Checked the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, after all the talk of the last few days. Of particular interest, I believe, are Sections 8, 9, and 10. For your perusing pleasure:

SEARCH OR SEIZURE. 8. Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.

DETENTION OR IMPRISONMENT. 9. Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.

ARREST OR DETENTION. 10. Everyone has the right on arrest or detention
(a) to be informed promptly of the reasons therefor;
(b) to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right; and
(c) to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus and to be released if the detention is not lawful.

The question becomes, I believe, if you are exercising your FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOM (Sections 2c and 2d) to freedom of peaceful assembly; and freedom of association do the police have the right to search your belongings and/or person, or haul you away and throw you in a detention centre?

Here’s the text of the amendment filed with e-laws earlier this month, designating “the area, within the area described in Schedule 1, that is within five metres…” So, it sounds like the five-metre security zone was actually inside the fence, not outside, as we were led to believe.

So, what’s up with our Chief and Police telling us that the five-metre zone was outside the fence? According to the Chief earlier today, he was “trying to keep the criminals out.”

Nice.

What does the Public Works Protection Act, actually say? Here is the full text, but, the gist is that any person “entering or attempting to enter any public work or any approach thereto” can be required “to furnish his or her name and address, to identify himself or herself and to state the purpose for which he or she desires to enter the public work, in writing or otherwise” and that the guard “may search, without warrant, any person entering or attempting to enter a public work.”

If the person refuses, they are guilty, because “the statement under oath of an officer or employee of the government, board, commission, municipal or other corporation or other person owning, operating or having control of a public work, as to the boundaries of the public work is conclusive evidence thereof. R.S.O. 1990, c. P.55, s. 4.”

I guess it doesn’t matter, then, whether the five-metres was inside or outside the fence, you could still be arrested for ‘approach’ to the fence, and you would be guilty based on the word of the person who arrested you.

Sigh. I’m going to have a nap. Maybe it’s all a dream.

Or, then again, maybe what we need to do is look at where else this Act has been applied (airports?) and question whether we are cool with forfeiting our civil liberties in the name of ‘security’.

Continuing from my last post, I have to say that this weekend’s G8 and G20 protests and police responses both demonstrated a distinct lack of reverence. Where was the reverence by the protesters for the near-impossible task that our police were asked to do as protectors of the peace? And by the police towards the democratic expression of views by the protesters? That almost 900 people were arrested in the days leading up to and including the Summits is ridiculous. That there are people still being held in improvised and unlawful conditions is unacceptable.

First, I am horrified at the arrest, abuse, and detention of media representatives – a free and open media is essential to a healthy democracy. While I appreciate that throwing them in jail is one way to ensure that they get an excellent story, I believe it sets a horrible precedent and must be dealt with immediately.

Second, the policing does not appear to have been organized well. Of particular concern to me was the elimination of the ‘safe’ protest zone at Queen’s Park. Far removed from the actual Summit area, I am still having trouble understanding why the police would (seemingly on a whim) decide to clear this area and send protesters scuttling through the downtown. It seems to me that keeping protesters contained in one safe area would have been a better idea. If the priority was the fenced-in area, why were they harassing protesters on the Esplanade?

I am also disappointed in the organizers who seemed to abandon the protesters after the planned walk during the day, leaving them in disarray and at the mercy of the more-prepared police forces who decided to start arresting later in the evening, after the vivid images of destruction were obtained (and played over and over and over).

But I am most disturbed by the ease with which our leaders surrendered our democratic rights in the name of ‘security’. When I posted my concerns on Facebook the response was, generally, ‘Oh yes, that Harper is so horrible,’ followed by silence when I pointed out that my biggest concern was with McGuinty and the Liberal Party of Ontario’s move to enact secret police powers under the Public Works Protection Act. Though temporary, the arbitrary right to detain, search, and arrest civilians is a terrifying glimpse of just how fragile our civil liberties are. Rights that have been won through blood and struggle over the past several hundred years. To see them wiped away for the sake of a political summit is unforgivable. I look forward to the Charter challenges, and class actions suits, should they proceed, and to the explanation by our Leaders as to how they justify forfeiting my rights for their convenience.

It is the Police Chief’s job to recommend over-the-top security measures, he’s a cop. To be cliché, when your tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. I get that. I have little problem with Blair’s strategy this weekend, though some of his tactics were very questionable. But it is the job of a politician, a strong political leader (and this goes for the Mayor, the Premier, and the PM!) to say, “NO! The rights of our citizens are more important than that. We need to find a way to protect both the fence and the people of Toronto, including those who are protesting.” That is the job of a Leader, and if our leaders are too weak, or too uncaring to do that, then it is time to start looking for new ones. Right now.

Finally, this weekend has added more strength to my belief that voting Liberal or Conservative doesn’t make a bit of difference – they both care little about democracy. We need electoral reform so that every vote counts equally, and we need it now. We have leaders who have no reverence for democracy, or for the rights of their citizens, and that needs to change.