BY JEFF SHANTZ
TORONTO — The Canadian state, at all levels, has responded to anti-war demonstrations and direct actions with an escalation of its campaign of harassment and criminalisation of activists.
In Toronto, two large anti-war actions ended with police violence and arrests. Cops have used riot squads, mounted police and attack dogs. Organisers, actual or presumed, have been targeted for arrest and held for several days without bail. Many have been beaten. Charges laid include "obstruct police" for anyone pointing out undercover police officers among the crowd.
This is not happening in isolation, of course. Nor is it unique to anti-war actions. In Ontario, this campaign against political dissent has been building for years. It has received a tremendous boost from the efforts of the chief of Toronto's police force, Julian Fantino.
Fantino has been at the forefront of implementing the "law and order" political agenda, complete with racial profiling and the singling out of gays and lesbians for harassment and arrest. Fantino has long targeted direct-action groups like the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty for harsh repression. Having worked to legitimise violent policing of demonstrations, he is now seeking mandatory punishments for anyone arrested for acts of political dissent.
In March, Fantino launched his most recent attempt to institute a police state in Ontario. This plan would require demonstration organisers to first obtain a permit from the police department. As well, Fantino's plan would institute a mandatory one-year sentence for any conviction resulting from any action taking place at a political demonstration.
So if you step off the curb, that's a crime and subject to a mandatory year in jail. Cause a "disturbance" by shouting: one year in jail. If a demonstration is not granted a permit by the cops, then simply showing up is an illegal act and, you guessed it, anyone who does so is in the slammer for one year!
The other part of Fantino's plan requires any group planning a demonstration to pay a "damage deposit" upfront. This is clearly directed at protest groups which are made up of poor people and have no resources available to pay such a deposit. Of course, if you don't pay it, the demo is illegal and, that's right, a year in jail for everyone.
From Green Left Weekly, April 23, 2003.
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