Police Overdo Strip Searches

http://toronto.openfile.ca/blog/news/2011/why-are-toronto-police-strip-searching-so-many-people
OpenFile Toronto: "... if TPAC, the activist group led by former mayor John Sewell, is right, strip searches are being used roughly 60 percent of the time in Toronto"

"The Supreme Court says that strip searches "cannot be carried out simply as a matter of routine policy", because "strip searches are inherently humiliating and degrading for detainees."

"According to the TPAC newsletter, when asked whether more than half of arrests would constitute a routine use of Level 3 searches, Police Chief Bill Blair said that for something to be routine it would have to occur something like 100 percent of the time (something like handcuffs and fingerprinting would qualify). It's not exactly a reassuring answer, and even less reassuring than the Chief's assertion that the perceived climb in strip searches is due entirely to better record-keeping. According to the Toronto Star, the police started keeping better records after a 2005 complaint by, you guessed it, John Sewell. So, before 2005, there were tons of undocumented strip searches despite the 2001 Supreme Court case? Yikes."

.... Having been a subject who was strip searched in the past, simply because a) the police files on me mentioned I was suffering from mental illness and/or b) I was someone who has protested democratically in the past and am not a fan of police brutality - I think I have the experience to comment.

When I protested back in 2001 against the Mike Harris cuts, was knocked unconscious by police batons at King and Bay , followed by nationwide media attention showing me laying in a pool of blood, surrounded by riot police who refused medical access to me, then (surprise) was charged with a false claim of assault against police... long story, sorry.... then charges were dropped and I sued Toronto Police Services Board and the city, eventually getting a significant settlement....the point here is:

When I was arrested, I was taken in and strip-searched, simply to 'teach me a lesson'.
I KNOW this is why police employ this intimidation tactic.

I was also continually harassed by police at other social justice protests, often having officers I never met say to me : "Hey, Ken! Did you take your meds today? (laughter)". Complaints about this turn out to be a waste of time.


Go HERE for a link to the story on this.

There is still even today an ingrained culture in police that demeans, intimidates and targets people with any form of mental illness. They use the term 'EDP' (emotionally disturbed person) whenever they run into anyone with a mental health/illness history, which leads to some form of immediate assumption of guilt.

Of course this is wrong. Of course police will deny this. Of course police will just continue to do it....

Unless the 'normals' in society speak out about this injustice done to their family members, friends and neighbours..

Despite the good news about police stopping the practice of keeping and passing on mental health notes when they are called for police checks (see last post).... we have a long way to go.

But thank you  John Sewell  and the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition (TPAC)

Link is HERE "Toronto Police Accountability Coalition is a group which encourages debate about police policy issues, and is devoted to making the police more accountable to the public."

Go HERE to see The Star artcle about this.

"Last month, a judge found that Peel police officers conducted an illegal strip search of a man in order to “humiliate and intimidate” him, and then tried to cover up what they had done."

Police Too Busy to Do Their Job?

Why Don't Police Enforce the Safety Laws?
BOTH Police and TTC NOT Doing Their Jobs!

TTCnotices Official TTC Tweets Westbound 506 Carlton streetcars are holding near Bathurst due to a collision.  (a tweet about 5:30pm on Monday, May 30)

.... So why is this meaningful?

Because about an hour and bit earlier,  Monday May 30, I was on another westbound 506 Carlton streetcar when an expensive white car (Mercedes? Licence number 130XK129) zoomed past the streetcar almost causing a car-streetcar collision because the car driver decide he could cut in front of a moving streetcar who would be forced to stop. The same car then sped through a red light ahead of us.

Less than half a block on, a Toronto Police officer stood chatting with construction workers as he watched the car zoom past.

.... So why is this meaningful?

Because Sunday night, May 29 at 7:03pm on a Queen West Streetcar (#4235 westbound) just east of Beaconsfield, when the same expensive white car (Mercedes? Licence number 130XK129) zoomed past the fully stopped streetcar, with open doors, almost hitting a passenger stepping off the curb to board..

