City
G20 protests hit Toronto in advance of summit
Despite trying to stay up to date with the Toronto Community Mobilization Network's protest schedule, I was caught off guard on Tuesday afternoon when I found myself in the middle of an anti-G20 protest.
So unfortunately I didn't have my good camera with me. But luckily, just when I resigned myself to being unable to document the event, I found my old point n' shoot in my backpack. Thank God!
It was a peaceful but loud protest calling for the promotion of LGBT rights in Canada and beyond. Followed by countless cops on bicycles and foot, protesters chanted: "We're here, we're fabulous, and we're against the G20!"
The march shut down a large section of Queen Street at University Avenue.
I ran into Susan Gapka, a city council candidate for Ward 27 and gay and lesbian rights activist, who explained that she was out to support her friends in the Queer community.
"I'm doing my very best to be a peaceful protester today," she told me as cops eyed us from every direction.
When I mentioned the heavy police presence, she added: "I'm trying to stay out of their way actually. As a trans-woman...I would do really poorly in police custody...and likely face violence."
Gapka, along with many others, will be at one of the G20's largest protests this Saturday, but "I'm not interested in getting too close to the fence...it may or may not be an asset to my political career."
Some fringe groups have indicated that they plan to move towards the fence on Saturday, so tension will be running high. This protest was anything but a challenge to security, but as participants sought to make their voices heard, it's likely that those in charge of securing the summit delegates were paying close attention.
Video:
Additional Photos:
Photos and video by Tomasz Bugajski.
Discussion
68 Comments
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
They definitely didn't use spray paint, it was more like washable crayon. Whatever it was, the writing looked like it could come off easily. Also, the police noticed and didn't seem to care about the drawing, so it wasn't a big deal.
These protesters need to get their heads out of their asses.
But some on Twitter have been exaggerating the vandalism caused by the protesters, so I just wanted to help set the record straight.
Are you for real? Guess what, my downtown is VERY important to me, and it's being blockaded for three days. My transit is important to me, but federal money is being spent on a fake lake.
Talk about heads up asses.
Or, perhaps you can offer up some better ideas as to how to make a positive change for equal rights? You did mention protesting at Pride Week, but that's like preaching to the converted, isn't it.
I love this city and have lived here my whole life, but this week isn't going to be pretty.
How would these folks like it if someone drew all over the Alexander Wood statue? It would be treated like a hate crime.
Every Canadian should be offended by this.
i am not being facetious, i am honestly curious.
It's really a shame to see how many police officers are patrolling the streets. I've been harassed on my way to and from work by police without provocation. I was at the beach taking photos and wading in the water with my boyfriend and two police officers on ATVs stopped us and questioned what we were throwing into the water (we were skipping stones).
This summit is costing the people of Canada and the residents of Toronto in many ways. For Canadians, it's flat out cash. For those of us in Toronto it's costing cash plus we're getting a first-hand look at how easily we can become a military city. I hope the rest of Canada is taking a good look at how quickly we loose our beloved freedom.
You're obviously an idiot. There's a summit about to happen. Everyone's getting harassed. They aren't singling you out. Don't do suspicious stuff like when there's an on edge atmosphere going on.
I'm glad they stopped you and your boyfriend. It's better that they play it safe than just assume you're harmless and something really bad happens.
The G8/G20 meetings focus on global issues. LGBTTIQQA rights may not be as much of an issue here, but they are in many of the countries that are the focus of the G8/G20 meetings. This week's/weeekend's protesters aren't focussed just on Canadian or Ontarian or Torontonian issues, but global issues, mirroring the focus of the G8/G20 meetings. Think of how many countries being gay or trans etc. is illegal and the punishments meted out in such countries against these individuals.
But even if we just consider Toronto...
Bob, re: "They need somebody on the inside". George Smitherman. Openly gay MPP. Running for Toronto Mayor in October.
JB, re: "Toronto is one of the most liberal cities in the world with regards to transgendered rights". This might be true, but it's still not close to a perfect system. Toronto is also supposed to be one of the most multicultural cities in the world, yet racial discrimination and profiling still happens every day.
The other supports the rights of transgendered individuals in Ontario, which is a valid concern. While there have been tremendous improvements in gay rights in the past 20 years, the same can't be said for transgendered individuals.
If you protest with violence, that is another story.
Daniel .. Toronto
Get my take on the G20 - http://bit.ly/9GJsbJG20
Seriously, though, I'm sure these protesters have legitimate concerns, but in the climate of this city right now, nobody has an appetite for this.
Everybody's daily routines are being thrown upside down by this summit. The average Joe doesn't give a damn about what protestors are going on about. All they see is another disruption and sure as hell aren't going to be sympathetic to your cause if you make him late for work.
Legitimate groups (and I'm not talking about the masked jag-offs who are looking solely to cause trouble) have to pick their battles.
Here's a question: How many people remember the G8 summit held in 1988 in Toronto? Anyone remember any extreme scureity measures? No? That's because very little happened back then so security was less over the top than now. I haven't heard the media referring to it at all. There's a reason for that.
If people come to make trouble (rather than simply march) then of course security needs to be tighter. Putting all the blame on organizers ignores the way things have developed over the history of the event. I'd rather it was somewhere else like the rest of you, but the security is there for a reason.
The answer is none.
A lot of these protests have nothing to do with G8 and world economic issues. They just want some attention.
The Gay Rights movement gets more and more fragmented and watered down every year to the point where all that is left is to fight for silly things like the right to show one's boobs on the street.
You're right that trans people have civil rights protection. However, transgender health care is absolutely dismal in Ontario. Trans people are limited to the GICs at the CAMH for draconian mental health services.
