Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

'The Canadian way of life'

by Aaron Wherry on Saturday, June 26, 2010 10:19pm - 47 Comments

The statement tonight from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Free speech is a principle of our democracy. But the thugs that prompted violence earlier today represent in no way shape or form the Canadian way of life.

Toronto police chief Bill Blair briefed reporters this evening. Steve Paikin and Kady O’Malley are in the middle of the action. The Canadian Press has an overview of the day’s events and a primer on the Black Bloc. Two National Post photographers have apparently been arrested. More from the Globe, Post, Star, Sun, Torontoist and blogTo.

Tags: Bill Blair, G20, G20 policing, prime minister's office, protest, Toronto

More by Aaron Wherry

steve

It seems to me that today’s events were a win-win for a couple of the parties: the crazies got their media attention, the cops got to justify their new toys and new laws. The next time there is a major event, they will be able to point to this one, and demand 2 billion for security and even more draconian laws.
The only losers were Canadians.

W.B.

Now we know why Harper held the event in mid Toronto. He's a winner too. Thank goodness the Toronto Police showed enough restraint so we at least don't have another Ipperwash. At least not yet. Why were these well known "armies" allowed to assemble, march, and destroy.

http://intensedebate.com/people/s_c_f s_c_f

Thank goodness here in Canada we allow people to torch police cars and trash storefronts. Such wonderful restraint.

http://intensedebate.com/people/FACLC FACLC

But hey, blazingcatfur was stopped before he could do something horrible like take a video!

The Real Jan

Detailed over on Kathy Shaidle – someone the far right adores. http://www.fivefeetoffury.com

http://intensedebate.com/people/s_c_f s_c_f

Actually, the real losers were the people who had their storefronts smashed and property destroyed.

jay

". . .Canadian way of life. . ."

Say, where does he get those phrases? Next thing, it'll be the Canadian dream. They really need to hold these things in Calgary.
jarrid

One reason Canadians like Stephen Harper is that he tells it like it is.

The people that vandalized the stores and police cruisers are thugs. Canadians seeing these crimes on TV will wholeheartedly agree.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Tceh Tceh

http://twitter.com/spaikin

Sounds like this is a Harper police state fantasy come true.

The Real Jan

Expect a rash of new crime bills in the fall. I suspect the colour black will be outlawed.
http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

With all due respect, Paikin, Kady, et al are on the street level. From an aerial view you can see the Black Bloc worming their way through the "peaceful" protesters.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jenn_ Jenn_

I agree the people that vandalized the stores and police cruisers are thugs.

I disagree that Canadians like Stephen Harper.

:)

Aongasha

The left wing loons, the supporting media and the opposition giving aid and comfort to thugs will have a lot to answer for. Those of us who live on Main Street Canada will not forget!

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jenn_ Jenn_

Sure you will.

But I do agree that the media really is egging this whole thing on, at least from where I sit (far away from anything).
http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

The anarchists aren't left wing, right wing or middle wing. They don't believe in government. Stupid to think their left wing when they don't have a real political viewpoint but destruction.

http://intensedebate.com/people/avr avr

Don't be obtuse. Their attitudes towards private property, the profit motive and individual accountability are far more in line with the left than any other segment of society.

Andre

The peaceful protesters with placards asking for more support and money from governments and global entities are left wing. The violent ones, the ones against globalization and the state, the anarchists, are the extreme right wing.
http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

Don't be so stupid. Your type think everthing and everyone that doesn't think exactly your way are lefties and evil.

I can't believe what you just said.

L I M I T E D thinking.

avr

I C A N P R E T E N D T O B E D E E P T O O.

Grow up; if forced to vote for one of the four major parties, every single one of the thugs smashing windows in Toronto today would pick NDP. They'd think the NDP were pansies unable to fully commit to direct action for the cause, but they'd still be light-years closer in ideology than anything else. That you don't want to think about people like those on 'your side' being uncomfortably friendly with violent thugs is your failure of imagination, not mine.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Stewart_Smith Stewart_Smith

Some of the anarchists will be skinheads. They certainly vote Conservative & they probably are regular donors to the party as well.
The Real Jan

They hate government – just like the Tea Party types do.
TedTylerEzro

The Black Bloc aren't skinheads. I'm not seeing any white supremacists in the photos of the coverage. Can you direct me to pictures of neo-nazis mixed in among the crowds?
http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

How would you know – they cover themselves up like cowards. I saw one, shaved head/leather jacket that looked like a skinhead.
http://intensedebate.com/people/madeyoulook madeyoulook

Certainly? Evidence, please, that these losers even vote, let alone that they vote CPC.
s_c_f

There are no skinheads in this group, and in fact there are very few in North America, skinheads are a mostly Euro phenomenon.

The non-violent ones are all leftists clamoring for more government money for one thing or another.

For the rest of them, if there is anything they have in common, it's that they are anti-capitalist. That's why they target starbucks and mcdonald's first (although they'll smash anything). They hate business. They also hate authority and police.

