Greens reiterate call for public inquiry into G20

OTTAWA - In the wake of a recent Ontario lower court ruling that police caused escalating violence at the G20 meetings in Toronto last summer, the Green Party of Canada is again calling for a full public inquiry into the planning, security, and police conduct at the summit.



Ontario Court Justice Melvyn Green ruled that police tactics used during the G20 protest risk the "criminalization of dissent."  He commented that the peaceful protest was disrupted in an aggressive manner by "zealous" police officers.



Specifically referring to a demonstration at Queen St. and Spadina Ave. on Saturday, June 26, 2010, Judge Green said, "The only organized or collective physical aggression at that location that evening was perpetrated by police each time they advanced on demonstrators."



"It is very important to examine any erosion of civil liberties in Canada. Here we have a judge ruling that policing methods were inappropriate.  We know that an over-militarized approach to security only increases the risk of violence.  A public inquiry can help us learn the best way forward to balance the needs for freedom of expression, protection of private and public property and security for officials," said Green Leader Elizabeth May.



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