The mood leading up to this weekend’s G20 summit and the protest
against it became increasingly tense throughout the week. The police
and the state spent plenty of time informing the public of its vast
arsenal, troop numbers, facilities, and readiness to defend the
fence—itself a graphic symbol of the growing class divide not only here
in Canada, but around the world.
Photo by katerkate.Throughout
the week discussion on the streets, and in the restaurants and cafés
of Toronto, was focused on the summit. Many people expressed anger
about the G20 and the policies of austerity to bail out the banks and
multinational corporations. But, the police’s intimidation tactics also
worked—many stated that they would not attend the mass labour rally
planned for Saturday, 26th June. These people were rightfully concerned
about the potential for violence. However, the overwhelming majority of
people were afraid of violence, not on the part of protestors and
activists, but on the part of the police. It was clear that people were
afraid of police attacks. The police had created this atmosphere
intentionally via all the press releases and threats made before the
demonstration. It was abundantly clear that the police forces were
itching for a fight.
Many people were justifiably angry at the disgusting and hypocritical
$1.3-billion security price tag for the summit. All we have heard from
the Harpers, Ignatieffs, and McGuintys is that there is no money for
housing or health care, no money for pensions, no money to keep
factories and maintain jobs and wages. Because there is apparently no
money for anything, which is a boldfaced lie when we all know corporate
profits are at record highs, the working class is being forced into
paying for the bosses’ crisis. The fact the government suddenly came up
with $1.3-billion, which could cover and fund many a social program or
pension, to cover the security costs of the summit was a slap in the
face, not only to the people of Toronto and Ontario, but the working
class and trade unions of the entire country.
To back up the bravado and swagger of the police forces and riot
squads, the provincial government quietly and secretly passed draconian
legislation giving police sweeping powers to arbitrarily stop, demand
identification, search, and arrest anyone, without cause, within five
metres of the security fence.
protesters. Photo by Sweet One.Of course, the police were
not content with these sweeping, anti-democratic, and
anti-constitutional powers. They wanted more power—power to abuse the
rights of Toronto’s citizens, power to arbitrarily intimidate and
arrest people. Many officers, whom I myself personally witnessed,
attempted to intimidate and harass scores of people into showing
identification and allowing to be searched far from the jurisdiction of
the security fence, and well before any demonstrating. Through the
course of the day, one could observe repeated examples of the police
breaking all democratic, constitutional and legal norms, even when
considered in the context of their new police state powers.
Myself and two other Fightback members were stopped at the
intersection of Church and Wellesley at 8:30 am as we made our way to
Queen’s Park to set up our stall and info table for the labour
demonstration planned for later that afternoon. As we walked down the
street with a box of pamphlets and leaflets, a black unmarked SUV
screamed up to the sidewalk and four plainclothes officers jumped out
and ran at us—showing their badges and shouting that we stop and show
them what was in the box.
the fact that the police had no right whatsoever to stop us or to ask
us anything, we had nothing to hide—the box was full of leaflets and
pamphlets. We stopped and politely spoke to the police, showing them
the contents of the box. They then asked us for identification. We
refused, stating that the police were out of their jurisdiction and that
the new draconian search and arrest laws only applied within five
metres of the fence, and that we would not comply with their request as
they had no probable cause whatsoever to stop us and ask us anything,
informing them as well that they had no right to ask us what was in the
box and that we were voluntarily complying with their request.
The police were very angry and irritated at this, and clearly
regretted that we live in a “civilized society” based on the rule of
law (though this certainly was not the case in Toronto this weekend).
They were looking for any excuse to break the draconian laws they had
just been granted. These officers told us that they were aware of the
jurisdiction zone for their new powers, and stated that they were not
in fact asking to see our ID (which they had), and stated that they
were simply asking whether we had ID, not asking whether we would show
it to them. We told them that we of course had ID. Naturally and
predictably, the officers asked again to see our identifications,
seeing as we had ID and there was no problem apparently with their
request (aside from that little snag that it was completely illegal).
We flat-out refused. Much to their chagrin, and despite their angry red
faces, the police had to let us go and “allow us” to carry on doing
what we have a democratic right to do—to walk down the street carrying a
box without having to show ID, or justify why we were walking down the
street.
