, Tom Tomorrow’s This Modern World was about the OAS/FTAA Summit, being held in Quebec City in a couple of weeks. Large protests are expected, and Federal, provincial, and local forces have been in a frenzy preparing for the huge event.
One of the tactics being employed to [keep the peace | stifle public debate] is to build a huge fence surrounding the core of Quebec City – you can see Blinky the Dog standing by the fence in the cartoon. On Saturday, the Gazette published more info about the fence and the other so-called security measures being taken.
But not so fast. A Montreal-based lawyer has gone to court to bring the fence down, calling it a violation of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms – specifically, that it limits the ability of law-abiding citizens to freely assemble. I’m with him – and more to the point, I think that if the organizers had gone out of their way to accomodate and work with the protesters, a great deal of the potential for trouble could have been avoided. Alas, I think it’s too late now. And, yet again, the maxim that “the police cause riots” will be proven true in Quebec.
