot of the back of a woman’s head. Then I began to wonder why the others were so energetic and enthusiastic. TV and corporate media have rendered me brain dead, yet it seems to have left other old peace types untouched. They still chant and leap about with signs and banners.
Later at a report-back from the world social forum, I saw more of them cheering and applauding an excited story of the march by Judy Rebick. The speakers list for the Toronto demo included Abdul Rehman-Malik, Ken Georgetti, Cathy Crowe, Jack Layton, Kemi Jacobs and Judy Rebick. I didn’t hear any of them. Instead I hurried off and hid in the shadowy corner of a huge parking garage. Jack Layton was there on the platform before I left so I imagine that he does still care the utmost for people and not a whole lot for seals.
As I shivered in shadows, I remembered the Osama cartoons Colin Powel presented on TV during the week and felt much safer knowing that I wouldn’t be blown up if he chose the march as an attack point.
A distant drone from the rally speakers reached me and I considered my personal preference to be one of removing all activists over 40 from positions of power. When you’re around taking photos you get tired of hearing them and feel younger people would do a better job of running things.
Let’s face it; being brain dead isn’t something you can fake your way out of. And I know because I’m one of them.
When the march began I felt a whole lot better. Looking down from the parking garage I watched a sea of people passing in the street. It must have taken something like 40 minutes for the crowd to pass. They stretched from Dundas Square to Metro Hall.
It was almost like being young again. Chants rose and echoed. Sunshine painted frosty streets of inspired people. Then it all got blurry and I walked off into the dark underground of Osama, Bush, Blair, war and lobotomy.
War Report:
US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice responded to the protests by stating that the US isn’t backing down. She thinks we are in a diplomatic window right now ... one that will be followed by war. Blair says that February 28th and another weapons report will be the final deadline.
The worldwide peace effort has put a finger in the dike of war, meaning the US is slightly stunned and watering down a new Security Council resolution in an attempt to get it passed.
Military buildup and preparations for war are complete, so the US will probably attack soon. My guess is March 4th.
This will not be a war but more of a slaughter. 2,000 cruise and other missiles will suddenly hit targets in Iraq. American forces will move in using incredible firepower against a rag tag army that can’t fight back. Since the sanctions have cut off medical supplies and necessities, maimed and mutilated Iraqi civilians will suffer unbelievable torment. People that wanted to play unarmed soldier by being human shields will be roasted alive. At the height of it the Americans will enter Baghdad and unleash the army of Iraqi liberation they have trained. Saddam will likely escape unharmed as dictators usually do and of course the liberated Iraq will be littered with radioactive metals and dust from the missile and bomb tips. This radioactivity can’t be cleaned up and means cancer for the people of Iraq.
A better option would probably be containment of Saddam as France and Germany want, and the removal of the sanctions. The Americans should be taken out of any Iraq solution as George Bush and his oil and military backers only want war as a foreign policy tool. They profit from supplying the military with bombs. Bush will gain the popularity victory brings, and Big Oil will profit when the contracts to develop those enormous Iraqi fields are turned over to them.
Peace contacts
anti_wartoronto@yahoo.com
http://feb15.webhop.org
http://www.torontoiraqmarch.com
http://www.tcaswi.org
http://www.acp-cpa.ca
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Mass Sit In Surrounds War Dept. with Power of Love - Feb 2003
(report prepared by Matthew Behrens)No one is ever quite the same, Susan Sontag once wrote, when we
experience a rare reprieve from the inhibition on love and trust that
society places on us. It was just such a reprieve that about 150 people
lived through as they spent between 5 and 7 hours exposed to -35
temperatures at a silent sit-in at the War Dept. in downtown Ottawa on
Valentine's Day, February 14.
As we shivered together at the main DND entrance on Mackenzie
Bridge--which we kept closed for almost five hours-- there seemed always a
sense that we were together as a newly formed community of mutual aid and
trust, taking care of each other and watching out for the signs of too much
exposure to the elements.
The action, organized by Homes not Bombs, was a colourful, deeply
moving expression of love, love of neighbour, love of opponent, love for
the targets and victims of war, love for those who make war and are divided
from the best parts of themselves.
A MESSAGE IS WELL RECEIVED
And it was a message that seemed to be taken in by a good many of
our potential opponents. Many in the sky high war dept spent the morning
not working at their desks on war plans, but staring out their windows,
incredulous that scores of people would remain in what one bystander
declared must have been the coldest spot in Ottawa, the concrete canyon
between the War Dept. and the Rideau Shopping Centre. The lines of Military
Police inside the warm building could not help but nod in a kind of
fellowship greeting when we waved at them too.