When we arrived at the demonstration site, we learned that the police
had already illegally and arbitrarily stopped our other comrades who
were already at the park, asked them for ID, and searched them.
the week had been tense, then it certainly was all the more so as the
protestors and demonstrators made their way to Queen’s Park. The
massive and draconian police presence could be felt throughout the
downtown core as the police randomly stopped, searched, identified, and
took the possessions of protestors—all of this many blocks away from
the perimeter of the fence, i.e. well outside the five-metre perimeter
of the security fence where the new Public Works Protection Act came
into effect.
After making a quick stop at a nearby union hall to meet up with some
of the union contingent and get some supplies (plastic rain coats,
coffee and food, and earplugs for the “sonic weapon” the police had
been threatening to deploy, etc.) some of us made our way back to
Queen’s Park where we saw two protestors being stopped and harassed by
the police. This was at the corner of College and Spadina—very far away
indeed from the security fence.
As we walked down the opposite side of the street, we saw a woman who
was trying to help these two youths and ascertain what exactly the
police were doing. After attempting to intimidate her, humiliate her,
and swearing at her and using generally abusive language (“Fuck off old
lady”) the woman began to take photos of the police abuse with her
iPhone. The police tried to grab her phone away from her and threaten
her with arrest—obviously aware that they were breaking the law by
illegally stopping and searching the protestors. She informed them that
she had every right to photograph their abuse of the law and told them
that she was a Globe and Mail journalist, which really set
the cops off. They then demanded to see her press credentials, implying
that she would be lined up with the two protestors and even arrested
if she did not comply! She politely informed them that she did not need
press credentials or identification to walk down the street or to take
photos of the police abusing the law and abusing the two protestors’
rights. When the conversation between her and one particularly oafish
officer got heated and she swore, he threatened to arrest her for
swearing at him. She again informed this officer of the law, explaining
that she could say anything she wanted to the police, and that this
was her right, and that she could not be arrested on those grounds.
As soon as we had seen the police reaching for her phone and
physically intimidating her, we made our way over to see what was
happening. She relayed what had happened and was clearly livid at the
draconian and abusive actions of the police. In fact, in a process that
would be repeated throughout the day, her entire consciousness and
understanding of the G20 summit, of the police, of the state, and of
society in general had completely changed, right before our very eyes.
She had even explained that she was not too concerned with the G20 or
the policies of austerity it was going to decide upon; she firmly
believed this would have little effect on her, and that she had joked
earlier in the week with friends (writers for the right-wing Macleans
magazine) that she, in fact, wanted to go to the demonstration and
protest the protesters—to hold up a placard that read, “Content with the
status quo.” By the end of her ordeal with the officers, she was
incensed. She compared Toronto to a police state, angrily denouncing the
sweeping powers given to police, and the abuse of these
already-sweeping powers.
She could not believe that these two youths had been arbitrarily
stopped and abused on the streets by the officers. She bemoaned the
fact that “Canada used to be a democracy,” and wondered aloud what this
meant for the future. After the two protestors were released and
after many of their possessions had been take by police (including
t-shirts and banners), we all met up to compare notes and exchange
information and discuss what this recent event meant for the rest of
the day. We all walked away with a sense of foreboding, particularly
as the three cop cars that had stopped the protestors drove slowly by
us, with our cop friends staring at us menacingly and uttering what
could only be taken as threats as they went by in a clear attempt to
intimidate us.
Photo by Tom Cardoso.As we made our way back up to
Queen’s Park, both the presence of the demonstrators and police was on
the increase. As protestors streamed into the area the police presence
was stepped up. Even more shocking was that the police had not shut
down traffic on University Ave., creating a very dangerous situation as
the crowd spilled out onto the streets and motorists were trying to
avoid running them over. The potential for an accident was extremely
high, and the cops didn’t seem to care about this. This symbolized the
utter hostility the police had to the labour movement and the
demonstration. While not necessarily confrontational at this point in
time, they were definitely an intimidating presence—and again the
message clear. While the police have to recognize and acknowledge our
right to demonstrate and protest, it was clear that, in reality, they
were nothing but hostile, and very much regretted that we had any such
rights.
And this is something that every worker, every trade unionist, every
socialist, and all radical youth must understand: while the excuse for
the massive police presence and the blustering swagger of the riot cops
was the black bloc and the threat of violence and destruction of
property (and, indeed, this threat was very real as we can graphically
see downtown with the aftermath of the riot), the real intention for the
police presence was to intimidate and send a message to the labour
movement.