A few seconds later we passed a stopped police crusier with 2 officers just sitting inside. No radar trap, guess they were on a break. Following the white car as I had several stops to go, I saw it suddenly make a right turn (no signal) down a side street. Definitely no police car in pursuit.

(Note: I have made repeated suggestions to the TTC that they need to crackdown on cars ignoring stopped streetcars, giving ideas like external mounted photo radar and swing out stop signs like school buses, but it has been a total waste of time. Emails direct to TTC CHair Karen Stintz are ignored)

.... So what else about this topic?

My local Tim Horton's on the southeast corner of College and Lansdowne has a clearly marked DISABLED PARKING ONLY near the entrance to the coffee shop. I regularly see people without disabled stickers park there. Even when I point out they should not do that ($400 fine I think) I am told to F-off by the offenders. Staff there frequently try to get people not to park there but are routinely ignored.

Last Friday night, May 27 in late afternoon TWO Toronto Police cars pulled up, FOUR officers went in to get their coffee (no donuts). As I was leaving, I saw yet another non-disabled stickered car parked in the offending spot. Since the officers were leving, I pointedly and clearly asked them to ticket the car. Aside from one officer asking another (there were 3 others), "Hey You got any parking tags?", the whole thing was ignored. Both teams got busy rearranging their trunks, sat in their cars and had coffee briefly before they both just drove off in different directions. No sirens, emergency call that I could see.  I took a few cellphone snaps of the police, crusiers and offending vehicle

While the 4 police officers were 'busy', the driver of the car, a young woman, came out and made to drive off. I stopped her, saying "Boy You were lucky. It's a $400 fine and police are coming to ticket you". The bizarre response was for her to pull out of the space, then pull back into it for about 3 minutes (waiting?), then she pulled out and drove off.

If police don't want to do the basics of their jobs (is it beneath them?) why do they deserve the regular whopping pay increases?

- Disgusted.

See also:
Paid Duty Policing Costing Taxpayers Millions

* Update : Mayor Ford takes on 'Handicapped Parking Issue' http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1013603--ford-wants-to-get-tough-on-handicapped-parking-violators

Ford Allies Not Feeling the Love?

Mister Crankypants Strikes Again...

Letter to the Editor, Toronto Star
Re: Ford’s whip won’t last, Editorial March 13 the link

Come on Toronto Star, your reporters, cartoonists and editors have had a cheat sheet on what to write and what to illustrate, including not-so photogenic pictures of Rob Ford, his staff or his supporters. Who are you kidding?

Everyone sees the bias you have had and the near hysteric support of George Smitherman. You showed chutzpah when after the election you provided “advice” as if to be all knowing of how Mayor Ford should conduct himself and his administration.

Make sure you pass on your cheat sheet to the “free lunch” crowd at City Hall.

Mike Del Grande, Councillor, City of Toronto  (and budget chief)

Tweet: City Slikr @goldsbie My ? Has Cllr Del Grande always been this bitterly partisan or is he suffering from a little Ford fever?...Frankly the whole Ford administration is suffering from a massive persecution complex.
Tweet: Del Grande's specific annoyance is that a Star editorial called him "unimpressive" Link
-----------------

Meanwhile, in other right wing news... Tweet: suckersarestuck JM Lots of yellow cops on bikes. Smallish anti police protest....Around 50 protestors, maybe 100+ cops completely surrounding protestors now marching down bay....Looks like a police parade then an anti police protest....Seeing that many cops in that location brings back harsh memories from last June....everyone on the streetcar was laughing at how excessive the police presence at the protest was... maybe people are getting it?...