Even a cynical local radio reporter, who predicted we wouldn't last
more than 20 minutes, seemed to lose her "been there, seen that" attitude
as she reported in every half hour until past noon that, despite the cold,
we were still there.
Many inside the Dept. returned peace signs, others gave thumbs-up
signals. There is a photo in the Ottawa Sun of one man high in the building
looking down, his face a combination of concern and compassion as he
delivers his own thumbs up: he appears to be genuinely affected. Like many
of the images we see these anti-war days, the photo has the air of history
about it, much like photos of concerned individuals looking out from the
Pentagon windows in October 1967, when that building was challenged in
another expression of love and resistance to the war against Vietnam.
The police and RCMP liaisons appear to have been caught up in the
spirit of morning as well; they constantly check in for fears that our
group might be undergoing hypothermia and frostbite, and do nothing to stop
the 30 minute march which, though well advertised, has no permit from the
city. Although they are there clearly in the role of "friendly" cops, there
to gather information and help the Ottawa police look good, they are also
human beings who are freezing with us and learning something about the
power of love and relentless persistence.
They are dressed in civilian clothes, and even behave like they are
part of the demo. At one early point, when liaisons from the affinity
groups are called to a meeting on a strategic question, the two officers
try and creep in on the huddle as well. We immediately drop to our knees,
explain this is a prayer vigil, and ask for privacy. They respectfully back
away as we quietly bend our heads in an air of genuflection and discuss the
issue.
SOME STILL NEED A CHANGE OF HEART
Of course, there are still many who need a change of heart. One of
our number, who was blocking a war dept. entrance, stopped a colonel, who
backed up and charged full force, knocking the pacifist down. Even the
Military Police found this to be completely out of line, and told the
demonstrator that he could press charges if he liked. The transformative
response caught the MPs off guard: the fellow gave them a statement but
said no charges should be laid; rather, he wanted to meet with the colonel
and discuss why the military man felt it was necessary to bowl him over.
The MPs were a bit taken aback, explained that the colonel was
"indisposed," and that perhaps someone would be in touch.
Valentine's Day at the War Dept. was the next step in an escalation
of actions against the war for some. We point out that we have marched in
the streets; we've faxed and e-mailed politicians, we've written letters
and sent them snail-mail, we've written letters to the editor, we've held
teach-ins and sit-ins, we've presented peace zucchinis, we've urged
Canadian soldiers not to fight, we've held citizens weapons inspections at
Canadian manufacturers of weapons of mass human destruction and been
arrested at two of them; we've worked on municipal anti-war resolutions;
we've organized delegations go to Iraq; we've done children's art projects
against the war; we've violated the sanctions by sending medicines and
clothing to the people of Iraq; we've held sick-ins, calling in sick to
work so we can work against war; we've seen public opposition to war grow
to encompass the majority of the Canadian people.
And yet the government of Canada publicly waffles while: Canadian
Generals take part in war planning at U.S. Central Command and 20 of them
go to Qatar to continue those unspeakable plans; almost 1,000 Canadian
soldiers continue to enforce the sanctions; Canada continues to supply the
U.S. military, ranking #46 on the top 100 Pentagon contractors list for
2002; and veterans of the 1991 war against Iraq continue to die of Gulf War
Syndrome, with no compensation or assistance from their government.
Our conclusion from this has been very clear: the War Dept. needs a
change of heart, and our journey to Ottawa ends at the base of military
power in this country, the massive concrete structure in the nation's
capital.
It is a journey that is made from many parts of Ontario and Quebec:
Durham, Kitchener, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Kingston, Brampton, Montreal,
Hudson, among others.
POLICE STOP THE KITCHENER BUS
The Kitchener bus is barely out of town before it is stopped by
regional police who board the bus, give it a search, including in the
bathroom, and then, without explanation, get off the bus. They never say
what or whom they're looking for; perhaps it's just a reminder that this
will be no ordinary excursion to Ottawa.
