Thousands protest in Toronto demanding justice for Regis Korchinski-Paquet
Thousands of people took to the streets of downtown Toronto Saturday afternoon in response to the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet.
Just two days after the 29-year-old woman fell from a Toronto highrise while police were on the scene, masked protestors gathered to demand answers surrounding her death and to call for the end of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism worldwide.
A peaceful protest is being held in Toronto this afternoon for Regis Korchinski-Paquet 🗣 #Toronto #JusticeForRegis #NotAnotherBlackLife #BlackLivesMatters #RegisKorchinskiPaquet pic.twitter.com/q65mkqE71Y
— blogTO (@blogTO) May 30, 2020
The event was organized by Not Another Black Life, a group formed shortly after Korchinski-Paquet's death.
A protest march is being held from Chrstie Pits to Queen's Park today for Regis Korchinski-Paquet - 📹 @hectoravasquez #Toronto #JusticeForRegis #BlackLivesMatter #RegisKorchinskiPaquet pic.twitter.com/h81AxRtojX
— blogTO (@blogTO) May 30, 2020
Rallyers first gathered in Christie Pits this afternoon. The protest originally intended to make its way to Queen's Park, but given it was already being occupied by anti-lockdown protestors, the walk ended at the Toronto Police Headquarters at College and Bay instead.
Crowds are marching for Regis Korchinski-Paquet this afternoon in Toronto - 📹 @hectoravasquez #Toronto #JusticeForRegis #RegisKorchinskiPaquet #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/Af888OJU0z
— blogTO (@blogTO) May 30, 2020
According to the event's Facebook group, masks were mandatory at the protest, and indeed the vast majority of attendees today wore face coverings
Massive Toronto Anti-racism & #JusticeForRegis protest march stretches from Huron to Avenue Rd along Bloor #blmto @blogTO pic.twitter.com/8GEYi7ZDeD
— Martin Reis (@BikeLaneDiary) May 30, 2020
Thousands chanted and held signs saying "Black Lives Matter", "Protect Black Women" and "Justice For Regis".
Thousand peacefully marching for #JusticeForRegis pic.twitter.com/rqfbPCQ1rD
— Klara Quinton (@KlaraQuinton) May 30, 2020
Korchinski-Paquet's death Wednesday is still being investigated by Ontario's police watchdog following claims from her family that she was pushed off the apartment balcony by Toronto Police.
Massive protest in Toronto. Black lives matter! #JusticeForRegis #JusticeForFloyd pic.twitter.com/pRV7phPS8e
— Nicholas Thompson (@meetnicholas) May 30, 2020
Not Another Black Life's demands include an independent investigation of the matter, oversight of the Special Investigations Unit, and for officers who were on the scene to be criminally charged.
Thousands join protest in Toronto following the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet https://t.co/6yTtFeQpdp
— H A N K M O O D Y 🇩🇴 (@thereal_jeyster) May 30, 2020
The 29-year-old's death is not an isolated incident when it comes to problematic policing in Black communities in Ontario. In April, a 26-year-old Black man named D'Andre Campbell was fatally shot by Peel police. In 2016, Peel officers also handcuffed a six-year-old Black girl at her school.
SAY THEIR NAMES
— SKII (@pen0el) May 30, 2020
George Floyd
Trayvon Martin
Breonna Taylor
Ahmaud Arbery
Tamir Rice
Oscar Grant
Eric Garner
Philando Castile
Samuel Dubose
Sandra Bland
Walter Scott
Terrence Crutcher
REGIS KORCHINSKI-PAQUET
Tony McDade
Coupled with the Amy Cooper incident, the unfolding riots in the United States sparked by the murder of George Floyd and other publicized killings Black civilians like Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor in the last few months alone has sparked similar anti-Black racism protests across Canada.
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