When the black bloc finally did break off and begin their march (or
run) of destruction, this was all the excuse the police needed to
crackdown and turn the downtown core into a veritable police state,
with all but martial law declared. Throughout the day, everyday people
and activists alike compared the situation downtown with Trudeau’s
declaration of the War Measures Act in 1971 during the FLQ crisis—not
to mention several other nasty historical examples. This comparison is
even more glaring when we consider that the actual target of the War
Measures Act was the left-wing activists and trade unionists from coast
to coast to coast. However, as this article is being written, there
have been more arrests during the G20 in Toronto than there were during
the FLQ crisis!
attracted between 20,000 and 30,000 people, a sizeable number when we
take the intimidation, fear, and rainy weather into account. When the
labour march started south down University Ave. at approximately 1:00
pm, we quickly arrived at the US consulate—and the intimidation tactics
of the police. The police had surrounded the demo on all sides, and in
fact were at the front of the march pointing guns at the
demonstration. Apparently we have the right to free speech, to
assemble, and to demonstrate, but only so long as we do not step out
line. The US consulate was surrounded by barricades. As the demo
approached, a large contingent of heavily armed riot cops, who as yet
had not been seen in force by the demonstrators, and looking like
something straight out of Fallout 3, marched in from a side
street to bolster the barricades, smashing their batons as they moved
into formation. These riot cops were already in addition to the other
hundred or so regular and bike officers that were bolstering the same
area.
It had seemed obvious to us that the police were itching for a fight.
Their entire attitude in the weeks up to the demonstration made this
clear. However, it was when we saw this incident at the US embassy that
we realized that the long-expected battle between the black bloc and
the police was going to happen.
No one on the demonstration seemed particularly bothered about
passing the US consulate. As the march snaked by, some shouting and
booing could be heard as we were herded like cattle down the street
past the consulate. It was only when the riot cops made a disgusting
show of force that the demonstrators got unruly. It was clear that the
police were attempting not only to intimidate the labour demonstration,
but that they were also trying to provoke it.
protesters. Photo by Squirrel Brand.As soon as the riot
cops showed up and began moving into position, the shouting and anger
on the part of the demonstrators boiled over as one elderly gentleman
made his way over the barricade, calling on others to join him. While
it was an admirable display of defiance and resistance, it was all
quickly over as 6-8 riot officers pounced on this man and literally
beat him into submission. This incensed the demonstration, and
protestors hurled angry and creative abuse at the shock troops, and
nothing more as we eventually filed past.
As the demonstration made its way down University Ave., the new
Toronto, the one that looked like a police state, was clearly visible.
The police had regular and bike officers blocking all intersections,
with rows of riot cops behind each line blocking the next intersection.
The mounted officers could be seen behind them in strategic positions.
Many people were shocked by the police presence. The truly amazing
thing was to watch the transformation in the consciousness of many
regular, everyday people, workers, and youths on the march. Many of
these were not activists or demonstration veterans, and many were
shocked, dismayed, and horrified at the police behaviour.
Many Canadians, for one reason or another, have illusions that Canada
is the “best country to live in the world.” Rightly or wrongly, many
of these people firmly believe in, and are proud of, Canada’s
“democracy,” and value very highly our rights to free speech, to free
association, and to demonstrate.
of these illusions were torn asunder on the G20 march and the first
shocks to people’s political consciousness took place. What we all need
to remember is that these things we all value are not privileges, but
rights. We don’t just have these rights because Canada is a nice place,
or because our government is nice and good, or because Canadians are
polite, quiet people. We have these rights because they were demanded,
fought for, and won by the struggles of the labour movement. These
rights do not simply exist in a vacuum and they are certainly not
written in bronzed or written in stone. As was proven by the McGuinty
government’s secret passing of these draconian anti-constitutional laws
under the Public Works Protection Act, these rights only really exist
precisely until when they are needed most. They mean nothing to the
ruling class, and they will not hesitate to scuttle them, not only when
their system is threatened, but when they fear that our voices may be
raised loud enough to question their system. These rights were torn from
the hands of the ruling class and the state and there is a constant
tug of war between us, the people, and them, the ruling class. As we
fight to protect and extend these rights, they use every opportunity to
take them away.
And this was the message from the state, from the armed bodies of men
in Canada. In the final analysis, the police, the army, the forces of
the state, are designed to do one thing—protect private property,
protect the means of production, and to protect private property
relations, i.e. capitalism.