The bus from Hamilton, along with its Kitchener and Toronto
counterparts, will watch videos of prior Homes not Bombs actions to give
folks a sense of what things we've done and how we've done then; there is
an extensive clip from the 1999 effort to turn the war dept. into to the
housing dept., a historic action which saw 55 arrests and a civil society
built at its entrance--an apartment with fridges and stove and couches and
a bed, daycare, community garden; clips from the ultimately successful
3-year campaign to close to Hamilton war show; the attempts to transform
weaponsmaker Diemaco in Kitchener into Lifemaco the community builder; the
Wizard of DREO, when a Cowardly lion, brainless scarecrow and heartless
tinman joined Dorothy and other characters to transform Canada's space
warfare facility in Nepean; and recent weapons inspections at the Northrop
Grumman and Wescam war plants in Rexdale and Burlington, respectively,
which saw 11 inspectors arrested.
It gives folks a sense of their history, of the history they carry
when they too act and make history of their own. It also helps build a
sense of confidence and trust, showing how folks have found powerful
nonviolent ways of confronting lines of riot police and disarming them
through persistent efforts at dialogue and expressions of love.
It is also a reminder of how far we have come; there are only a few
anti-war veterans here who were present during a massive blockade of
External Affairs during Gulf War 1, a similarly brutal day weatherwise when
some 400 people suffered through four hours in -40 temps, roughhousing
courtesy of the RCMP, and some arrests too.
There are many more from the historic 1999 War Dept. gathering in
which all 55 arrested on the Mackenzie Bridge were acquitted. That landmark
judicial decision, issued by Judge Fontana, has gone on to be used as a
precedent for other acquittals. Its spirit also seems to have contributed
to our efforts to expand the outer perimeters of dissent which cannot be
criminalized in Ottawa, for in 2003, we close that same bridge almost five
hours, with no arrests.
Indeed, while some feel thankful the police did not arrest us or
try to stop us from getting on and occupying the bridge, it's not
necessarily because the police don't want to take those actions; rather,
it's because they feel they cannot, because of the victory we won through
our 1999 effort. One can see then that our choice to exercise our
democratic rights, even if it means being arrested and jailed, ultimately
ensures the survival and, hopefully, expansion of those rights, not just
for demonstrators, but for everyone.
CITY OF OTTAWA THREATENS MASS ARRESTS
But we don't know the Ottawa police will be forced to respect our
democratic expression the night before the action. And so there is a bit of
that creative tension in the air as people pile into the church to the
wonderful aroma of big pots of soup, some of them donated throughout the
afternoon, that are warming for dinner.
The air is filled with the sounds of people preparing for a party;
a stranger walking in might not have known that a good many of the people
making beautiful placards and banners were also filling out jail support
sheets in preparation for a spell of incarceration. Through laughter and
song, a large group of people, many meeting for the first time, are
beginning to feel comfortable with each other, and a growing sense of
trust, and love, begins to fill the church hall.
After dinner, we are joined in the church sanctuary by Ottawa
residents who are coming to talk about the action. We embark on a four hour
scenario meeting, a painstakingly detailed community hall that, as one
woman pointed out, is what democracy truly does look like--it takes a long
time, and it can be frustrating at times, but it is vital to try and
incorporate and respect everyone's concerns, whether we are forming a
community or preparing from a confrontation.
The meeting begins with a welcome from Rev. Karen Niven-Wigston of
Wesley United Church, who has done so much in her community to live out the
social justice message of the Gospel and who has done so much to help us be
welcomed in Ottawa at a number of churches. Outside her church, and at
Canadian Martyrs where we also stay, is a huge sign which reads "Swords
into Ploughshares, We are a peace church." These signs too have an air of
history about them.
She is followed by Mary Foster of the Iraq Peace Team, just back
24 hours earlier from her trip to Iraq. She shares with us a Valentine from
a six-year-old Iraqi boy which she will bring to the war dept. the next am.
Mary then introduces Louise Richard, a former Canadian Forces nurse
deployed to the Gulf in 1991 and now afflicted with Gulf War Syndrome, a
passionate advocate for the rights of disabled vets and a persistent voice
for justice. She speaks of the effects of Depleted uranium not only on vets
but on all the people of Iraq, and pledges her support to the action. We
haven't even dealt with the needs of the 1991 vets, she points out, and
here we are sending a new generation into the line of fire.
We then go through the long process of every possible scenario
which might greet us the next morning. Part of preparing a confrontation,
it seems, is creating a space for accountability, so everyone taking part
knows what to expect from everyone else. If we are prepared for surprises,
we won't be broken up when they happen.
