Recent
Watch also...
Toronto demands compensation, praises police
By Amy Minsky
In the aftermath of Toronto’s G20 summit, which saw hundreds arrested and businesses damaged, Mayor David Miller applauded on Monday the work of police and renewed his call for Ottawa to compensate those affected by the weekend protests.
Parts of the downtown core of Canada’s largest city turned into an urban battleground over the weekend as protesters, activists and anarchists clashed with police. Storefront windows were smashed, police cruisers were lit on fire, and officers fired plumes of white and grey smoke — so-called “muzzle blasts” — into the crowds.
No estimates on the damage have yet been provided.
The Toronto mayor told reporters Monday that hosting the summit in Toronto “was a mistake” and that the city will push Ottawa to compensate businesses.
“Not just compensation for damage, which was serious, but compensation for people who were unable to work because their businesses shut down . . . We’ll be fighting for them as well,” he said.
Miller said it’s his understanding that the only businesses entitled to compensation from the government are those that remained open and can prove their losses.
He said the city will not provide any compensation to businesses and workers, but will facilitate communication between businesses and the appropriate government departments.
“It’s a federal responsibility,” he said. “It was their conference.”
The mayor commended police, saying officers did an “extraordinary job in almost impossible circumstances,” despite the damage, and claims from some civilians that police acted with exaggerated force at times.
Miller said he regretted that some innocent people were caught up in the arrests.
And despite the photographs and video footage of the weekend, Miller said nobody is “too, too concerned” about people seeing Toronto in a negative light.
What’s more important, he said, is the matter of compensation, especially in light of the $1 billion spent on security.
Ontario’s Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Rick Bartolucci also applauded the Toronto police for their “professionalism,” and Police Chief Bill Blair and Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino for their leadership.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Toronto+demands+compensation+praises+police/3210578/story.html#ixzz0sB0cW32Y
Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Toronto+demands+compensation+praises+police/3210578/story.html