OTTAWA—Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair is facing calls for his resignation over allegations that police abused protesters and spectators during the G-20 Summit in Toronto last June.
Ontario’s Ombudsman Andre Marin said in a press release Tuesday that the province’s Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services gave police “dubious” power.
The controversial power granted to police “was of dubious legality and no utility” and resulted in a mass violation of civil rights, Marin said in “Caught in the Act,” a report on the G-20 police effort.
Those powers were granted under laws intended during time of war, said Marin and were invoked inappropriately.
“Here in 2010 is the province of Ontario conferring wartime powers on police officers in peacetime. That is a decision that should not have been taken lightly or kept shrouded in secrecy, particularly not in the era of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” said Marin.
Steve Paikin, host of TVO’s “The Agenda,” told a parliamentary committee Monday about watching a U.K. reporter get punched by police during the protests.
New Democrat Public Safety Critic Don Davies says the hearing has raised more questions than answers, and his party is calling for a public inquiry into what happened.
“We’re talking about one of the largest mass arrests in history, where nearly 1,000 people were denied their right to peacefully assemble and express themselves,” said Davies.
“We heard instances of serious police misconduct, including 90 officers who violated their police chief’s directive by obscuring their names and badge numbers. We need to get to the bottom of this and have a thorough examination of every issue raised.”
A Facebook group calling for Blair’s resignation has gathered 2,275 members as of press time.
Blair has said he did make mistakes, but none serious enough to warrant his resignation.
Ontario’s Ombudsman Andre Marin said in a press release Tuesday that the province’s Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services gave police “dubious” power.
The controversial power granted to police “was of dubious legality and no utility” and resulted in a mass violation of civil rights, Marin said in “Caught in the Act,” a report on the G-20 police effort.
Those powers were granted under laws intended during time of war, said Marin and were invoked inappropriately.
“Here in 2010 is the province of Ontario conferring wartime powers on police officers in peacetime. That is a decision that should not have been taken lightly or kept shrouded in secrecy, particularly not in the era of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” said Marin.
Steve Paikin, host of TVO’s “The Agenda,” told a parliamentary committee Monday about watching a U.K. reporter get punched by police during the protests.
New Democrat Public Safety Critic Don Davies says the hearing has raised more questions than answers, and his party is calling for a public inquiry into what happened.
“We’re talking about one of the largest mass arrests in history, where nearly 1,000 people were denied their right to peacefully assemble and express themselves,” said Davies.
“We heard instances of serious police misconduct, including 90 officers who violated their police chief’s directive by obscuring their names and badge numbers. We need to get to the bottom of this and have a thorough examination of every issue raised.”
A Facebook group calling for Blair’s resignation has gathered 2,275 members as of press time.
Blair has said he did make mistakes, but none serious enough to warrant his resignation.
