What the G20 Protests Can Teach Us

I have little sympathy for the protesters who took to the streets of Toronto last summer to rail against globalization (whatever that means), free trade, corporations, capitalism, or whatever their beef happened to be.  Those that went down to witness the protests and got a face full of tear gas also get little sympathy from me.  I live in mid-town Toronto and purposefully avoided going anywhere near that chaotic scene.

Nevertheless, I worry about such shows of force by the police.  Let's not forget that the police are the instrument of the government (the state) to carry out the enforcement of laws, but also to coerce citizens at times.  The police power of the state is one of the most important powers of the government, but also the one to fear the most.

The story of Dorian Barton is one of particular concern for those who value freedom, the rule of law, and freedom of speech.  Barton put himself in a bad situation, but that's never an excuse for police brutality.

The police are there to serve and protect citizens.  It appeared that many citizens were caught in the crossfire at the G20 and were arrested without having broken any laws.  Much of the blame falls on TO Police Chief Blair who seems incapable of showing any consistency in enforcing the law (think Tamil Tiger protests when nothing was done as laws were blatantly broken).

The law must be enforced consistently for people to respect it and those that enforce it.  The law is not arbitrary, indeed arbitrary laws are unconstitutional on their face.

While the decision to hold the G20 in Toronto was a poor one, and one that caused much trouble in terms of safety, protests, and traffic congestion, it should not detract from that inalienable right of peaceful expression, assembly, and movement.  All such rights are subject to reasonable restrictions of course, but it is difficult for me to honestly say that many individuals had their rights breached by the police during the G20 protests.

At the same time, the rights of law abiding citizens were jeopardized by the violent, unjustified actions of many hooded thugs who attached, destroyed, and vandalized private property. 

My point is that caution should be exercised when police enforcement powers are used with such a heavy hand.  Similarly, the rights of expression, speech, and assembly should not be carried out in a way that threatens the safety of officers, the public, or dignitaries either.  It boils down to responsibility, and many showed a tremendous lack of personal responsibility on both sides of the picket lines last summer.