While in the past, mainly due to the unprecedented economic boom
after the Second World War, capitalism was able to afford reforms,
especially when faced with the struggles of the organized labour
movement. Given this situation, the state and the capitalist class
granted these concessions because at the time, it was the best and most
effective and efficient means to protect private property relations.
But all of that has changed now. The current economic crisis, nothing
short of the failure of capitalism, means that the bosses can no
longer afford the reforms of the past, let alone any new ones. The
bosses have announced that the golden age of class collaboration and
social peace are over, that we will no longer have a welfare state,
pensions, unemployment insurance, etc. In order for them to maintain
profits and keep the capitalism system solvent, the bosses need to
drive through an entire series of austerity measures, including factory
closures, mass layoffs and sackings, wage cuts, deep cuts to the
welfare state and privatizations. These packages will amount to the
utter destruction of the gains made by the working class over the last
50 years.
by hakwking3141.The bosses, and their armed bodies of men
in the state are very much aware that the democratic rights we won in
the past are now a barrier to protecting private property and
capitalism. From their point of view, there is too much democracy and
we have too many rights—rights to free speech, free association, the
right to demonstrate, and above all, the right to strike. Now, these
rights directly threaten the “proper” functioning of capitalism. While
it may perhaps not be the best, most effective or most efficient means
of protecting capitalism and private property, it has become absolutely
necessary for the bosses to attack and take away all of these rights
in order to ram through their austerity packages.
As we made our way past the rows of riot police to the intersection
of Queen and Spadina, the demonstration began to fragment and splinter.
The main march, led by the unions, headed north up Spadina to make its
way back to Queen’s Park. Some demonstrators, clearly not the black
bloc but holding CUPE and Steelworker local flags, turned south to the
line of riot cops, urging everyone to join them in “challenging the
line.” This challenge was far more political than physical, and at this
time the front lines were not filled with fighting and shouting, but
singing and chanting. It was much more a political statement than a
direct challenge to the presence and authority of the police. It wasn’t
very long until the entire intersection was filled with people. As
the main demonstration continued to file past along Queen St., many
headed up north back to Queen’s Park while many others stayed, waiting
to see if this was where the black bloc would attempt to penetrate
police lines and attack the fence.
The black bloc was in the process of converging at the corner of the
intersection. At a certain point a road flare was lit by a group of
Maoists who had stood at the southern front lines for a time. The road
flare disoriented and frightened the crowd and confused the police.
It was at this point that the black bloc split off from both the
main demo and the large contingent of peaceful protesters at the corner
of Queen and Spadina. They took off back eastwards down Queen,
shouting through megaphones and urging everyone to “Head East! To the
Fence!” It was at this point that the police momentarily lost control
and all hell broke loose—just long enough for the police to regain
control and allow the black bloc to smash up downtown.
allowing the black bloc to storm down Queen, torch a police car, and
smash windows, the police moved to reposition themselves around the
intersection of Queen and Spadina, leaving the westerly direction open
but blocking the road south and back east. Many, including some in the
media, have wondered if the cars were left empty on the streets
precisely so the black bloc would torch them.
The bloc was able, somehow, despite the mass aggressive police
presence at every single intersection along the route of the
demonstration, to roam freely north and south up Bay Street, smashing
windows of a few Starbucks, banks, and other shops. The cops eventually
gave chase—driving the blockers up Bay and seemingly driving them
towards areas where they could do more damage, and also towards Queen’s
Park, where the peaceful demonstration was wrapping up. Meanwhile,
another group moved up and down Yonge Street, smashing a bunch of shops
up to College Street.
While the details are unclear, it appears that the black bloc had
split into several groups and ran amok downtown during this brief flash
of chaos. The cops drove one group to Queen’s Park, where the black
blockers joined the entirely peaceful labour demonstration, and changed
into “civilian” clothing.
This was all the excuse the police needed. The cops let
loose—charging the park and arbitrarily attacking the crowd. This crowd
was composed of trade unionists waiting for buses and other peaceful
demonstrators and activists wrapping up and getting ready to go home.
The police beat anyone in site, including hot dog vendors and many in
the media.
The mounted police were sent in and tear gas and rubber bullets were
apparently used, something William Blair, Toronto’s Chief of Police
blatantly denied and lied about at his press conference some 30 minutes
later. When a journalist informed him that he had footage of cops using
rubber bullets and indiscriminately attacking media and other peaceful
demonstrators, our Chief of Police choose to basically call him a liar
rather than simply face the facts.
