G8 and G20 meetings wrap up in Canada

The G8 and G20 summits wrapped up in Huntsville and Toronto over the weekend, amidst big spending promises from the leaders and the arrests of over 600 protesters.

FSRN's Aaron Lakoff was in the streets of Toronto, and files this report:

TRANSCRIPT:

Many were calling the city "Fortress Toronto," a pun to describe Canada's largest city with a $1.2 billion security makeover.

More than 19,000 police were out in the streets during the weekend's demonstrations, making the G20 also the largest security maneuver in Canadian history.

The police also had a wide arsenal of weapons with them, including long-range acoustic devices, or sound cannons. However on Friday at the Ontario Superior Court in Toronto, a ruling was made to limit the police use of this weapon due to concerns over hearing damage.

The theme of the summit was recovery from the financial crisis and sustainable growth. As always, issues facing the African Continent made up a large part of the meetings' agendas, including the exploitation of natural resources and development in the most vulnerable states.

One of the few non G20 African leaders present at the Toronto summit was Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Members of Toronto's Ethiopian community were out at Saturday's demonstration to highlight Zenawi's alleged human rights abuses against people of the Ogaden region.

This is Kitaba Magarsa, a Canadian of Ethiopian descent, speaking at Saturday's demonstration at Queens Park:

"Our tax money is giving service to a murderer who is not supposed to be here. He was invited by our prime minister and we are saying no to this."

The demonstration drew approximately 10,000 people, and was organized by the Canadian Labour Congress, environmental NGO's and grassroots activist groups.

The day before, an anti-poverty demonstration drew a large number of people with disabilities. Griffin Epstein is with the group Damn 2025, a disability rights group:

"First of all, the leaders of the G20 are responsible for the brutal, neo-liberal capitalist policies that are keeping disabled people at the margins of society, and keeping us policed-out and priced-out and discriminated against and surveilled. And also, the billion dollars that was spent on hosting the G20 here could have been put into the pockets of poor people who are struggling to survive and making choices every day as to whether they are going to eat, or use transit, or be able to be housed."

According to the Toronto Star, G8 leaders meeting in Huntsville made a pledge of $5 billion towards maternal and child health. However, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been slammed by critics over the last few weeks due to the fact that he doesn't want that money going towards abortion programs overseas. Feminist organizations charge that these restrictions Harper placed on the funding reflect the intention of his cabinet to re-criminalize abortion in Canada.

Darrah Teitel is with Canadians for Choice, and we asked her why she was out protesting the G20:

"Mostly for reproductive justice. I think that this is not something to be messed around with. It's key to women being free and safe inside a society, and when women are free and safe inside a society, the society is healthier in general."

On Saturday morning at the G8 gathering, U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron held a sideline meeting on the future of the war in Afghanistan. The two discussed ending corruption and improving the electoral system in the country.

Meanwhile, two Canadian soldiers, Master Corporal Kristal Giesebrecht and Private Andrew Miller, were killed Saturday in Afghanistan when their vehicle hit an explosive device near Kandahar City.

That brings the death toll of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan to 150, and the total NATO military death toll to nearly 1900, according to icasualties.org. Tens of thousands of civilians have also been killed since the war began. In 2009 alone, the death toll for Afghan civilians was more than 1400, according to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

Saturday's demonstration was demanding the abolition of the G8 and G20. Riots erupted as hundreds of demonstrators took to Toronto's financial district, with windows of banks and chain stores being smashed, and at least three police cars burned.

The day ended with police preventing people from returning to Queens Park, which was the city's officially designated protest area.

As of early Sunday, at least 400 arrests had been made. On Sunday morning, a demonstration was planned outside the jail where those arrested were being detained. According to the Toronto Community Mobilization Network, activist groups also planned prayer vigils, autonomous direct actions, and a bike-block demonstration.

Aaron Lakoff, FSRN, Toronto

Photo: Tim and Selena Middleton