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Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament Protest In Photos
The Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament (CAPP) protest in Toronto featured an impressive turnout, with police estimating anywhere between 10,000 and 12,000 people in attendance (note: some estimates have the turnout at only 3000). Beginning with a rally at Yonge-Dundas square, the protesters eventually took to the streets shortly after 2 p.m., drawing a loop that took them over to City Hall and then across College St. before returning to their original location.
Started as a Facebook group that has grown to include over 210,000 members, there was nevertheless considerable speculation as to what the actual turnout would be. But, in light of the numbers, the organizers are declaring the event a success.
"Can a Facebook group inspire Canadians to take on their government? You look at the 12,000 people out in Toronto right now and tell me what you think," remarked a satisfied Justin Arjoon, Toronto rally coordinator for CAPP.
The square started to fill after 12 p.m., and was crammed tight throughout the opening speeches. Despite the fact that the makeshift stage wasn't elevated enough to allow the majority of protesters an unobstructed view of the proceedings, the engagement level appeared high.
"Save our nation - stop prorogation," the crowd repeatedly chanted in unison.
Not surprisingly, among the standard issue signs, there were also a number of creative ones to be found.
Despite the obvious animosity directed toward Stephen Harper and his government's decision to prorogue parliament for the second time in as many years, this was anything but violent protest. The crowd was well behaved and proceeded in an orderly fashion throughout the march. In fact the most violence I witnessed was the hundreds of photographers jockeying for position over the course of the afternoon.
That's not, however, to imply that it was boring or completely tame. A bagpipe-led "funeral march" for parliament received considerable attention and provided a pretty good indication of the general attitude. There was a lot of humour bandied about, but it was obvious that it came from a place of exasperation.
At the front of the slow-moving march was a mixed-crowd of supporters carrying signs that could be flipped to read either "yes democracy!" or "no prorogation."
If anecdotal evidence can be trusted, there was a wide demographic represented today, and that's significant considering the group's online origins. In the days to come, there will likely be numerous debates on the significance of the protest, but the true test will come when the next federal election is called. CAPP participants can only hope their actions will have staying power in the minds of Canadians.
UPDATE (Sunday, January 24th):
Below is a Flickr slideshow with additional photos and video of the protest. If you'd like yours included, simply add it to the blogTO Flickr pool with the tag "proroguing" and it'll appear in the collection.
UPDATE (Sunday, Jan 24th):
Video of the demonstrations in Toronto and Ottawa.
Ottawa:
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Yes to Democracy, they yelled across from QUEEN station.
Beautiful! This is what democracy really means. Three cheers for CAPP!
A lot of these people were around for the protests against Jean Chretien and Pierre Trudeau proroguing parliament as well. Its sad that the governement continues long standing practices. Obviously these are people that have voted conservative in the past and are now changing allegiences. Harper is going to have to take notice
The only groups with clearly branded signs at a non-partisan event were the NDP and Greens...this was about democracy and they should be ashamed for getting that wrong. Even the Liberal's knew better than to 'brand' their party at an event for us all. I will vote and I know three parties who have lost my vote!
I have no problem with political parties attending the protests and "branding" signs. I thought it was fantastic that so many people across the country got out to voice their opinion. Harper was wrong if he thought no one would care.
Regarding the branded signs: the NDP were the culprits here, handing out orange placards with the NDP logo. I noticed only one Green sign at the Toronto rally. I think it is unfair to lump the NDP and the Green party together in terms of partisan signs. In future I would ask the NDP to kindly not pass out these sorts of signs at a non-partisan rally.
I can't stand Harper, but you know what? I really feel this issue is way bigger than Harper. I'm so down on the state of democracy in Canada that I'm seriously, seriously considering leaving this country to go live somewhere better. The Canada of 2010 is just not the Canada that I grew up in anymore. I work for the government, and the mindless, soulless Kafka-esque garbage I see every single day is enough to make me lose my sanity at this point. I hope something real comes of all of this, or frankly I'm out of here. No joke.
and secondly, you know what? That photo of the TTC employee sleeping on the job that everyone is getting so worked up about is nothing. There should be a photo of our Prime Minister doing the exact same thing. There could really be such a photo, I don't know LOL.
Fashion is not a democracy. It is a dictatorship.
Glad to see the numbers, if just as a message to Harper. That said, the signs and the speakers made it feel as if everyone was using the rally as an excuse to further their own causes. A bit of a disappointment, really.
'itsbiggerthanHarper', I'm with you, but where do you go? I have two years in Japan coming up, where I can live indefinitely. I also have an EU passport... Can't say I am excited about democracy in any of those places either.
As for Canada, I have been strategically voting against the 'Conservatives' for over two decades, since voting by conscience gets you nowhere in our system. Best you can do is vote against the most odious, though since I am in a stable Liberal riding, I have not always bothered to show up.
It's great that more Canadians than usual are getting the nuances of serial-prorogation. This is going to be Harper's Waterloo. Pretty stupid too, since I doubt our courts could have pinned the Afghan torture scandal on him (ain't much 'reasonable doubt' in my mind, but blood's on Chretien's hands too).
10,000 people is nothing. More people gathers for free concerts at the square. Harper must be laughing at home if he is seeing these pictures.
Actually, I'd say 10,000 Canadians (typically apathetic when it comes to mass-movements) is a pretty decent number.
We had a similar turnout in Ottawa too - amazing how many people felt compelled to go to a pro-democracy rally... in Canada. I wonder what this means for our political and social culture going forward. At least other banana republics have tropical weather to distract the masses... for awhile...