Yes, There is Gravy

    But Not Where Some Think It Is

Toronto Police Services:

Paid Duty Costs Taxpayers Millions "Unnecessarily strict rules for employing paid duty police officers are costing Toronto taxpayers as much as $2 million each year, a city audit has found...In 2009, Toronto police worked 40,919 paid duty assignments, earning $65 an hour — nearly twice the rate of a regular constable. In York, officers earn $57 an hour, Ottawa $58, Montreal $42 (time and a half their hourly rate), and Peel $64."

Do we really need highly paid police officers to stand around a construction site gazing into the holes being dug while ignoring traffic around them? In many cases, their job could be replaced by an orange traffic cone or sign.

* "56%: Percentage of all paid duty assignments devoted to traffic control, which the auditor found may be excessive"
...
Even worse, the police officer with a gun may be working in impaired fashion when he returns to his regular duties....

"(while) Working excessive paid duty shifts can interfere with an officer’s regular duties. Officers are not permitted to work more than 12 hours in a 24-hour period, and paid duty shifts are not permitted to overlap with regular shifts....In one of the audit’s more contentious findings, it notes there is insufficient oversight of internal paid duty policies....In one case, an officer was twice late for court because of overlapping assignments. The individual was paid for a court appearance as well as the paid duty shift....In another, an officer worked 19 hours of paid duty in a 24-hour period."

"The auditor’s report will probably reach city council by spring, just as councillors will be grappling with a projected $774 million budget shortfall."

Another older story on how "Paid duty is jealously guarded by the rank and file of the Toronto police officers, as well as Toronto Police Service’s, Toronto Police Chief, Bill Blair."

Another 2009 Toronto Star investigation agreed: "The findings mirror a December 2009 Star investigation that found private companies, taxpayers and community groups were forced to waste millions of dollars hiring paid duty officers for jobs that could be done by crossing guards or even orange pylons."
... "Deputy mayor Doug Holyday predicts the Ford administration won’t flinch from changing paid-duty rules to save the city millions of dollars, even if the cash comes out of police officers’ pockets."
... Good !
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Toronto Transit Commission:  TTC

While there is still no media driven investigation or auditor's report on this - by far the biggest chunk of the city budget - I really wonder who is providing oversight for the MANAGEMENT at the TTC?

In snippets of conversation I hear down at the local Tim Horton's, a popular spot for frontline TTC staff waiting to pickup vehicles to start their shifts, it seems that there is a glut of duplication of efforts by management staff and supervisory personnel. Indeed, this was borne out recently when I witnessed and overheard a conversation between a supervisory person and a TTC driver, where the supervisor was hand-writing a list to keep track of passenger fares. The supervisor was remarking how it was a 'make work' project that no one was going to look at and was only doing it because there was nothing else for him to do.

In another anecdotal situation, a driver coming on to the College streetcar remarked to the person he was relieving that there were '20 guys just waiting for a vehicle to become available'. No doubt, this is in reference to the fact that the TTC is suffering some serious maintenance and aging problems with the current fleet. Yet, who plans these things? Having 20 TTC drivers sitting around being paid while there is no work to do seems egregious. What manager plans these extravagancies?

Where is the investigation of the entrenched TTC management culture. I'd bet there are big savings there.

.... Mayor Rob Ford?  Are you listening?

( Also - See my previous blog on TTC managment situation)

Is Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair Out of Control?

Police State or Civilian Oversight?

Today's meeting of the Toronto Police Services Board seems to be a particular lightning rod of how the police under Chief Bill Blair seem to be thinking they are a power unto themselves and don't have to take the Toronto Police Services Board seriously. I find it encouraging and actually surprising that the Board is asking questuions that should be asked, given that it has the same chair and a few of the same members that ignored anything that would challenge police decisions in the past.

For instance: The meeting is being televised, not a normal occurrence.

