Cornwall ON – Maybe it’s the timing? CBC is doing a special on the G 20 and what happened to hundreds of Canadians last year at
the hand of Police at the G20.
That event changed my perspective about media and working in the media. You see I was there. I went up on a bus to cover the event and by the time I left at 4 PM it was a peaceful event much of which wasn’t covered by the media including the CBC.
AMAZING MUST SEE PICS FROM THE TORONTO STAR
It felt like after the mainstream protest was over mayhem ensued. A police car was burnt and windows broken and then it seemed that in a simple reaction the police attacked not those who caused the mayhem, but those who simply were peacefully protesting their causes forever darkening the name of Toronto and Canada which takes a lot to do.
Rubber bullets used on peaceful Canadian protesters?
Cameras and Social Networking though really had an impact and gradually over time more people have started to realize what happened on those dark days.
To see the CBC Fifth Estate episode CLICK HERE.
My perspective of course is very different than many of those in that piece as I left by 4 PM Saturday.
I walked into the march, right through to the end with my camera shooting. I spoke with police at different locations and there was no menace to them; some smiled. There was very little tension on the seen.
Until essentially; like an order had been given everything changed to what we saw later.
Conformity has been bred into generations of young people; especially here in Canada and many people have a healthy respect of authority and trust. As I watch the CBC footage it shakes my belief and makes me ask questions and consider my trust levels societally. Maybe that’s a good thing.
But for me my memories of that momentous day were the real voices; the real messages some of which you can watch in the videos below.
Oxfam had a message
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z75LimvWJSc
Greenpeace’s Kumi Naidoo had a message too
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myCbOmxwUfo
Dylan McMullin sang about Marc Emery being locked up
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RztRgrnxn6I
and there were speeches…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTNMCdW2bGk
do these people look violent?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVf5a5ohrs0
or these?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-yGMjY6osA
or these?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vm8M3WTAa4
Please think about all of this when you go to vote. The people you vote for make the decisions that lead to events like this. When you look at events taking place across the world in places like Egypt, Libya, and Algeria it’s not about religion; or Democracy. It’s about justice, corruption, and being able to make a living and survive.
Bullets may change things quickly,but cameras and words last longer.
That goes way beyond partisan political lines. It’s about survival. What do you think Canada? You can post your comments below.
I saw the CBC show and I too am ashamed for my country. The police and those who allowed them to do such atrocities should be brought to justice. The police must have known that they were breaking the law as most of them had removed their name tags. We are not a police state.
We are perilously close to living in a police state. If it wasn’t for video cameras we’d be there now.
When I see a cop behind me, I now pull over and let them pass. I lost all my trust in police.
Harper sent the order to the police.
That is the new Conservative Canada. Wasted money, lost liberties, less freedom and subverting our hard earned and peacefully developed democratic process. I don’t blame the police for this. The play was scripted by Mr. Harper and the police were merely eager actors.
Thank you for sharing the messages legitimate protesters were there to give that day. Much of the media attention was drawn to the violence — by vandals and by police — and everything else lost in the wake of those reports.
With regard to police response, I really want to see an independent inquiry. Too many of the rights that my father fought for were trampled that day.
Elaine who would you want to do such an inquiry? And do you think it’d find the real answers?
There probably will be a public inquiry simply because the issue isn’t going away and many people are demanding one. Unfortunately these inquiries can’t assign blame, and any evidence that they uncover can’t be used in a criminal court. The only two inquiries that I followed, Walkerton and Ipperwash, didn’t seem to accomplish much. Anyone who had something to hide just developed a severe case of memory loss, and in some cases just outright lied.
Good post, admin. What was Harper thinking, holding the G-20 in Toronto? Who orchestrated the hoodie vandalism? Who orchestrated the police violence? Key questions: will we get to the bottom of them? The Fifth Estate has made a good start.
G20 event mirrored the facts current Canadian government is no difference from police countries. They can do anything for whatever reason to get what they want. All politicians are similar more or less about how they govern the country and control their people. Pure democracy is just a beautiful word in our imagination. We have a long way to go to get there. Hopefully media can help us with this.
Dalton McGuinty, the Leader of the Fiberals, has rejected a full G20 public inquiry. It would cost millions of dollars and the result would probably be all fibs anyway!