The following are the remarks I delivered on Nov. 10, 2010 to Breaching the Peace; G20 Summit: Accountability in Policing and Governance. This event is put on by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the National Union of Public and General Employees. Two days of Toronto hearings conclude today and Montreal will be the site of one day tomorrow. People affected and interested in the topic have been invited to make presentations.
Good morning. My name is Janet Money. I’m a Toronto resident and a volunteer with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. During the week of the G20 I was a CCLA “monitor”. That role meant that I was asked on certain shifts to observe G20 activities impartially and take notes, particularly of law enforcement and civilian interactions.
The reason why I have come forward to speak when my experience pales in comparison to that of so many who were brutally traumatized is that :
• What happened to me was, I feel, symptomatic of the policing problem of the weekend.
• And I hope that by giving my account and expressing my views, maybe some things can be learned.
It saddens me to admit that I’m talking about Canada.
Here is what happened to me:
• I was accosted on Friday afternoon, June 25th by Toronto Police officers A. Annetts and R. Court, when I was taking photos across the street from the Eastern Avenue detention centre. I was questioned and spoken to by Annetts with insolence and sarcasm.
• I can’t emphasize enough that the scene on the street was utterly peaceful at that time. There was nothing going on.
• I was asked for my name, address, date of birth, occupation, all of which were written down.
• I was grilled about where I was coming from, going, why I had various things with me.
• I was asked, “Have you ever been in trouble with the police before?”, and when I objected to that question, was told it was standard. I replied that it was designed to intimidate.
• We spoke for about 10 minutes until I asked if they were detaining me, they said no and I took my leave.
• I was left feeling disturbed and upset to be treated with what I felt was suspicion and even contempt.
Here is how my experience was symptomatic.
There are two ways to look at G20 policing.
One is to suggest that police were very unprepared to deal one-on-one with people informed about their rights. Their usual tactics, like asking “have you ever been in trouble with the police before?” were ineffective. So I suggest a focus on reforming the following:
• the usual tactics. One wonders whether the deplorable and degrading conditions inside the Eastern Avenue detention centre are the norm in every lockup in the city? I think this is a question that should be investigated;
• We need to look at more and better training for police (to equip them to deal with a broad cross-section of the population)
• And we need to look at — and we’ve heard this so often, a more diverse police force. What I am describing is in fact a class-based lack of understanding. During my conversation on Eastern Avenue, I was even asked, “Why are you talking like that?”
Police may be used to treating their ‘clientele’ like so-called ‘common criminals’ long before trial or conviction has occurred. Of course they should not do that, but work with me for a moment. The people they interacted with during the G20 were vehemently unwilling to accept that treatment. At marches and gatherings throughout the week, what were demonstrators to make of unwarranted bag searches and demands for identification? At the Saturday afternoon so-called family friendly protest march, what were families to make of armed-to-the-teeth commandoes in riot gear posing in combat position in front of the U.S. Consulate?
The second way you could look at G20 policing is that police and governments were well aware of who would be on the streets (predominantly peaceful political protestors), and just as aware that this population would not respond well to being herded, kettled and attacked. These tactics nonetheless deliberately used by police under government direction.
The result? The focus of the weekend was diverted completely from the actual G20 meeting to the activity outside.
Later in the summer I assisted the CCLA as a volunteer by working on the organization’s database of written complaints that were submitted from the public. So I have read several dozen accounts from people who were severely physically and mentally traumatized by their experiences at the hands of the police during the G20. I found that work was very difficult because of the nature of the material. But that discomfort pales in experience to having gone through those horrific ordeals.
I often find myself thinking about those people, wondering how they are doing. It was quite some time before it dawned on me that standing outside that facility just a few blocks from my home on that Friday afternoon talking with two officers, I could have easily been dragged inside, joined that group and held indefinitely.
It saddens me to admit that I’m talking about Canada when I say that.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak and for your attention.