Also, the twitter world is active with tweets like this reporting on the meeting:

* Once again, you can watch the Police Board argue over sound cannons live: http://bit.ly/flHzTh goldsbie Jonathan Goldsbie The Police Board is discussing the acquisition of sound cannons and CCTV cameras left over from the G20.
 * Cohen summarizes the Chief's report before the Board as, "Oh, by the way, I've bought these." goldsbie Jonathan Goldsbie

* Board member Judi Cohen says she is "shocked" that the Chief has unilaterally decided to purchase these items without consulting the Board. Jonathan Goldsbie

* Thompson: "I am not, at this point, willing to simply say with the respect to the LRAD device that I am" willing to validate its purchase. Jonathan Goldsbie* Mukherjee says that the introduction of tasers and CCTV cameras are precedents the Board can look at with regard to LRAD. Jonathan Goldsbie * Motion to ask for Chief to bring back to Board a draft policy on use of LRADs. Jonathan Goldsbie

* So, as tends to happen, the Board put some very tepid brakes on the introduction of a new tool/weapon but approved them in principle. Jonathan Goldsbie

* By which he means, the Board can't touch operational matters, but it can kind of gently poke at things by approving operational frameworks. Jonathan Goldsbie  

* Nunziata's lack of institutional memory is actually leading her to ask decent questions of the Chief. (broken clock, twice a day, etc.) Jonathan Goldsbie

* Cohen: "It was very, very clear that LRADs, et., would not be purchased at any point in time." She says the Chief & Chair made secret deals. Jonathan Goldsbie

---

            Here is a Weblink to the Police Services Board.
Chair = Alok Mukherjee (since 2004, term end 2013 unless reappointed again)
Vice Chair = Michael Thompson (2010-2012)
Judi Cohen, Member (2005 to June 2011), appointed by Province
Councillor Frances Nunziata, Member (2010-2012)
Councillor Chin Lee, Member (2010-2012)
Dhun Noria. Member (2010-2013), appointed by Province

---
I still wonder why the civilian oversight board still meets at Toronto Police HQ on College rather than at City Hall. Optics at very least are bad.
---

* Update: Police Board 'Shocked' Force Will Keep Sound Cannons

A police officer stands behind the Public Order Unit with a LRAD-X 100 Acoustic Communication Device (sound cannon) during a demonstration of G20 security and crowd control measures in June.
FRANK GUNN/THE CANADIAN PRESS

G20...G20...G20

THE THING THAT JUST WON'T DIE !

June 26-27, 2010

SIU REOPENS THIRD CASE OF ALLEGED G20 BRUTALITY
"In its previous investigation, the SIU interviewed eight police officers who witnessed the incident. The officer accused of breaking the man's nose exercised his right and declined to speak to investigators.  The SIU ruled in November that there wasn't enough evidence to lay a charge. "

"The SIU, an arms-length provincial body that probes incidents of death and serious injury involving police, previously re-opened investigations into the case of Adam Nobody and Dorian Barton, two other men who were injured at the G20. "

Police seem to be a band of brothers that hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil - as long as it involves one of their own.

Chief Bill Blair

By the way, if you're looking for evidence, a simple Google image search on "G20 Toronto" will give you About 502,000 results.... Not counting YouTube videos, where the same search parameters yield   

About 5,370 results. ( Check out This Ain't Canada right now )

Add to this the 77 police surveillance cameras installed specifically for the G20 (link) and the multitude of private businesses and traffic cameras throughout the city. There is also a Facebook page with about 60,000 members and links to reams of information.

And the SIU couldn't find enough evidence?  Really?

The civil and charter rights abuses that occurred last June, 2010 were horrendous.

Will Toronto City Council do anything about it to ensure it never happens again?

* Update: In a related matter that media seems to have missed,  the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on January 26, 2011 has delegated authority to regulate parades and issue permits to Toronto Police Services Board. Imagine wanting to protest against the police and having to get police permission to do so....

link

* Update: G20 Hangover Lingers  "Instead of a lingering ache, it’s become an open, oozing wound....Public mistrust of our police is now a major issue for the police services board and Chief Bill Blair...We’re told the officer who headed up the Integrated Security Unit, RCMP Chief Supt. Alphonse McNeil, has been recommended for the Governor General’s Officer of the Order of Merit award, specifically for his work on the G20. Now, that’s a farce." Police need to earn back the trust of this city.

