By Anas Attia

For over nine months, Toronto’s anti-lockdown protesters congregated and marched weekly, peacefully and without incident. Their messages revolve around the negative effects of lockdowns, among other topics, critical of government mandates. Police and protestors were respectful of each other, for the most part, with very few tickets being handed out over the months. But on January 16th, Toronto Police Services took an aggressive stance with protestors.

The scene at Yonge and Dundas Square that morning was nothing short of astounding. Police lined the Square in rows where the protesters always meet. It may have been the biggest show of force in Toronto’s recent history. An estimated force of 200+ officers (many dressed in what appeared to be riot control style uniforms) were there in addition to the streets being lined with police vehicles. This included a large number of vans, a coach bus, paramedic vehicles, court services vans and a command center RV.

Upon trickling in, the protesters were threatened with fines and possible arrest, citing the stay-a-home order. A man in his 30’s, seemingly eating a sandwich alone, was the first one caught on video being tackled to the ground by a handful of police officers. It was a clear signal that this day’s protest was not to be peaceful as the previous 38 Saturday’s were.

In a desperate attempt to begin dialogue with the police, audio speakers were erected by protestors and a few of them got on the microphone to express their concerns. Their main concerns seemed to be how the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms (our basic, fundamental rights which every officer swears an oath to uphold) was not being upheld. Police responded to their pleas by sending 40-50 officers into the crowd to extract the woman who was speaking. Police also confiscated the generator & all the audio equipment.

Police continued with their strong stance, arresting and fining people who questioned their orders, making 3 arrests and issuing 18 tickets. “This protest is over’’, was heard being yelled by a commanding officer over a loudspeaker. “Go home” another officer announced. With masked up faces (many wearing sunglasses too) they stood side by side, looking strangely unhuman and creating an advancing wall, pushing protestors out of the way if they did not do so on their own.

Around noon, a protester yelled out “it’s like G20”, on a live video of the event, implying the police were about to arrest everyone like they did during the G20 protests of 2010. (For which Toronto Police Services was sued by 1,100 protestors and forced to pay out 16.5 million dollars in damages for breach of the Charter against innocent citizens.) And so, almost at once, the protesters began to march North on Yonge St., opposite from their usual path and without their usual Police escort.

They marched for hours and made many stops including mainstream media outlets, the Police Station, Queens Park, John Tory’s residence and City Hall before returning to Yonge and Dundas Square where they were greeted by an even stronger police presence. This resulted in more arrests and tickets.

The following week was much the same. Protesters were quickly dispersed from the Square and then marched un-escorted around the city. This time the media was also forced to leave under threats of fines or arrest. A police officer stated on video that the media was not an essential service at this time. Later that day the police reversed their position in a reply to a CityNews inquiry regarding the matter.

At one point in the 4 hour march, the protestors split into two groups and never returned to the square.

A spokesperson for the RCMP and another for the Toronto Police Service expressed similar sentiments when asked about the situation. “We were just there enforcing the Emergency Measures Act” said Staff Sgt Jeff Johnson.

The situation begs the question; Is The Canadian Charter of Rights And Freedoms no longer valid? And if not, who claims authority to supersede it? These are questions that every Canadian should be asking.