Trans people in Ontario are not approved for surgery until they are 21 years of age, so many must wait years for legal recognition of their gender, which leads to problems whenever ID is required for services. Needless to say travelling outside of the country is out of the question for those who don't want to out themselves.
The protestors defaced it. This is a cut and dry issue. What the protestors did was wrong. End of story.
-George Santayana
You have one warped perspective.
All i see in the photo's are freaks with bad taste in clothing, trying to protest for something that to me is still very unclear, vandalizing property, expecting to be heard as if they were crying babies. Hey! Has anyone tried to do something good, being a good leader and getting your message across with a positive attitude? Showing our WORLD LEADERS how to do their jobs?
And for the Tranny's... do you have no shame? God has given you something to work with, not to change it to how you would like it to look, feel, taste. And then you create a sign of no WORLDLY importance and expect respect for it? YOU make me laugh. Poor little birds in the oil spill. I thought you had it bad
In Canada there are none.
Of course you are the same morons who protest Israel and support Palestine even though Israel allows gay marriage and you'd probably be stoned to death for it in a free Palestine.
In Saudi Arabia, a member of the G20, homosexuals have the death penalty.
Most of the G20 countries do not permit same-sex marriage or civil unions
And, unfortunately, even in places like Canada, there are still homophobic attitudes and the majority of violent hate crimes in Canada are motivated by sexual orientation.
Transgender can refer to any sort of cross gender behavior... people who experience transvestitism, drag entertainers. It also refers to transsexuals.
Transsexuals are a group of people who identify and seek to live as as a member of the sex opposite to the one which they were assigned at birth... most of them seek gender reassignment therapy.
You're correct ... minister for heath George Smitherman relisted SRS a few years ago but it is easier said than done to jump though the hoops of getting approved.
Do us all a favor and stay home. Watch the protests on tv, make some signs and parade around your living room. The last thing we need is one more knucklehead downtown looking for attention. Completely detracts away from legitimate protesters that actually believe in something and have something to say.
My advice: come to Queen's Park at 12pm on Saturday to participate in the main march. Come a little early if you can, to pick up some literature, ask questions, and take in the energy of the movement in solidarity. You'll be glad that you participated in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and later you can speak about it first-hand, instead of all the angry trolls that regurgitate what they read from the newspaper.
Just remember that not everyone in Toronto is an a-hole. Not every Torontonian forgets that a lot of people with jobs have the weekend off work and are interested in doing something constructive and intellectual with their free time, like learn and be open to different opinions and cultures. There is some real beauty to be found here. Be at the protest this weekend. See the city in action.
"Sodomy (pronounced /ˈsɒdəmi/) is a term used in the law to describe the act of "unnatural"[1] sex, which depending on jurisdiction can consist of oral sex or anal sex or any non-genital to genital congress, whether heterosexual, or homosexual, or with human or animal.[2]"
But I do see your point.
Daniel .. Toronto
http://bit.ly/Daniel2010
I'm no stranger to the internet, but can Toronto have THAT many trolls? I give the benefit of the doubt and assume most of these posts are attempts at dry sarcasm, but what worries me is that they might actually be... serious. Is that possible?
Every city has its 'opinionated' people on both sides of the spectrum. Blanketing everyone else on the comment board is unfair.
If you engage in a conversation with someone that lives in this city (Toronto proper), I think you will find that most are politically aware and open-minded to new ideas and concepts. Toronto is a great city, but you have to participate in it (in person) to figure that out. Something that these haters don't quite get, or don't care for.
Good luck.
"..a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response[1] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion." -Wikipedia
Try going a little easier on your fellow readers and you'll be taken more seriously. While I appreciate your points, I do think that some of your sweeping generalizations are a mis-proportionate representation of the other participants of the conversation.
And with that, I'm done on the subject. I came here to discuss, not to argue. Enjoy your weekend, and be safe at the protests.
"In Saudi Arabia ... homosexuals have the death penalty.
Most of the G20 countries do not permit same-sex marriage or civil unions..."
WELL, GO PROTEST AND BREAK WINDOWS THERE!
Why don't you go to protest in Saudi Arabia instead?
Your protests in Toronto, Canada - regarding Saudi Arabia or *other* countries - are simple abuse of our canadian democracy.
Oh wait, I know why are you protesting in Canada instead of Saudi Arabia: because it safe to do it here, isn't this the reason why all the protests regarding foreign countries and their citizens are organized ONLY in western countries?
You people are just leeches on our democracy, nothing more.
God forbid the western countries would try to apply any pressure on i.e. Saudi Arabia - idiots like you would have immediately organized protests against western countries trying to change the arabian culture or against discrimantion of Islam "culture" LOL
You are so pathetic.
1) I won't be one of the protesters breaking windows and being violent, nor will the majority of protestors. And I certainly despise those violent tactics.
2) You have an odd idea of democracy. My idea of democracy is that free political discourse, including protest, enhances the exchange of ideas and gives visibility to a cause so that governments recognize the cause and take it seriously - peaceful political protest has been the pillar of major social change in western modern democracies. It worked in the labour movement, it worked in the civil rights movement, it worked in California in Harvey Milk's time, and it worked in the Stonewall Riots in NYC.
3) You're right - we do have freedom of speech in Canada (to an extent) and I could not protest in this way in many countries. So obviously I will do it here, with the message that if the emerging economies want to join the world, they'd better get their human rights in line.
I ask because I know that much of what is going on in current society is very comforting and easy and yet somehow feels wrong. Being governed primarily by media seems wrong. That the largest issues being addressed by protesters appear to be 'people aren't nice enough to me' and 'I don't get paid as much as so-and-so' seems short sighted. I am sure these issues are of great importance to many people but surely there are other issues as well to be brought to the attention of the leaders of the free world? I don't know if this is simply the way the news is portraying it (I am not in Toronto to see for myself) but I would be interested to know more.