Civil Liberties and Privacy News

Excessively armed thugs parading through the streets, military checkpoints at traffic lights, police helicopters hovering over the city, a long chain-link fence around the center of downtown, secret snipers on rooftops, urban warfare weapons, bomb-sniffing dogs, sound canons; this is not the sight of the infamous Green Zone in blood-drenched Baghdad, but a picture of what downtown Toronto will look like this weekend when the city hosts the world’s leading heads of states, and government officials.

They are in Toronto for the G20 conference, where they plan to discuss a global economic order, and new austerity measures for heavily indebted nations. It is expected that U.S. President Barack Obama will fearmonger about Iran’s nuclear capabilities and motives, just as he did at the last G20 meeting that took place in Pittsburgh in September, 2009.

 After 4 years of delays and postponements, British Columbians were not prepared for June 1, 2010 when another (apparently preventable) delay was called in the BC Rail Corruption Trial, as soon as the court was in session. How wise is this strange new judge? 

t month, downtown Toronto will morph into a full-scale battlefield, with the front lines clearly defined, as Canadians hit the streets to protest G8/G20 leaders, and to stand in fellowship with the people of the world in the global war for economic and political justice. It is expected that there will be 11,000 police officers, private security guards, and intelligence agents, to assist and protect the gangsters of governments who pose to the public as statesmen and diplomats. In April, Colin Freeze of The Globe and Mail reported that the country’s military will also be on hand to defend so-called world dignitaries, saying “unspecified numbers of Canadian soldiers and spies will also work behind the scenes to help thousands of police safeguard the meetings.”

By Dana Gabriel

It appears as if the G20 summit in Toronto is shaping up to be a showdown between anarchists and police. Caught in the middle of the security circus are local residents. If there is violence and property damage, peaceful protesters will also be demonized. The recent bombing of a bank, perpetrated by a so-called anarchist group, has given an excuse to enact more police state measures during the summit. The curious timing of the attack emphasizes the threat of terrorism and further justifies the huge security apparatus being assembled. 

by Dana Gabriel

The G20 summit will be held on June 26-27 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre preceded by the G8 summit which will take place in Huntsville, Ontario. The secretive meetings will be attended by world leaders, finance ministers, central bank governors, along with thousands of other delegates. It will be the largest security event in Canadian history exceeding the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Downtown Toronto will be turned into a security fortress with fences, barricades, checkpoints and street closures thus greatly affecting local residents.

By Joe Florito

A pounding at the door the other morning; my windows rattled. I was upstairs at work. I don't always leave my desk to hear the good news about Jehovah.

The pounder was insistent. I went down, if only for the sake of the windows.

Oh, jeeze, the cops.

Officers Firth and Kozar in attendance. "What's up, boys?" My preference was to talk to them through the plate glass door. They wanted to come inside.

Not a chance.

In the wake of the terrorism attempt Friday on a Northwest Airlines flight, federal officials on Saturday imposed new restrictions on travelers that could lengthen lines at airports and limit the ability of international passengers to move about an airplane.

The government was vague about the steps it was taking, saying that it wanted the security experience to be “unpredictable” and that passengers would not find the same measures at every airport — a prospect that may upset airlines and travelers alike.

In advance of the 2010 Winter Olympics, critics of the Games have been subjected to surveillance, harassment, along with other intimidation tactics. Voicing opposition to the Olympics appears to be all that is needed for one to be labeled as a security threat. There are concerns over the negative impacts associated with holding the Games, as well as concerted efforts to stifle anti-Olympic expression. As the Coca-Cola/RBC corporate torch relay nears its final destination, the opening ceremonies in Vancouver on February 12, 2010, more protests are expected. The Olympics are providing the perfect cover for many police state measures with ramifications that could leave a lasting legacy.

Vancouver police have a new crowd control device capable of emitting painfully loud blasts of sound, just in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics, CBC News has learned.

The medium-range acoustic device (MRAD) can use sound as a weapon, emitting piercing sounds at frequency levels that cross the human threshold of pain and are potentially damaging to hearing, say audio experts.

Harry Bloy from the BC Liberal party has his own definition on what it means to be a proud Canadian.  Bloy expressed his pride at being Canadian “particularly” as the region gets ready to host the Games with the start of the torch relay. He took the opportunity to denounce those Canadians who choose to exercise their rights under section 2(b) of the Charter, stating  in the Legislature Monday that “people who protest the Winter Olympics are nothing more than “terrorists” with “limited intellect”.

UPDATE:

Many will recall the intense opposition voiced against Bill C-51 which proposed sweeping changes to the Food and Drugs Act. There was also much contention surrounding Bill C-52, the Consumer Products Safety Act. Both Bills would have expanded the powers of Health Canada in areas of seizure and detention. After the last federal election in October 2008, the Harper government essentially reintroduced Bill C-52 as Bill C-6.

The CBC reports that, “A proposed BC law would allow municipal officials (in Whistler, Vancouver and Richmond) to enter homes (with just 24 hours notice) to seize unauthorized and possibly anti-Olympic signs on short notice (says) the BC Civil Liberties Association.”

Bill 13, the Miscellaneous Statues Amendment Act, introduced on October 8 to amend the Municipalities Enabling and Validating Act, means so-called ‘violators’ could be fined up to $10,000 a day and jailed up to six months.

The law would allow these three host municipalities to remove unauthorized signs during the period of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, February 1 to March 31.