Savings Ideas for Toronto Budget

Ponderings, Wonderings, Suggestions and Concerns
  Total Toronto City Budget = $9.3 BILLION

Toronto Police Budget:   $905.9 Million (+2.2% icrease from 2010)

* Current plan is for 5617-30 = 5,587 officers which still gives Toronto more police per capita than any other Canadian city, except Montreal. (NOW story ) Yet, we still alow the police officer who may be making $100,000/year or more to moonlight on off shifts to supervise construction sites. Do we want people with guns who require critical thinking skills to be doing this when any private security girl/guy could do the same for far less cost. How much would be saved by stopping police from doing this?

* John Sewell, former Toronto Mayor and head of Toronto Police Accountability Coalition (TPAC) suggested that money could be saved by going to single officer in patrol cars. Some say a safety issue, but Sewell's logic is that  one officer would be more cautious responding to situations and call in backup when required. Besides, why do we have patrols - police just driving around, possibly aimlessly, anyways? It costs fuel and there is no reason police cars could not be stationed geographically to cover the city and be strategically located for response. They could be doing radar speed traps while waiting for a call. So what if 2 police cars with one officer each arrives at a call? The real cost to the budget as Chief Blair keeps telling us is in labour costs, not equipment.

* Events policing: In his first submission of the 2011 budget, Chief Blair notes that a stressor on police budgetting is the number of events they must police is increasing. Wait a minute. Do we REALLY need police at all these events? Again, private security paid for by event organizers - parade marshals or whatever seems the first consideration. Yes, if there is a big city-wide impact like Pride Parade or Caribana, police no doubt must be involved due to impacts on traffic flows and size of attendees. But how many of us have seen overreaction of having twice or three times as many police at some events? Just say it's an OCAP event and gurantee you, you'll see tons of police there. What of the horse police? What do they do when they are not riot control for protests? Do they wait for calls or can they be in the tourist areas doing policing?

* Why does the civilian oversight Toronto Police Services Board continue to hold all its meetings at Toronto Police HQ on College Street? For propriety and perspective, they should meeting at City Hall. I atttened a meeting there and you would be hard pressed to get over 30 citizens in the room, considering its poor layour and the scores of press that block your view. Perhaps there is office space savings here too,  albeit small.

TTC Toronto Transit Commission  $1.5 BILLION 
City website presntation - click here.

*  There is still an $8 million 'unspecified budget reduction' that the TTC must find. I cannot help much because I am still waiting for a call back from the city's 311 service as to where an ordinary citizen can access that. Strange, if they want public consultation on it in a few days.

* Confidence-inspiring TTC Budget found $24 million with haste and blue pen says Toronto Life. Such an obviously rushed budget process does NOT inspire much confidence for me. The TTC is the single largest chunk ofthe overall Toronto City budget (16%). The fact that there was such a rapid flip-flop on the 10 cent fare increase shows up a fault in the process. Why is it that the city  relies on unelected bureaucrats to just look at the status quo of what we did last year, tinker with it and then add some predictable increase before releasing to the public? It is never in the interest of bureaucracies to not incress their fiefdoms. Why not start with public input? If you are looking for experts on the service, do not go to TTC managers - go to the riders who use it every day and the front line drivers who know what is needed. Get their suggestions for optimizing service while controlling costs. THEN, pass on those ideas to TTC budget managers.

* TTC ingrained culture and city councillor political bias needs to be changed. With expected ridership of 487 million this year, it is abundantly clear that the TTC is ESSENTIAL to Torontonians. The TTC is not just a business; The TTC is in fact a societal service that governments must fully fund and recognize as a basic infrastructure need in urban cities like Toronto (Councillor Augimeri says that the city is not a business and I completely agree with her). Rider fares cover 70% of the cost which is higher than most North American transit systems and is way too high in my view.(Columnist Royson James did a great article on the TTC by the way). Columnist Christopher Hume also did an excellent article  on the misplaced calling of TTC riders "customers" and the mislabelling of citizens as just customers.

