By Alison@Creekside
The Public Safety Committee report on the G-20 tabled in the House on Friday calls for an independent inquiry into the decision-making by all levels of government that resulted in
- – the outrageous cost
- – the unprecedented arrests of over 1100 people, including journalists and people on their way home from work
- – the serious civil liberties violations perpetrated by security forces who appeared to be operating under the mistaken belief that martial law was in effect
- – the property damage
- – and the patronage funding
Excerpts:
“The Minister of Public Safety and government witnesses [refused] to identify the person or persons responsible for making the decisions that led to the mass arrests and mass rights violations.”
“The Committee finds it difficult to understand why the Toronto Police Force decided to arrest the more than 70 people who were sleeping in the University of Toronto gymnasium rather than arrest the many masked individuals who were in the crowd and were known to police.”
“Condemns the partisan spending in the Industry Minister’s constituency and asks the Government of Canada to develop a strategy to prevent future vote-buying with public funds.”
Strong language but entirely commensurate with the abuses catalogued.
Unmentioned in news articles about the committee’s report is the peculiar dissenting supplementary opinion appended to the report by the five Con members of the 11 member multi-party committee.
In eight paragraphs describing the G20 summit as “an unmitigated success,” the “Conservative Party of Canada” complains about “the Opposition Coalition” a total of five times.
And just in case you need a reminder of exactly how appalling the behavior of the “Conservative Party of Canada” was in these G20 committee hearings:
Thugs, hooligans and anarchists. Oh my.
Finished with the G20? Not even close.
Inside the Public Safety Committee: G20 preventative arrests
The Cons’ contempt for Parliament was just a part of their contempt for all of us.
