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Chris Selley’s Full Pundit: Take back the night, Vancouver!


WEEKEND ROUNDUP

The big decisions

Three days of punditry on remaking the NDP, resisting the goons of Vancouver, the future of Canada Post and the CBC, and, uh, a potentially deadly industry that employs all of 200 people part-time.

The Toronto Star‘s Chantal Hébert post-mortems a weekend of touchy debates at the NDP convention in Vancouver over topics like ruling out cooperation with the Liberals (defeated) and eliminating the word “socialism” from the party constitution’s preamble (also defeated). The Dippers don’t need to figure all this out immediately, says Hébert. But keeping Quebec on board is going to be a full-time job. “Should the NDP turn out to not to have the stomach to go the extra miles to recast itself as a competitive contender for federal power,” she warns, “it will quickly lose the allegiance of its more recent fellow travellers.” After all, as Hébert notes, there were more Quebec delegates at the recent Conservative convention than there were at the New Democrats’.

Mark Milke, writing in the Calgary Herald, doesn’t see how the NDP can continue to appease Quebec nationalists — on language laws, on the Clarity Act, on the province’s over-representation in the House of Commons — without greatly offending supporters and potential supporters in other provinces. “It would be amusing to watch the NDP leader defend his call for more Quebec seats to voters in under-represented British Columbia or in southern Ontario,” he suggests. (Well, people in southern Ontario don’t care about such things. But B.C., we agree, would be highly amusing to watch.)

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Define Full Inquiry,,,

...will it include the failure of organizers of "the march" to control the groups that marched under their banner, will it include the actions of the anarchists, will it include protests at other G20 summits and whether there is a common thread, will it include the actions of "gawkers"  who by their presence created tension, will it include the absence of the mayor and city councilors on the streets, will it realize that video evidence seldom gives an accurate view of the circumstance, etc.

Credit where credit is due: The Toronto Star is changing the Toronto G20 narrative


I bash the Toronto Star a lot — such as I did here, here and here. But credit where credit is due: The Star is almost single-handedly re-opening the narrative on the G20 with their front-page reporting on the case of Adam Nobody.

A few weeks ago, I thought the police response to the G20 protests was yesterday’s news — and I never really re-considered the opinion I formed at the time of the event, based on what I saw with my own eyes. But no one journalist could have seen everything that happened during those protests. And it’s now clear that there was some thuggish police behavior that that went on.

The coup d’état that didn’t happen at the G20

The Ontario Ombudsman has wildly exaggerated the police abuses in Toronto last June, thus diminishing the worst civil-liberties violations in Canadian history Dec 08, 2010

I now believe that a full inquiry into the police actions at the G20 is warranted. And I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t because of the Star.

Why I’m on the fence over G20 violence

G20 Wrapup...

Some G20 Protesters Rely On Music, Humor To Get Attention

By Monica Gutschi, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

TORONTO -(Dow Jones)- There was a guy in a pirate outfit. There were the socialist cheerleaders in black and red, shaking pompoms ingeniously created from garbage bags. There was a gentleman in a tartan kilt and cap.
And there were several clowns, including "Ever Ready", decked out in camouflage, a red rubber nose, a pink boa, a purple dust mop and a medieval helmet with face mask. No knee pads, though: those were taken away by the police that surrounded the diverse group of protesters who gathered at a downtown Toronto park Friday to protest the Group of 20 summit to be held in the city this weekend.
"I can't have kneepads, and look at all the gear they have," Ever Ready, who would give her name only as Gwendolyn and her age at around 60, said of the dozens of police surrounding the park.
The police presence was significant, given the relatively small crowd that came out for the Day of Action organized by labor unions and left-wing groups. About 1,000 people gathered at Allen Gardens, several blocks northeast of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to protest the lack of action on promoting the rights of women, homosexuals, the disabled, indigenous peoples, the poor, and the disenfranchised. While there were fears of violence--and a few scuffles--it seemed more a street party than a protest rally.
A longtime activist who has participated in several of the marches held this week ahead of the G-20 meeting, Ever Ready said her clown suit was intended to send a message. "I want to bring some levity" to the events, she said. "Maybe if we can laugh together, we can work together."
Many in the colorful crowd went to similar lengths to capture attention or get a few laughs. Seamus Wolfe of Ottawa was gleefully blowing his vuvuzela, the cheap, plastic horns that create the buzzing background noise at World Cup soccer games. He said he hoped to make "as much noise" as those involved in the G-20 summit.
Michael Louis Johnson brought his trumpet to the park and held a few impromptu concerts with fellow musician Beth Washburn to promote his cause of "taking back" Toronto's streets for pedestrians by limiting the use of cars in the city.
"Having music and having creativity reminds us that we are human," he said. As well, Johnson noted, the presence of music helps "create a safe environment."
At one point, when a small group of people were denied entry to the park by police because they refused to have their knapsacks searched, there was a minor confrontation. As the crowd surged to surround the group, and police rushed to do the same, Johnson played a calvary charge, then "morphed it" to a blues riff, drawing several laughs.
"If people are laughing, then they're less likely to come to blows," he said.
He came out to the rally because he felt it was "really critical" people feel confident they can come out and protest despite the heavy security. Still, Johnson came alone and sent his wife and child out of town for the weekend, because, he said, he didn't want them "on the front line."
Indeed, children were noticeably absent from rally. Many in the crowd said their absence had much to do with the ramped-up security and the potential for violence.
Many, like Gwendolyn, said they were primarily outraged by the C$1.2 billion price tag the summit is costing the city. Gwendolyn said she would have preferred the money be used to alleviate some of the poverty in the city instead.