Well I wouldn't go that far -- it still smacks of another partisan rally, "ordinary canadians" on the left-of center persuasion. The Fed Libs prorogued, the provincial NDP prorogued, but only when the Cons do it, does it become an attack on democracy. And for all the calls to "change the rules" I can pretty much guarantee whoever forms the next government will conveniently forget that pledge once in office.
"I am in a stable Liberal riding"
Toronto's the last place in the country where the Liberals still have stable and steady support, I wonder how much longer that will last?
Prorogation is a natural step taken at the conclusion of a Parliamentary session, when the majority of the business set out in the government's Throne Speech has been finished. The difference between Harper's two prorogations of Parliament and any in recent memory that I can recall is that Harper has prorogued as a means of preventing Parliament from doing something. To put it another way, prorogation under Harper has been turned into a minority government weapon to manipulate our most important democratically-elected institution.
I attended the Toronto rally yesterday. I am not partisan and my sense of the crowd was that most people were there of their own accord. The Toronto-Danforth NDP association took advantage of the protest to show up and promote themselves. They passed a lot of placards out that said "Democracy Works" and "Stand Up to Harper". I don't believe the majority of the people holding those placards were NDPers. There were a few Green Party folks, a few members of the International Bolshevik Tendency, some guy who wanted to free Omar Khadr, others who were protesting Afghanistan, but my sense was the majority were much like me: present of our own accord to protest Harper's manipulation of Parliament and cynical abuse of our democracy.
Good for you for stepping out and participating, William. Let me clarify I was not slagging your efforts or the efforts of the people protesting. But I still stand by my original statement -- that the colors of the parties in power may change but their bullshit still stinks. Nothing will change.
The Harper government is causing the decay of Canadian democracy and leading us astray. From foreign policy, to the economy, to the environment, to press manipulation... we've never been so poorly represented by such an incompetent and disingenuous government.
The Conservatives are no longer showing majority numbers in the polls, and their weaselly tactics are backfiring.
It's interesting to see the variety of numbers coming in for the Toronto rally. I've seen a low of 3000 (The Star) to a high of 15,000 (organizers).
"we've never been so poorly represented by such an incompetent and disingenuous government."
At least not since the last one, eh?
That sounds about right. The Cons and their supporters will understate the protest as a low turnout, the rest will overstate it, and things will stay pretty much the same as always.
No, we've never before been so poorly represented by our government. It's disturbing and embarrassing and frightening.
Bullshit.
I really enjoyed the rally. I do not enjoy the letterbox.
I'm guessing Johnny Canuck's statement was a joke, Jerrold.
Actually it was a joke, Malcolm. Maybe Jerrold hasn't heard of them?
Wow, people who never voted Conservative in their lives telling us they won't vote for Stephen Harper. Big deal.
Looks like a pretty weak turnout too. We don't see any aerial shots, which means the crowd was a mile wide and an inch deep, a fact organizers would like to hide.
Oh, and nobody has EVER used hyperbole like Jerrold. Get a grip. Nobody will take you or your cause seriously if you keep spouting obvious bullshit.
I was surprised I didn't see any 'Conservatives for democracy' - or am I wrong to assume that Conservative party members are pro-democracy.
Hehe, well, not if they follow what the Prime Minister says. His take on this is that the government (the executive branch) functions better without the legislative branch. As such, this model is not particularly suitable to democracy, rather to any form of authoritarian regimes. And I say it without sarcasm, unfortunately.
Check out the event in St. Catharines: http://labourcouncil.blogspot.com/
Bruce Allen
President
St. Catharines & District Labour Council
Fantastic photos. The best ones I've seen.
Is Harper just following the model that Trudeau developed? I guess its only an issue when the liberals aren't in power
You have a point since the two times in Canadian history that the War Measures Act has been implemented occured while the Liberals were in power. But never mind the fact that the Tories fully supported the War Measures Act both times. Liberal double standards and hypocrisy are besides the point and just give the Tories a convenient excuse to deflect criticism of their own anti-democratic actions.
Pretty sure the screenshot of the middle picture is of an aerial shot. And I'd also be inclined to believe that a tiny turnout couldn't close Yonge St, Queen St, Bay St and College St. There's this great invention out now...called eyes.
Just saying.
All kings is mostly rapscallions.
War measures act?
Can up the hyperbole a little more?
If the action is so anti democratic then why did the governor general grant it? She could have said no
She allowed the prorogation because it is a normal part of parliament. There is only an issue because Jack and Michael discovered holding their breath wasn't working
The Governor General's actions should be welcome because they highlight the need to abolish the Governor General and by implication the monarchy and make this country a republic.
Stephen has changed my mind about continuing to support the conservatives.
He IS more like Pierre than I could have ever thought possible.
II live in an area where people vote conservative all the time , so they don't really therefore have to pat attention to political stuff and can concentrate on farming and earning a living.
For the first time however , I have heard " life long " conseratives saying they are losing trust in that approach. They are starting to realize that their previous supreme confidence in Conservatism bears review. Watch out PC's. This could be a sea change time!
Okay! I'm confused. Last I heard Canada was a Constitutional Monarchy. When did it become a democracy? If it is democracy that you want then you should protest to change the government system. Perhaps then, Harper and his goons wouldn't have the powers that they have to prorogue parliment at their beck and call. Of course, a democracy would make us more like the USA - and we know the problems they have!