The big issues are whether we feel comfortable with one or two
groups blocking entrances to the war dept,. and then with the concept of
silence. Should we speak to the media, should we break up the silence,
should we stay silent. We break into affinity groups, we do some roleplays
to show what a physical blockade might look like when done in silence. We
discuss how we will respond if police stop out march before the bridge, and
whether we should block the whole bridge or part of it. We set up liaisons
from affinity groups so that we can call a quick meeting if something
unexpected or new arises.
We also agree our only sounds will be moments of "critical
whispering" to address a crisis. But many are adamant: we came because of
the power of silence, and we intend to keep it that way.
The messages from the authorities are mixed. The City of Ottawa
faxes us a three page warning that our march and silent sit-in violate
their special events by law and that swift action will be taken to clear us
from the streets (that's the hope anyway, we joke, for the last thing we
need is to be exposed to hypothermia and frostbite for five hours).
We break into legal support and medical teams, and by midnight most
people are asleep on the church floors. But people still come, driving all
night from Hamilton, Brampton, Peterborough, Montreal, some arriving at 5
am, just in time to start breakfast.
As we rise from a night on the church floor, some reporters come in
to introduce themselves. One states his station's morning DJ, normally not
the most progressive of sorts, has told his listeners that there will be a
major traffic disruption in downtown Ottawa, but that those doing the demo
are peaceful people. They will be inconveniencing you, but you should think
about what they are doing and why and, even if you disagree with them,
respect their commitment. Journalists from a variety of media quietly
express their support as well, and hope we will stay warm.
A SILENT SIT-IN BEGINS
The group heads out from Main and Lees on the east side of the
Rideau Canal at 7 am and, without a permit, takes over the streets and
walks up Elgin to the Mackenzie Bridge which abuts the north side of the
War Dept. Police appear unwilling to stop the march, and simply follow it,
blocking cross traffic intersections to keep the march moving through.
When we arrive at the entrance to the War Dept., Mary Foster speaks
poignantly, passionately, of her recent trip to Iraq as part of the Iraq
Peace Team. "I met many of the people who are going to die and who will
have their children killed," she tells us as she holds up her Valentine,
drawn by six-year-old Omer in Baghdad. She says millions of words have
been said about Iraq, but lost in all this media noise are the voices of
the Iraqi people themselves--so perhaps, if we were silent, we too, and
maybe the folks in the war dept. might actually hear them.
Foster closes by reminding us of the unspeakable atrocity of war to
explain why we will be silent, and within seconds, the only remaining sound
is the wind whipping through the area and the chatter of nervous
journalists, dumbfounded that no one is granting them interview requests
because our verbal statement has already been made, and now the statement
made by our silent, determined bodies will have to suffice.
One TV journalist, being followed by a couple of journalism
students making a documentary on the news, complains that "this is TV, for
god's sake, what am I supposed to do? I suppose I can surmise this is an
anti-war demonstration, but how I am supposed to cover this in a visual
medium" The media will not control the message getting out today, we will,
and the reporter's complaint seems pointless, as the visual imagery of the
silent group, including the amazing placards and banners which display our
message, speaks volumes. As does the fact that some 50 of our number are
prepared to be hauled away by morning's end and placed behind bars to stop
this war.
After a half hour of silence, a small group moves toward the main
entrance of the War Dept. and stands in the doorways, impeding access. Two
lines of Military Police stand at alert on the inside of the warm building,
but take no action. Ottawa police, in scarce numbers, look on, but take no
action. Eventually, chalk comes out and the hoarding around the front of
the building is decorated with anti-war pleas; body outlines are painted on
the bridge so people in the tower can see images like those likely to be
seen if Baghdad is incinerated by the "shock and awe" strategy planned by
Canada, the U.S. and U.K.
The idea of a warming centre in the Rideau Centre and in OC Transpo
shelters comes to naught as all doors are locked. Everyone from toddlers to
people in their 80s is forced to stay out in the cold for two hours, until
seriously concerned police convince the Rideau Centre to open its
doors--significant security is there to guard the palace of commercialism,
just as the war dept. is there across the street to guard the palaces of
capitalism.
The morning goes on, painfully slow, painfully cold, but if anyone
were asked how they were doing, the response would be the same: this is
nothing compared to what the people of Iraq have faced and continue to
face. After almost three hours of silence, we consense that we need to
break our silence to have a community meeting on the bridge to decide what
to do next. There is a proposal to escalate the blockade of the doors,
which has grown to the Laurier bridge entrance, and one to march on
Parliament Hill. Much discussion ensues, with some choosing the blockade,
some choosing the march, some choosing to return to the church.