The Conservative party is the pro-business party and is the most supportive of policing and being tough on criminals.

Therefore, very few of them are conservative.
Mike T.

YOur statements about skins are completely untrue there, dude.
s_c_f

Prove it, smart**s.

Show me a single photo of the thousands that have been taken that show a single skinhead in this gathering of thousands of protesters.

Skinheads originated in the UK and 99% of them are in Europe.
http://intensedebate.com/people/FACLC FACLC

Ironically, Starbucks is a big left-wing organization that provided money and materials to the Obama campaign.
http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

I grew up some ago and I think you have to face reality.

These are thugs, period.

How about those conservative leaning supremesists and skin heads?
Andre

You can't tell someone to grow up and follow it with a personal assumption as an argument. It's just wrong.

A little reasoning is in order. The violent protesters are AGAINST the whole premise of G8/G20/Globalization. They are against big governments and government intervention. Those are right-wing ideologies, whether they are anarchists or skinhead or whatever.

What's the fallacy name for attacking an opponent by claiming they are part of a group deemed to be hooligans?
s_c_f

They're anti-capitalist, not anti-government, you're not even bothering to pay attention. They're not anti-government at all, they're against the current government. Most of them are socialists. The right wing is about law and order and free enterprise. There is nothing right-wing about them.

Get with the program.
The Real Jan

They pre-date the current government. Everything is not about Harper, despite his version of events.

Dave

Those of us who live on Main Street Canada will not forget!

I must admit, there's a certain irony in a phase that has been adopted to further emphasize and manipulate the divide between small and large town/business being used to imply sympathy and support for for the later by the former….

TedTylerEzro

Generally small business gets along better with large business and corporations than they get along with bureaucracy and labour.

The Real Jan

Small retailers and manufactuers just love Walmart (sarcasm on).

http://intensedebate.com/people/TwoYen TwoYen

Perhaps this will put it in perspective.

For what it is worth Sunday's main NHK TV news at noon (Saturday 11 pm Toronto time) on Japan's equivalent of the CBC had five stories from the G-8/G-20 Summit – but none of them mentioned the Toronto riot, not even in passing. The lead story was on the Obama/Hu bilateral and the yuan, with the number two story being the ROK/Japan bilateral. It wasn't until the third story that the G-8 communique was even mentioned. The fifth story by the way was a promise by the ROK President to support Japan's team in the World Cup following Korea's loss earlier today.

I guess the riots are being taken in stride by at least some in the world media.

sbt

"I guess the riots are being taken in stride by at least some in the world media."

Probably because this sort of stuff has happened before at these summits. It's all rather ho-hum unless it's happening in your country. I'll admit I've been rather fascinated by this since I know downtown Toronto quite well but if this was happening in New York or London or Seoul I wouldn't be all that interested.

hosertohoosier

I am disappointed that Harper didn't use good old R B. Bennett's line… "and we ask that every man and woman put the iron heel of ruthlessness against a thing of that kind."
http://intensedebate.com/people/BGLong BGLong

Oh, if this particular PM were to call me a thug I'd get the warm and fuzzy tingles.

CNN (bless its' thick little mind) is focusing on a controversy between Lady GaGa
and Jerry Seinfeld.
http://intensedebate.com/people/tobyornotoby tobyornotoby

It\\s not "violence" when you break windows or destrio property. It is however "violence' when you slam a photographer to the ground and drag him away because he was somewhere you didn't want him to be with a camera and no badge.

Katherine

Yes, it's violence when you wreck other people's stuff, and pointless violence to boot. It's not as if destroying storefronts advances any sort of cause – the vandals can call themselves whatever ideology they like, but in truth they're just criminals indulging an urge for destruction, and their only achievement is drawing attention away from peaceful protesters who have something to say.

Kat

All this talk about protesters and not one mention of who designed Mrs. Obama's dress….shame! What has come of our media?

Chris B

Don't worry Kat, The Globe has you covered
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/…
http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

I don't particularly like Michelle's dresses. Loreen Harper is not outstanding fashionwise, but always looks nice. One exception – I hate it when she wears baby pink.

Where are all the wives? Bruni not there? Cameron's wife is very, very pregnant, so that's understandable.

What a slap in the face if you ask me.

Amateur Hour

Watching cop cars left to burn, surrounded by cops and fire trucks, is as farcical a piece of theatre as students in black hoodies smashing up a Pickle Barrel in the name of anti-globalization.

Every once in a while, a member of the press notes that 99% of the protesters are peaceful … then they spend 99% of their time covering security and violence and give only passing mention to the demonstrators and their causes.

And some of you like to bang on about a liberal bias in the press.

Puh-leez.
Mike T.

Yeah, people seem to forget we spent a billion dollars on what's mostly an anti-vandalism initiative.
Mike T.

Harper did, however, confirm his support for arbitrary detention and imprisonment :)