-By Monica Gutschi, Dow Jones Newswires;

G20 You And I...

Don’t worry, they’ll be gone soon

Ed Drass

21 June 2010 12:00

 

Toronto is going to be tested during the next week. The GTA will become increasingly difficult to move around and by the weekend our home will fall under the world’s attention. For a few moments the planet is going to switch its focus from football matches to politicians playing serious economic games.

If past global summits are an indication, there will also be images of police and protesters — plus the occasional profile story about an orderly, multicultural city in a northern land.

Beyond the TV screens and headlines, Torontonians will go about their daily lives‚ or try to. The world will not care if Highway 427 or the Gardiner is closed down for a motorcade, but commuters caught in gridlock will.

How we deal with the disruptions to our daily habits will say a lot about us. Are we going to grumble when told our train is to be delayed … indefinitely? Snap at each other as we exit a bus or streetcar that is suddenly taken out of service?

Possibly, but there are also those moments when strangers are forced to share unexpected difficulties — and the normal, cold boundaries between people briefly drop away.

So instead of fleeing Toronto for the week let’s continue to enjoy our city, including the core. Despite an insane amount of money being spent on the G20, downtown businesses are going to hurt. The rest of us can help reduce the financial pain by intentionally frequenting restaurants and shops in and near the security zones.

The possibility of encountering an angry demonstration is more likely than we have ever experienced here, and a lot less fun than witnessing jubilant soccer fans take over the streets. However, in both cases you will likely hear the noise from far enough away to avoid being caught in the middle.

We can continue to live our lives, but with a bit more awareness.

For example, transit riders have been warned to bring a snack in case of delays. A good pair of walking shoes may also be a good idea, particularly for Lakeshore West GO train users.

You never know when you’ll have to get off at Exhibition station and hoof it the rest of the way.

Quick tip
Keep a close eye on ttc.ca and gotransit.com — but don’t expect delay info to be as complete or timely as desired.

– Toronto-based transport writer Ed Drass covers transit issues every Monday; transit@eddrass.com.

G20?? Been There Done That...

Dear Toronto: Good luck with that 

David Shribman 

A veteran of Pittsburgh's G20 offers his tips for surviving the summit

What? They cancelled Roy Halladay’s return to Toronto because the G20 is coming to town? Here’s hoping that the Blue Jays’ relocation to Philadelphia is the biggest dislocation you have. And here’s betting it’s not even close.
We in Pittsburgh were hosts last year, and it had its moments of amusement. There were parties and banquets and some very serious talk about some very serious issues, a fraction of which actually was comprehensible to normal people. Nicolas Sarkozy was here, and so was Barack Obama. Gordon Brown was here, too, but don’t look for him in Toronto.
The G20 prompted a lot of things we seldom experience, and each provided a lesson. One of our Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporters got arrested for doing her job, which is to report the news even if it includes a near riot. The lesson was that even in an era where the newspaper business is in peril, it is still perilous to be a newspaper reporter. A lot of businesses were shut down. The lesson was just a warm-up for the deepening recession. (I also slept at the office twice. The lesson was that if you are going to sleep in the office, choose a profession where presses don’t start rumbling under your cot at 2 in the morning.)
Pittsburgh’s town fathers and mothers ardently and unanimously proclaimed the G20 a big boon, although not one of them could name the previous host city. They said there would be loads of great publicity and a great reminder of the lessons of Pittsburgh’s own renaissance – that if you substitute education and medicine for heavy manufacturing, and win a Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup in the same year, you can make the transition from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age.
But here is one incontrovertible truth: No amount of naysaying, no number of anarchist marches down Yonge Street, no volume of arrests, is going to convince the planners and sponsors of this event ever to concede in public – even a teeny, weeny bit – that this was anything but the greatest idea since the construction of Maple Leaf Gardens. In private, however, they may tell you how much it cost the city and its businesses, and the figure will make your eyes bug out.
So as you prepare the barricades, bicker about whether work can productively be done at home, fight about paying overtime to employees who have to overnight at the office, order up your cots, check whether your masks match the police’s tear gas, figure out how you’re going to find food when so many restaurants are closed, debate whether having soldiers on your roofs might make you targets for protesters, add costly new anti-terrorism measures at your workplace, and worry about what you’ll do if your car is in the security zone and you are not, here is a viewers’ guide to the G20:

Don’t expect much to happen. Sure, there will be protests by anarchists (wearing easily the best outfits you’ll see the entire week), people holding signs and a few people with bullhorns, but not very much is going to be decided in Toronto. At best, the 20 guests of honour will sign a document that’s already being drafted. It will sound very important, but not a soul in Toronto will be able to tell you a thing about that document a month afterward, or even a week afterward. Not even the G20’s biggest boosters. Count on this.