In the end, the majority of people choose to walk off the bridge
shortly before noon, while a couple of groups continue blockading entrances
until 2 pm.
As we warm up at the church, many sit transfixed before the radio
broadcast of the UN report delivered by Hans Blix and the Security
Council's response. The broadcast refers to our demonstration and the
millions planning to march on the weekend, and there is a sense of hope: we
are contributing to the growing impediments to an escalation of this war.
We discuss our plans to carry on the resistance, at military bases,
at the upcoming CANSEC weapons show in Ottawa, in the courts as our weapons
inspectors go up on numerous charges, and in solidarity with the
disappeared of Canada who are behind bars because of their Arabic and/or
Middle Eastern heritage and Muslim faith.
Folks board their buses for home and catch up on some much needed
rest. As many prepare to join the largest mass gatherings for peace in
human history to take place the next morning, it feels like we are part of
a growing community of resistance which has gone through a challenging
patch and committed itself to going forward, together.
To join upcoming Homes not Bombs actions, contact us at PO Box
73620, 509 St. Clair Ave. West, Tornto, ON M6C 1C0, tasc@web.ca If you
would like to contribute to the costs of our all-volunteer organized action
(food, buses, photocopying, etc, for which we took a bit of a bath), please
forward donations to Homes not Bombs at the above address. Thanks!(report prepared by Matthew Behrens)
NO WAR ON IRAQ: Photos & Notes from Jan.18.2003Photos from the Toronto Protest:http://frightlibrary.org/pic/irq1.jpg
http://frightlibrary.org/pic/irq2.jpg
http://frightlibrary.org/pic/irq3.jpg
http://frightlibrary.org/pic/irq4.jpg
http://frightlibrary.org/pic/irq5.jpg
http://frightlibrary.org/pic/irq6.jpg
http://frightlibrary.org/pic/irq7.jpgSoon US President George Bush will say he has found the smoking guns of mass destruction in Iraq. Then he’ll open fire on the citizens of that nation with his own cannons of hell fire.
The scenario is called War and once the air blitzkrieg has burned enough Iraqi flesh a pro US government will be installed and the media will inform us that in spite of our barbarity, oil’s well that ends well.
In Toronto at least 15,000 people disagree with Bush’s war. They marched in protest today from City Hall to the US Consulate and Convocation Hall.
TV News keeps reporting a poll that shows thirty some percent of Canadians see the US as the greatest threat to peace. To go with that news today were other protests sprinkled around the globe.
Demonstrations happened in Sweden, Egypt, Hong Kong, the United States, Britain, Paris, Tokyo, Moscow, Hong Kong, Bologna, the Netherlands, Cairo, Beirut and India. More rallies took place in many small cities and towns. Canadian peace actions happened in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Ottawa and Edmonton.
The Toronto crowd included people new to protest. Many were young and for them the old words have different meanings.
Peace has lost its character in 2003. It is defined by the media as not being at war, though our governments could be targeting us in their War on Terror.
War can be mass bombing of civilians in other countries or a hidden war against suspect citizens at home and abroad. Soldiers don’t die in wars any more … innocent people do. Usually it is military or quasi military forces shooting at civilians and key military installations.
It is meaningless to call anyone a coward or a hero. American bombers are flown by drugged out zombies, rendered emotionless by speed as they hit the buttons of mass destruction. Soldiers are part of a machine that uses them as pawns. Terms like cowardice and heroics are only used as techniques of control.
Saddam’s zombies are no better than America’s crew. We can’t bomb our way to humanity and a just world, so perhaps George Bush really is a moron if he thinks a better world is that simple.This report by Gary Morton
To Contact the Anti-War Movement try
http://www.tcaswi.org/
dropthesanctions@hotmail.com
stopthewar@sympatico.ca
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Homeless Protesters Hit City Hall on New Year’s Day – Jan.1.2003
The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee protested at Mayor Curly’s New Year’s Levee today. Protesters want a 200 bed emergency shelter opened immediately to get people out of the cold. A video was shown on the homeless situation and the life of Brian Boyd was remembered. Brian was a former Tent City resident, and he died recently.
Photo – homeless friend remembers Brian Boyd Photo – faces of people show emotion as video is shown near City Hall Photo – tent city january.1.2003 Tent City was once rich with small trees, foliage and tiny houses. Not even a twig remains today on the completely vacant land.
Contact The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee tdrc@tdrc.net
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