The Aftermath: G20 in Toronto
This week’s Sunday Feature focuses on the G20 Rioters in Toronto.
Here’s what happened:
Nearly 900 people were arrested.
The rioters were held in a temporary detention facility.
Police found a vast array of weapons planted by the rioters.
Toronto was ransacked. Thousands of rioters vandalized businesses, burnt police cars, and destroyed private property.
Nearly $1 billion was spent on the summit. While most of it was spent on security, there was quite a bit of public anger over wasteful spending – such as the fake lake for media. The fake Lake cost $57,000 and was part of a $1.9 million tourism/promotion budget for the event. This really is part of the larger issue – these conferences should not be held in large cities. They are simply an excuse for leftists to cause mayhem. All future conferences should be held in remote locations, or, better yet on cruise ships. That would significantly reduce the tab for these summits – maybe even make them worthwhile.
After this enormous mess, my first reaction is to compliment Toronto Police on the outstanding job they did throughout the conference. Because of their hard work, there were no conference related deaths and no security breaches. Particular thanks should be given to Chief Bill Blair, who is facing ongoing harassment from communists who would like to see him resign – perhaps so that they can cause even more mayhem next time.
The rioters should all be condemned for their actions. The Toronto Community Mobilization Network (‘TCMN’) was accused of criminal complicity in relation to the violence and vandalism that occurred over the summit.
This excerpt is from the TCMN’s website under “Solidarity and Respect”:
We understand that people have different needs regarding safety. That while one person may need to be on the streets in a situation where someone else’s actions do not put them in danger, another person may need to know that if they are arrested, they will be supported, regardless of what the state may allege they have done. We know that the way to work through these needs is to hear each other with respect, to strive to understand each other and support each other even if we do not agree.
The fact that the TCMN will support criminals, regardless of what their alleged crime, provides the rioters with a licence to do anything – knowing that legal services will be paid in full. That excerpt is one of many examples of why the TCMN should be criminally charged for its behavior.
I hope that we see a wave of convictions against all those who were responsible for the criminal activity during the summit.
You can read Strictly Right’s previous coverage of the G20 summit here.
Tags: Bill Blair, Canada, Communism, Crime, G20, Rioters, Toronto, Toronto Community Mobilization Network
July 4th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
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July 5th, 2010 at 2:25 am
Pathetic the way things were handled that weekend…
July 5th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
You forgot the bit where the police admitted that many of those “weapons” were unrelated to the G20 protests
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/weapons-seized-in-g20-arrests-not-what-they-seem/article1622761/
July 5th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Additionally, doesn’t the tenet of “innocent until proven guilty” prove relevant here? If someone is proven guilty of a serious crime (IE, looting), I doubt you’d see this CMN continue to support their actions.
July 6th, 2010 at 6:23 am
Agree with brian on this one. Obviouslky there were rioters who should have been shot or put in stockades for public humiliation, but not all of the 900 people arrested were. In fact, most of them weren’t even rioeters, just the useless che-shirt-wearing pinko students.
July 6th, 2010 at 6:24 am
By the way, what’s the sunday feature thing all about?
July 7th, 2010 at 1:39 am
Dove, when police present an enormous arsenal of weapons it does not surprise me that some of the weapons should not have been there. However, the majority of the weapons were meant for G20 riots. I think its hard to contend that the rioters did not intend to be violent when you see police cars torched on the streets and mass vandalism.
On ‘innocent until proven guilty’, I agree completely with every defendant’s right to a fair trial. However, given the long history of violence during G20 riots, I believe that the TCMN’s statement, which provides broad support for criminal defendants, goes too far. By providing free legal services to every defendant, the TCMN is encouraging criminals to break the law by providing an incentive (the free service). It would be appropriate if the TCMN offered to review defendants cases, and offer assistance on a case by case basis. Police charged that they were criminally complicit because they allegedly knew of and assisted in criminal activity.
On the Sunday Feature, it is an opportunity for us to post a story that doesn’t fall into the “news” category. We’ll try to choose stories which will generate considerable discussion. Admittedly, the G20 was still (though it was rapidly fading) in the ‘news’ cycle when I posted this but I thought that it was worthwhile to discuss. Typically, the stories will be older than in this post.
July 7th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Ryan:
You raise a valid point, but I disagree with your interpretation of the CMN’s statement. It says that “…they will be supported, regardless of what the state may allege they have done.” It doesn’t claim legal support for the detainees regardless of what crimes they committed in actuality; it simply outlines the fact that no matter how heinous the allegation, they will be supported. I still main that that I seriously doubt you’d continue to see free legal service for those who, in actuality, committed the more violent and idiotic offenses.
July 9th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
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