Hundreds of demonstrators demanding the resignation of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair and an independent, public inquiry into police actions and treatment of G20 protesters thronged a rowdy but peaceful rally at Queen’s Park Thursday night.
Among the participating groups were Canadians Advocating Political Participation, Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, all there to decry what they called a violation of human rights over the G20 weekend, including alleged police intimidation, brutality and mass arrests.
“We want an independent review to take a good, long, hard look at the conditions in the detention facilities,” Shanaaz Gokool, a spokesperson with Amnesty International, told the cheering crowd gathered in front of the legislature.
“Who made the decision that Canadians could be treated like that?”
Tommy Taylor, a 29-year-old Toronto resident, told protesters he was arrested on Saturday night while getting a soda in front of City Hall. He described conditions at the G20 detention facilities as “out of a George Orwell novel.”