OTHER BUDGET AREAS:

cselley Chris Selley Tweeted Fri Jan 14 The City of Toronto has 119 lawyers, apparently. Upon reflection, I'm not shocked by that.  hmmmm,...

CALL FOR PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO THE G20 in Toronto

There is a Facebook page called Canadians Demanding a Public Inquiry Into Toronto G20 that I encourage people to check out: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=135629036463012

When there are almost 50,000 people demanding answers about how authorities handled the G20 in Toronto (June 25-28) and serious questions about infringements of constitutional charter rights by police.... When there are frequent protests drawing several hundreds and sometimes thousands of people to protest on our streets... When there is a media story every day about new revelations of distressing incidents from the G20...

There is an obvious need for a full public inquiry. I believe it should at a minium be a full public inquiry at the Toronto municipal government level, preferably at the provincial legislature level and most appropriately at the federal parliamentary level, since it involves numerous alleged infractions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

For those that were not there and might doubt the need, please check out the many videos and photos taken on those days that reveal almost a contempt for charter rights by some police. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjVtsuoPlzk Just one of many on the internet, this shows a police officer at the 3 min 50 sec mark saying "This isn't Canada anymore" to someone really very far away from security fencing, The officer refused him the right to walk the streets unless he consented to illegal search and identified himself - both actions not required by law, even during the G20.

I hope other candidates for political office will raise the G20 issue during the campaign and clearly state their positions on it. We should demnd no less, because...

DAVENPORT DESERVES BETTER !

WHY POLICE CHIEF BLAIR MUST RESIGN

Police Admit Deliberately Misleading Public On Expanded Security Fence Law

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/police-admit-deliberately-misleading-public-on-expanded-security-fence-law/article1622864/?cmpid=rss1

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair admits he willingly misinterpreted the so-called 'secret law' that was passed by the Ontario Liberal government cabinet to suit his own ends.

In doing so, in my view, he committed a knowingly willful act against civil liberties and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (*) and at the very least, brought disgrace upon himself and the entire Toronto Police Services he is charged to represent and administer. Chief Blair must resign or be forced from office by the Toronto Police Services Board.

The lawful rights of every citizen were taken away during the G20, as not only people near the security perimeter fence but also anywhere in Toronto were told they must show identification and submit to searches or be arrested. Indeed, there are numerous cases where arrests occurred and people were unlawfully detained by police. In many case, they were released without charge. Nonetheless, citizens had their civil liberty - guaranteed under constitutional law - taken away on the whim of a single man it seems.

No doubt the fallout from this will continue for days, weeks and months as the wrongly detained and arrested make their way through our slow court justice system, perhaps even to the Supreme Court. Many in authority will have much to answer for at all levels of government.

But until then, Chief Blair must resign or be removed from office. NOW !

(Sadly, Chief Blair has been an otherwise decent and effective police chief, and perhaps he is the 'scaepgoat' for the Ontario provincial government who seems to be running or cover from widespread public criticism)

( * ) Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:

freedom of conscience and religion;

freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;

freedom of peaceful assembly; and

freedom of association

LEGAL RIGHTS:

• Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure
• Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.

http://www.efc.ca/pages/law/charter/charter.sect.html

G20 Protests June 25-27, 2010

HOW THE G20 WAS HANDLED SHOULD BE AN ELECTION ISSUE

Three days of massive protests in Toronto, most peaceful, but marred by the actions of a relatively very few vandals and some questionable police tactics have highlighted Toronto in a way that probably everyone can agree was disturbing at the least. How things were handled should be a major election issue as it speaks to the very foundations of civil liberties and democracy in our city.

