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by Brian Burch
with research assistance by David Kappler-Burch
State sanctioned violence against protesters is a normal state of affairs in Canada. It is so pervasive that its absence seems more noteworthy. Images of young people pepper sprayed at an anti-APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Conference) rally, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) riot squad members attacking students at the province's government buildings (Queen's Park), an anti-poverty activist suddenly swarmed by police and beaten to the ground, or Dudley George killed for his role in an occupation of a native burial ground do not easily fade away.
Recently I circulated a questionnaire on this topic to a number of Canadian political activists. Sixty-eight people responded with stories of police violence. Only two respondents claimed no personal experience with police violence.
The respondents were self-selected, but nonetheless presented a cross section of the Canadian population. They were of various ages and ethnic backgrounds from right across Canada, men and women, urban and rural, professionals, blue collar and unemployed, traditional leftists and seminarians. They had been beaten, strip searched, pepper sprayed, hit with cattle prods, ridden into by police mounted on horses and shot at. They were bruised, cut, suffered concussions and had bones broken. And, as one respondent remarked, they were lucky. Dudley George was killed.
Their 'crimes?' Some were holding a banner outside a legislative building. Others sat down on a roadway. Some had been handing out leaflets. A few entered buildings and then sat down. Most were not even been charged with an offense, even if others at the event were. Those that had been charged were convicted less than 30 percent of the time. All of the respondents believe that police violence is something you have to put up with in order to speak out.
Canadian history is full of examples of state violence directed against those who step out of line. Much of this violence has been directed against organized labour, from the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, through the Asbestos workers strike of the 1950s and the Artistic Woodwork strike of the early 1970s to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) strike of the late 1990s. But anyone who becomes involved in almost any sustained protest against an injustice or a threat to the environment may become a victim of police violence or witness it being directed against others.
Police violence seems to run in cycles. During the late 1960s and early 1970s there were many instances when police assaulted demonstrations against the Vietnam War and other protests across Canada. The most notable was the raid on the students occupying Sir George Williams University in [Montreal?]. After a huge public outcry, the police stepped back.
During the mid-1980s, police used a great deal of force in response to protests against the decision to test the Cruise Missile, a nuclear warhead delivery system, in Canada. After widespread public criticism, the police stepped back.
The public outcry against police violence in the 1990s seems smaller than in the past, however. Not one Toronto newspaper editorial criticized the police for beating Father Bob Holmes, who had refused to leave the lawn of the Ontario legislature. He was holding a banner opposing cuts to social services. He was not charged with any criminal offense. During the 1960s or 1980s, the police would not have been greeted with silence for beating up a priest for caring about the poor. Without public outcry, police violence seems to blossom.
It is no surprise that the police feel safe in threatening and using violence against protesters. They are merely echoing the attitudes of politicians. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien set the tone by charging into a crowd of protesters to grab one by the throat. If the leader of a country can attack a protester without risking some form of public sanction, why should the police feel that they can not?
The August 7th weekend in Toronto (when this article was written) was a tense one. A 'Safe Park' had been established in a downtown park. The police were threatening to use force to remove the homeless activists and supporters. The area's councilor, Kyle Rae, called for the police to remove the protesters as quickly as possible, claiming that they posed a danger to the community. The mayor of the Toronto, Mel Lastman, has described the homeless as thugs who are destroying the city.
How do people continue to speak out even after they have been beaten or their home has been raided, after they have watched their friends being pepper sprayed? How do they continue when yet another newspaper article reports that a police officer has been found 'not guilty' after killing someone?
The responses to the questionnaires suggested that a support community is emerging. Every respondent mentioned that it was important to be part of an organization whose activities encompass more than a mere political organization. Some, like Toronto Action for Social Change, are intentional community building exercises. Others, like the New Socialist Group, ARA-Montreal or the Community of St. Thomas, came together for a different purpose but have found that providing emotional and practical support for the victims of police violence is an important part of their work.
This support is vital. Arbitrary arrests and detention can leave one isolated and one's family facing economic and social hardships. The person whose arm was broken at the 1998 Reclaim the Streets, for example, was a musician.
People who are victims of violence may expand the web of violence. Or they may pull back. Dedicated activists can become nervous about speaking out. Others, seeing the force used against political protesters, may never speak out in the first place. Personal support, from taking someone to the hospital to follow-up phone calls to helping to find alternative employment, makes dealing with police violence less overwhelming.
In Canada, protesters are not the only ones who face police violence. Toronto's Black community has long been a target. In other parts of Canada, the aboriginal community is the focus. And, of course, the police come out at the least sign of trade union militancy. Police use even greater force against people who are targeted for multiple reasons -- native land claims activists, for example. Anyone who steps out of line in Canada can face violence at the hands of the police, who are accountable to those who call the poor and homeless thugs.
Some recent occurrences from across Canada:
May 16, 1998 -- Toronto Reclaim the Streets.
Near the end of this a peaceful protest occupying a major street, the
police entered the crowd waving knives. They cut down banners, pushed
people, and so on. One person was thrown into a paddy wagon, dragged out,
dropped onto the ground and thrown back in (this was captured on
videotape). A second person had been fine when taken into police custody,
but his arm was in a cast when he appeared in court the next day.
December 8, 1998 -- Vancouver Hyatt Hotel protest against the policies of the Jean Chretien government. Police charged into the crowd wielding clubs indiscriminately. Several people were beaten across the knees and shins.
May 17, 1999 -- Montreal Anti-Racist Action. People handing out leaflets and putting up posters were arrested. A police officer pull out a gun and threatened to shoot a mother, who was accompanied by her four year old daughter, when she asked the police why one of the protesters was being arrested.
Brian Burch can be reached at Email Brian
This page created August 20, 2000
