CCLA Keeps Up Pressure For Accountability For G20 Policing

A downloadable MSWord version of this press release is available here.

Contact: Penelope Chester
Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Phone: (416) 363-0321
Fax: (416) 861-1291
pchester@ccla.org
www.ccla.org

Toronto, ON – July 22, 2010 – The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) continues to demand accountability and civilian oversight for G20 policing and security. The CCLA has appealed directly to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) to investigate G20 policing. The CCLA has submitted five institutional and 78 individual G20 police complaints with OIPRD. The CCLA has also called on the Toronto Police Service Board to create a “prompt, credible, comprehensive and transparent” independent review of G20 policing.

Nathalie Des Rosiers, General Counsel for CCLA, will be appearing before the Toronto Police Service Board today, July 22nd, at 1:30 pm at the Toronto Police Service headquarters (40 College Street). She will be speaking about the Independent Civilian Review, and will be available for media comment.

It is the opinion of the CCLA that, despite examples of professional and lawful policing, the use of police powers during the G20 Summit in Toronto was, at times, disproportionate, arbitrary and excessive. Certain instances of police conduct contravened international policing standards, constitutional rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and, in some instances, provisions of the Criminal Code.

In response to this, the CCLA has appealed directly to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director – the civilian agency charged with investigating complaints about police services in Toronto – to investigate G20 policing. As part of this efforts, the CCLA has:

• Submitted 5 institutional G20 police complaints on behalf of the CCLA with the OIPRD, complaining about five specific incidents of unlawful or abusive police conduct which CCLA monitors observed during the G20 Summit.

• Submitted 78 individual G20 police complaints on behalf of members of the public with OIPRD, complaining about incidents of unlawful or abusive police conduct which individuals experienced or witnessed during the G20 Summit. These include:

• • The mass arrest of individuals
  •  The use of excessive force in the course of arrests
  •  The use of force to disperse peaceful protests
  •  Degrading and inadequate facilities and denial of due process rights in the Eastern Avenue Detention Centre.
  •  The use of derogatory and discriminatory language by police during investigative detentions, searches and arrests, especially in relation to Francophone individuals, individuals originating from Québec, and women.
  •  The profiling and targeting of young persons, Francophone speakers and individuals originating from Québec for investigative detentions and searches, regardless of their distance from the G20 security perimeter.
  • The failure of police to display name tags or badge numbers on their uniforms and the blunt refusal to provide such identification upon request, even in the course of arrests.

• Called on OIPRD to conduct to launch a full review of G20 policing in general, and of the aforementioned conduct in particular, under s.57 of the Police Services Act. The CCLA has also called on OIPRD to exercise its full powers under Part II of the Public Inquiries Act, R.S.O. 1990, Ch. P.41 in aid of this investigation.

• Called on OIPRD to hold public hearings and provide other opportunities for public deputations as a part of its systemic review of G20 policing.

• Called on the Toronto Police Service Board to create a “prompt, credible, comprehensive and transparent” civilian review of G20 policing. The CCLA submitted a letter to the TPSB last week setting out the necessary mandate and powers that should be afforded the Independent Civilian Review of G20 Policing.

While the CCLA is encouraged by the decision of the TPSB to create an Independent Civilian Review, it underscores that such a review is not a replacement for a federal independent inquiry to G20 governance and policy. Nathalie Des Rosiers, General Counsel for CCLA, emphasizes that “federal leadership is needed to ensure that questions such as the choice of Toronto as the Summit site, the structuring and chain of command within the Integrated Security Unit (ISU), the management of security intelligence, and the expenditure of nearly C$1-billion on security receives proper attention and scrutiny.”

More info:

A copy of the CCLA’s institutional complaint to the OIPRD and its covering letter accompanying the 78 individual complaints can be found of the CCLA website: CCLA Complaints to the OIPRD – details and excerpts. The website also contains excerpts from the individual complaints.

A copy of the CCLA’s letter to the TPSB can be found here