Our Observations from the People First Protest on Saturday, June 26, 2010
With the goal of attending as many events over the course of the G8/G20 Summits, the Civil Society Team of the G8 Research Group attended the peaceful portion of the protest on Saturday, June 26, 2010. We arrived at Queen’s Park around 12:40pm, and were greeted by the watchful eye of police in the subway station as we changed into our rain gear. We headed outside to find an overwhelming amount of people in the pouring rain, dancing to the drums, laughing, talking, and greeting each other. The number was later estimated to be a group of 10,000 protesters. Early on, we observed two things: one, the excitement of the crowd, and two, the diversity and range of ages of people in the crowd. After a short set of speeches, it was announced that women would lead the protest in recognition of the theme of Maternal and Child Health at this year’s Summit, and the march began, taking half an hour for all protesters to line up.
Our approach was to remain in an observational capacity and to study the protest. We stuck to the sidewalks as much as possible, allowing us the space to move up and down the protest line. We joined throngs of journalists covering the protest, and spent our time photographing the many different groups present at the protest and listening to chants and slogans such as “The people, united, will never be defeated”, “Whose Streets? Our streets!” or “Shame! Shame! Shame!”
We observed that the mood of the protest changed for the negative at the first sight of riot police. Despite the yelling, my observation of the police was that they were watchful and concentrating, but not unprofessional or angry. The police’s method was to have two lines of police – a soft line of regular cops in yellow rain jackets, and then one city block behind them, a line, two police deep, of riot police standing at the ready.
The diversity of groups present was visible – for example, labour unions, international NGOs like Amnesty International and Oxfam, groups protesting Human Rights abuses in China and individuals who showed up, unhappy with the security spending for the Summits and looking for an outlet of that emotion. The diversity of messages was united by the fact that everyone was against the G8/G20 Summits.
Shortly after, Black Bloc protesters appeared clad in their uniforms of black and with masked faces in the name of anonymity. We took shelter on the steps of Old City Hall and saw a group of an estimated 500 Black Bloc protesters and another 500 regular protesters come running down Queen, turning right on Bay. Apprehensive, we watched as the Black Bloc seemed to stand still, with an apparent absence of police presence, until we saw fire – the first police car had been set on fire. Unsure of the volatility of the situation, and aware that the TTC was closed, we headed north on foot and eventually made our way back to the IMC.
According to the Globe and Mail, National Post and other news sources with live feeds of the action, the protest started at Queen’s Park, went down University Avenue and turned west on Queen Street. As the end of the protest turned to march back up Spadina, a group of Black Bloc protesters assembled and took off running in the opposite direction of the protest. The organization No One is Illegal posted a letter on their blog describing the intentions of the Black Bloc to hit symbols of capitalism – Starbucks, the Financial District and the Police – while leaving small independent stores intact. While the security fence was not breached, writers Jaggi Smith and Robyn Maynard, members of No One is Illegal and the Anti-Capitalism Convergence, argue that the protest is a success for both the community mobilization and the expression of a clear non-capitalist agenda.
Protests and arrests are on going, and can be followed at the Globe and Mail, the National Post, and the Torontoist live feeds. A summary of the route and events can be found here.
Video footage of the Black Bloc protesters in Toronto is below, and our photos from the peaceful portion of the protest are in the right column.