G20 Protests
FAUST's letter to Hon. Keith Ashfield re: the call for a public inquiry into the actions of the Toronto police and security forces during the recent G20 protests
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Faculty Association of the
University of St. Thomas
(FAUST)
Fredericton, New Brunswick
E3B 5G3
Phone: 506.452.9667 Fax: 506.450.9615
3 August 2010
The Honorable Keith Ashfield
Fredericton Office
23 Alison Blvd (Main Office)
Fredericton, New Brunswick
E3C 2N5
Telephone: (506) 452-4110
Fax: (506) 452-4076
Dear Hon. Keith Ashfield:
As the Member of Parliament for Fredericton and the Regional Minister for New Brunswick, we wish you to convey to Prime Minister Harper our concerns regarding the unprecedented curtailment of civil liberties that took place during the G20 protests in Toronto in June 2010.
The extraordinary powers granted to the Toronto police force during these meetings was especially distressing. The tenor of the demonstrations was largely peaceful and certainly did not justify the use of excessive force, intimidation, and preemptive arrests. Many of those detained in Toronto were bystanders who were caught up in the fray. We believe that most Canadians would be shocked to learn that almost 20,000 police officers were deployed during the meetings, and more than 1000 people arrested, which is more than any other time in Canadian history, including the much-cited October Crisis of 1970.
Canada is often portrayed, by Canadians and others, as a “just society,” where citizens enjoy the protection of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, we concur with CAUT (the Canadian Association of University Teachers) that Canadians’ rights were severely assaulted during these demonstrations, namely their freedom of assembly, freedom of association and freedom of expression (http://www.caut.ca/uploads/OpenLetter-G20Security-en.pdf). As one of our faculty members intimated to us after witnessing these events, “This is not my Canada.”
Although the G20 weekend took place in Ontario, the unprecedented backlash it precipitated has implications for all of us. As academics and educators, we hope that the various levels of government, and Canadians generally, learn from the experience. Thus we support the call for an independent public inquiry into the actions of the police and other security forces during the event. The extent of support for this inquiry is staggering, ranging from The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Amnesty International, to a Facebook group “Canadians Demanding a Public Inquiry into Toronto G20,” which by June 29 had over 18,000 signatures (http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/830057--calls-for-g20-inquiry-ratchet-up).We add our voice to this initiative.
Minster Ashfield, we strongly urge you to represent our concerns to the Prime Minister and to support the implementation of a fair and independent inquiry so that such state-sponsored intimidation never occurs again on Canadian soil.
Yours Sincerely,
Robin Vose, President
for the FAUST Executive
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CAUT (Canadian Association of University Teachers) is part of a coalition which is calling for a public inquiry into the actions and powers of the Toronto police and other security forces during the G20 protests. To view a copy of the open letter penned by this coalition click on: