2010-10-04
TORONTO - A group of lawyers, civil libertarians and politicians are renewing their calls for a full public inquiry into the G20 summit.
The call comes 100 days after the controversial gathering of world leaders was held in Toronto.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says she'll introduce a bill in the Ontario legislature that would create an inquiry to examine all aspects of government and law enforcement decision-making related to the June summit.
Howard Morton, a lawyer who defended the only person charged under the province's so-called fence law, and Graeme Norton, a lawyer with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, are urging the public to support the bill.
They say a full public inquiry is needed to get to the bottom of what happened.
Even though six separate reviews of the G20 are already underway, they say none have the mandate or jurisdiction to provide the answers many people are seeking.
More than 1,000 people were detained during the G20 summit, which saw factions of black-clad vandals break away from peaceful demonstrations, smashing windows and burning police cars.
It's believed to be the largest mass arrest in Canadian history, surpassing even the October Crisis in 1970 when martial law was imposed.