This was also the case when another journalist asked why peaceful
protests had been broken up at the “Tent-In” at Allan Gardens, and
people, including his photographer, had been arbitrarily and brutally
beaten and arrested. Blair stated that only perpetrators of violence
had been arrested and that innocent and curious bystanders would be
given a chance to leave an area before they would be arrested. This was
countered by the journalist who stated that he had his photographer’s
footage and it showed that when the photographer was beaten and
arrested, there was no black bloc present and no violence whatsoever.
Again, rather than face the facts, this journalist was basically called a
liar.
Meanwhile, protestors and demonstrators snaked through downtown to
see the damage and continue the peaceful protests. The riot cops moved
to retake downtown—marching and beating their batons on their shields
to intimidate innocent bystanders and peaceful protestors.
Steve
Paikin, a noted and respectable journalist from TVOntario,
has a very informative and objective look at what was happening from
here via Twitter. Precisely because of the rioting and violence, the
police had all the probable cause they needed to read the riot act and
clear the downtown streets, now in full panic mode. They had all the
probable cause to arbitrarily stop and arrest people and violently
clear the streets, regardless of the proximity to the fence. The black
bloc was gone—either arrested or disappearing in the crowd. The
demonstrators downtown were peaceful and very much middle class, as was
noted by Paikin and other journalists. The protestors were snaking
through downtown when all of a sudden, the cops opened fire on a group
of peaceful protestors.
The protestors chanted “peaceful protest” and raised their hands in
the air. Paikin characterized the attack as an “unprovoked attack by
the police.” He explains that the entirely peaceful crowd was prepared
to disperse and leave the area but the cops attacked anyway.
As the cops launched an all-out assault on protestors throughout the
downtown core, people became very interested in defending their
democratic rights. There were no longer any banners or slogans, the only
cause now being the right to assemble. Many explained that they were
there not because they were radicalized youth, but because they were
responding to what they had seen the police do and how they had behaved
that very day.
Eventually, a group of peaceful protestors had made their way to
Novotel, a hotel on the Esplanade downtown where the workers are
currently on strike. The protestors had gone down to the hotel to
organize a solidarity picket. As far as we understand from reports,
Novotel workers were on the picket line and protestors sat in the street
in solidarity.
The cops moved in on all sides and a new riot squad moved in. Despite
the fact that the protestors were adamant that their demonstration was
peaceful, the cops moved in violently, firing rubber bullets and
overwhelming the crowd. We also have reports that Novotel workers were
also fired upon, beaten, and arrested. Four of our own Fightback
comrades were arrested for simply showing solidarity with the striking
Novotel workers. Demonstrating the baseless nature of the police’s
arrests, one by one they are being released as this report is being
written, having being charged with nothing. As the scene exploded Paiken
was escorted away by the police. As soon as he got to a computer,
this is what he tweeted:
“i saw police brutality tonight. it was unnecessary. they asked me to
leave the site or they would arrest me. i told them i was dong my job.“they repeated they would arrest me if i didn’t leave. as i was
escorted away from the demonstration, i saw two officers hold a
journalist.“the journalist identified himself as working for "the guardian." he
talked too much and pissed the police off. two officers held him….“a third punched him in the stomach. totally unnecessary. the man
collapsed. then the third officer drove his elbow into the man’s back.“no cameras recorded the assault. and it was an assault[…]
“i can appreciate that the police were on edge today, after seeing
four or five of their cruisers burned. but why such overreaction
tonight?“the demonstration on the esplanade was peaceful. it was like an old
sit in. no one was aggressive. and yet riot squad officers moved in.“police on one side screamed at the crowd to leave one way. then
police on the other side said leave the other way. there was no way
out.“so the police just started arresting people. i stress, this was a
peaceful, middle class, diverse crowd. no anarchists“literally more than 100 officers with guns pointing at the crowd.
rubber bullets and smoke bombs ready to be fired. rubber bullets fired“we must make a distinction between the "thugs" who broke store
windows and torched cop cars and the very reasonable citizens who…“…just wanted to remind the authorities that the freedom to speak
and assemble shouldn’t disappear because world leaders come to town.“i have lived in toronto for 32 years. have never seen a day like
this. shame on the vandals.“and shame on those that ordered peaceful protesters attacked and
arrested. that is not consistent with democracy in toronto, G20 or no
G20.”