I personally attended a protest march on Friday June 25 because I believed the ONE BILLION DOLLAR cost of security was of an obscene order of magnitude, particulary given that we have pressing social problems of poverty, hunger and homelessness in our city and country. At the same time, we should all be wondering why the last summit in the USA cost $18 million (51 times less) in comparison. Did it really have to cost this much and was it worth it?http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100626/100626_cost_g20/20100626/?hub=CP24Home

Friday's demonstrations were peaceful and relatively uneventful, except for what appears to have been a denial of rights to the deaf man arrested for not hearing police orders http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/toronto/deaf-man-arrested-in-g20-protest-gets-bail/article1619559/ Police presence was massive, but restrained and orderly.

Saturday I did not attend protests, but had the opportunity to follow all of the actions via numerous blogs and live-feeds from both mainstream media and the wealth of citizen on the scene reporting. (the new 'social media' is amazing!) The actions of the small group of "Black Bloc" (self-professed anarchists who seem to hate any form of social order) hijacked the messages of the tens of thousands of protesters. Violence sells - "If It Bleeds It Leads" - and what most in our city, country and even internationally thought was 'Toronto is Burning' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32OW6cu4Ypk (Russia Today). Numerous downtown businesses were trashed, yet police did not respond to stop it, preferring instead to prevent protesters from getting to THE FENCE. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/825908--fortress-toronto-secrets-of-the-fence It seemed police tactics were to allow collateral damage to Toronto's streets to ensure the security zone around the dignitaries was protected at all costs. Incumbent City Councillor Adam Vaughan expected this http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/news/torontonians-try-to-make-sense-of-g20-vandalism/article1620860/

Sunday, police changed tactics, becoming much more aggressive at boxing in protesters and initiating arrests and violence. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/829581--police-tactics-too-tough-or-too-soft Peaceful, lawful protesters, passersby, tourists, media were forced into the net by herding police in riot gear. Tally? Over 600 arrests, much more than the infamous 1999 "Battle of Seattle" protests against the World Trade Organization (WTO). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization_Ministerial_Conference_of_1999_protest_activity Sunday in Toronto saw violence against citizens by police in contrast to violence against property by criminals on Saturday.

The conclusion? Well, Prime Minister Stephen Harper in an "I told you so" moment suggested that the violence justified the controversial (one billion dollars) cost of the G20: "I think it goes a long way to explaining why we have the kind of security costs around these summits that we do" http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hNkQwBas7Slcts-cUOIAJhnP9HdwD9GJVAD00 Yet, the truth is these summits could be held anywhere at temendously lower cost than a city like Toronto.

And just where are our local city politicians on the G20 issues and what's happened to our city?

• Mayor Miller blames the few thugs that caused all this
• Adam Giambrone to his credit seems to have worked hard to keep the TTC running
• Most mayoral candidates have blamed the criminals for all the violence
• Many incumbent councillors, like Shelley Carroll, seemed to ignore and laugh at the situation (she tweeted: "Protest can't stop consumerism at Yonge and Bloor, Off to Queen and Beav to watch Ghana Game!" at the same time violence was erupting on the streets)
• Following tweets of candidates for various levels of office, they pretty much all semed to be very far from the action doing social events. (Later many would condemn actions they never saw in person and only heard about from news reports)
• Most notable, Himy Syed, once candidate for city councillor ward 19 now running for mayor, was at the heart of the action Sunday night at Queen and Spadina to experience first hand questionable police tactics http://twitter.com/himysyed

I have to wonder if there will be any real inquiry into what befell our city this past weekend, whether we'll really know whether laws were followed and rights respected by both protesters and police, and whether candidates for political office will even see this as an issue before October elections. In my view, the G20 and how it was handled in Toronto deserves an inquiry and close scrutiny, with a view to ensuring Toronto never again gets such a black eye.

It should be an election issue discussed by all candidates.

*** UPDATE *** Any businesses who suffered damage can apply to the federal government for compensation according to this: http://g20.gc.ca/payments-on-an-ex-gratia-basis/