By David Ryder  thestar.com 28 June, 2010

Vandalism and mass arrests during this weekend’s G20 protests in Toronto were the result of Ottawa’s bad planning, not the actions of police, Mayor David Miller said this morning.

And Miller said Torontonians might feel the chaos of the G20 weekend was worth it if the gathering of world leaders produced important results – but it didn't.

“I think the people of this city were prepared to accept some consequences if some really important decisions were made,” Miller told the Star in an interview Monday morning.

“I'm not sure that an agreement on fiscal responsibility was enough to justify holding the meeting at all,” he added. “I understand that they didn’t discuss climate change, for example, at all.”

Miller also said some of what Police Chief Bill Blair called unprecedented “wanton criminality and destruction on our streets” could have been avoided had Ottawa listened to his pleas to hold the meeting at Exhibition Place, instead of at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, in the heart of downtown.

“From the beginning, the City of Toronto said it should be held at Exhibition Place, which is self contained and already has a perimeter,” rather than downtown, he said, adding Torontonians felt “uncomfortable” with the fencing of a security zone around the convention centre.

“Clearly, violent criminals would have come here wherever it was held, but I think the impact would have been quite different if it was held at Exhibition Place. I think the decision (to hold the G20 downtown) was unfortunate and some what happened can be traced back to that decision.”

Miller said he knows that many Torontonians are questioning the actions of their police force this morning, including the scene depicted in a viral YouTube video in which protesters singing “O Canada” and then starting to sit down on the street are suddenly charged by riot police without any apparent threat to them.

He noted that the Toronto Police Services Board provides oversight of the force and said people are free to lodge a complaints about police conduct, which will be investigated.

But he also said that, overall, Toronto police acted to the “highest standard” and deserve the thanks of Torontonians for ensuring nobody was injured.

“Our police were put in a virtually impossible situation by violent criminals hiding in the midst of peaceful protests,” Miller said.

“In the big picture we should say ‘thank you’ to our police.

“If there were a couple of places where perhaps orders should have been different, fair enough,” he said.

“If you question why protesters were held in the rain for four hours last night, fair enough. We have civilian oversight and I encourage people to avail themselves of (the complaints) process if they wish.”

Miller rejected calls for a municipal inquiry into how the city conducted itself but suggested perhaps there should be some kind of provincial and/or federal review.

“Toronto police have civilian oversight but the Integrated Security Unit, which also includes the OPP and RCMP, does not. I think it would be fair to examine if, in the future, an ISU for an event like this needs civilian accountability and oversight,” Miller said.

“Also, where the province passed a regulation involving proximity to the security fence without notice to the people of Toronto, that would be a fair question.”

The controversial regulatory change, made by Premier Dalton McGuinty and other members of a cabinet committee at Blair’s request, made it a jailing offence to refuse to show police identification or submit to a search within five metres of specific portions of the security fence.

Miller only learned about the change after reading a Star story about a protester who was detained on a charge that few Torontonians knew existed.

McGuinty and Blair have justified their actions by saying the change was posted on a provincial government website but Miller has noted that official publication of the regulatory change – when it might have got public notice – hasn't happened yet.
(original link)

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