In addition to the beaten Guardian journalist, different
media outlets were reporting their own members having fallen victim to
the police attacks. The CBC reported that two of their interns had
been arrested and even the rabidly right-wing National Post
lost two of their journalists to arrest.
The police were itching for their fight, itching to put that
$1.3-billion to good use against the protestors—and they got it. The
black blockers handed it right to them, bringing the full brunt of the
forces of the state down onto the labour movement, trade unionists, and
peaceful protesters.
While in a certain sense the anger and the frustration of the black
blockers can be understood as the blind rage and anger at the capitalist
system and the ruling class—a violent outburst against the misery and
injustices of capitalism. Having said that, however, these tactics
cannot be condoned or supported in anyway. The labour movement must now
fully denounce the black blockers and draw a dividing line—they are not
welcome in our movement or on our demonstrations.
windows.In an article in Sunday’s Toronto Star , a black
blocker defended the bloc’s tactics of smashing store windows thusly:
“This isn’t violence. This is vandalism against violent corporations.
We did not hurt anybody. They (the corporations) are the ones hurting
people.” Of course corporations hurt people, kill people. But smashing
their windows does nothing to the corporations; it does nothing to
actually threaten the corporations or their economic foundations
whatsoever. The fight against the corporations, against capitalism, is
an economic and a political struggle—strikes, nationalization, workers’
control, socialism, and a planned economy—a struggle that can only be
fought and won by the working class.
In the end, despite whatever subjective interpretations they may have
of their tactics or understanding we may have for their anger and
frustrations, objectively speaking the actions of the black bloc not
only hurt people, they hurt our movement.
The black bloc had no regard whatsoever for the labour movement, the
unions, and the peaceful demonstrators on the march, or their interest
in a peaceful demonstration. They used our movement in order to
highjack it to provide them with the mass cover to employ their violent
tactics. They threatened anyone—media, fellow protestors, innocent
bystanders—anyone who threatened to expose their identities. One Globe
and Mail photographer was injured and their equipment damaged by a
black blocker. Their actions can only be compared to those of agent
provocateurs. Indeed, the police were caught in Montebello, Quebec using
genuine police provocateurs to use black bloc methods to provoke the
police into attacking peaceful protests.
What were the objective results of the black bloc tactics? In the
eyes of the state, the politicians, and their mouthpieces in the media,
the violence of the black bloc delegitimizes the legitimate protests
and demonstrations of the labour movement. It justifies the massive
security expenditures and aggressive and intimidation tactics of the
police. The labour movement can argue against the police presence and
plead peaceful protest all they want, but because of the presence and
actions of the black bloc, the police can always justify their
aggressive presence and brutality. In the end, black bloc tactics
justify the police action and brings the wrath of the police down on
the labour movement. The workers at Novotel, the trade unionists at
Queen’s Park, and the peaceful demonstrators downtown were all beaten,
abused, and arrested because of the black bloc, who were brave enough
to smash windows but too cowardly to face the police when they ran and
changed clothes to blend in with the regular, peaceful demonstrators,
using our movement as cover.
The police and the black bloc are, in fact, two sides of the same
coin. The police step up security and their presence, causing the black
bloc to come up with increasingly bold and inventive ways to
circumvent this security, causing the police to step up their presence
and attacks on democratic rights. This week, the police were almost
daring the black bloc to attempt to penetrate the security perimeter
and fence, precisely so the police could physically assault
demonstrators and workers, and assault their democratic rights.
The Esplanade group, the Toronto Young New Democrats (TYND) must
convene a town hall meeting to discuss the attacks on the community and
organize support for those abused by the police, and raise support for
striking Novotel workers. It was no accident that the final battle of
the night took place on the Esplanade, at Novotel.
Labour has stood and demonstrated its opposition to the G20. This
struggle against the G20 and the attacks of the bosses must continue.
The labour movement must convene an emergency conference to discuss
three central questions: 1) discuss the attacks on civil liberties; 2)
discuss the attacks on the people of Toronto by the police and the Black
Bloc; and 3) discuss the necessary tactics to fight back against
capitalist austerity. This will be the only way to fight the G20 and the
austerity packages, the only way to fight back against the bosses, to
fight against capitalism for a better, socialist world.
Source: Fightback
(Canada)