Don’t believe anyone who tells you life will go on as usual.
It will go on as usual only if your life usually involves security checks, not being able to go where you want for coffee, being told that you can’t go to work even if you want to (and maybe that you won’t be paid, either) and watching a Blue Jays home series being played in Philadelphia.

Don’t think you’re going to run into a world leader at Swiss Chalet. They won’t be going there, not even for the special sauce or a $9.99 double drumstick offer. It’s true that Michelle Obama did create a minor sensation by sneaking out to Pamela’s, a well-loved Pittsburgh-area landmark, for some scrumptious pancakes. But there will be very few unscripted moments at the G20. Just in case you’re wondering, dropping by your favourite Chinese restaurant on Spadina is almost certainly not in David Cameron’s script. And if it were, you wouldn’t be able to get in.

Don’t expect the inconvenience to end when the summit ends.
In Pittsburgh’s case, there were multiple arrests after the world leaders departed. That said, the gargantuan protests promised by activists never materialized. Police far outnumbered protesters. Think of this as an employment program for police officers. Or as an economic stimulus for people in the security business, although maybe no one else. (Unless you sell barbed wire, in which case this is the month you’ve been waiting for.)

Don’t expect you’ll want to play host to the G20 again. Once is enough. For most of us in Pittsburgh, the best thing about the 2010 G20 is that the dateline on all the stories will read “TORONTO, CANADA.” For us, those will be the two prettiest words in the English language.

David M. Shribman is executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of U.S. politics.

Much Ado About Protesters But How About The Participants Of The Summit...

G8 leaders form 'ultimate lonely hearts club'

It is this rare, one-on-one face time that G8 experts say is perhaps the most vital part of any summit, where leaders can let loose outside the media spotlight and establish rapports with one another that may prove fruitful in times of crisis

Silliness Abounds On Both Sides...

...and the provides a field day for editorial cartonists.

Beer And Boobs...

...the Canadian solution to any problem!

Summit taps into girl power

Preceeding the G20 Summit, girls from all the G20 countries are gathering in Toronto this week for the first G(irls)20 summit to show what the world would be like if they were in charge. 16 June 05:58

"Prisoners In Our City!" Supreme Nonsense...

...I might on occasion have a weekend dinner in the "security zone" but I ensure you I won't go hungry during the period leading up to and during the G20 meetings. Traffic chaos? When is there a weekend, or weekday, that chaos doesn't exist somewhere in the city due to construction, runs, etc. IMHO anyone that feels they are held prisoner needs to have a reality checkup!

Skype this! For $1 billion we get to be prisoners in our city: Sa

By RACHEL SA, Toronto Sun

It’s too late for Toronto to escape the G20 juggernaut.

There Has To Be SOMEONE Who Supports G20 And G8

...besides the politicians!

Right Or Wrong Stephen You Blew This One...

 POLL: 73% SAY HEADS SHOULD ROLL

 ...but you have to wonder how many of the 73% could rhythm off how the money is being spent! 

  HAD HARPER USED SOUND JUDGMENT, HERE'S HOW HE COULD OTHERWISE HAVE SPENT $1 BILLION  HARPER'S $1 BILLION BOONDOGGLE  Spending $1 billion to play host is preposterous ....Seemingly at loose ends, media ham Kevin Page to probe summit costs ...Speaking of salted cured meats, cue Mark Holland ...AG Fraser to audit ludicrous summit expenses ...

I will Spend That Weekend At The Track...

...while pondering whether there will be still be people asking; Why can't you find a police officer when you want one?"

The Toronto G20 primer

A comprehensive guide to downtown Toronto and the impact the G20 Summit will have on the city. May 28, 2010

One Billion Well Spent?

Anti-G20 slogans spray-painted on several Toronto banks

 

The Canadian Press

 One person has reportedly been arrested for allegedly spray-painting anti-G20 slogans on several banks in downtown Toronto.

But When All Is Said And Done...

...it gives social in-activists something to do. 

The G in G20 must stand for Gross

By Kelly McParland  May 27, 2010 – 12:06 pm

 

You’re the head of a minority government that has just shepherded Canada through a global downturn with considerable success. You are hoping to turn this feat into political support based on the image it provides of prudence, discipline and financial acumen. In pursuit of this goal, you decide to:
1. Keep a close eye on expenditures, limiting the outflow of tax dollars to only the most pressing needs, until you are able to  eliminate the deficit and get the national debt back under control.
2. Take the opportunity to reduce or eliminate unnecessary  costs, exploiting public support for economic security to get rid of  frivolous programs previously protected by political concerns.
3. Throw a three-day talkfest nobody cares about, blowing more than $1 billion on security while turning the country’s biggest city into an armed camp in midsummer, when it should be attracting tourists rather than storm troopers in riot gear.

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Budget watchdog probing summits' price tag of $1-billion

Tories must provide records on security costs, Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page says 3:10 AM EDT 31

• Kevin Carmichael: $1-billion is well spent
• Simpson: The siege mentality of back-to-back summits will cost us dearly