http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/blog-local-view/g20-pro...
After a failed attempt to corral protesters in Queen Street West’s popular Trinity Bellwoods Park during June’s G20 summit, police have announced that the “designated speech area” will now be located in Queen’s Park North.
The official change of plan came after strong public outcry caused police to move the zone out of Trinity Bellwoods, and led a coalition of labour groups to cancel their plans to march to the park.
Wendy Drummond, of the Integrated Security Unit, said security officials took into consideration feedback from town hall meetings and community groups when exploring other options, and settled on Queen’s Park, which is about 2.7 kilometres from the summit site at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Queen's Park North is located just south of Bloor Street and Avenue Road, and Const. Drummond says the new location is more accessible, can be reached by public transit and is not too close to residential areas.
“The concerns raised about Trinity Bellwoods have been addressed in this new location,” she said.
View Larger Map
Last week, a group comprised of the Ontario Federation of Labour, the Canadian Labour Congress, Council of Canadians, Oxfam and Greenpeace, announced that a march planned for June 26 would begin and end at Queen’s Park, amending their planned route to Trinity Bellwoods.
But not everyone thinks protesters should be so accommodating.
On Twitter yesterday, Montreal based activist Jaggi Singh posted: “Just discovered a ‘permit’ to protest against the G20 in Toronto: it's called the Charter of Rights. So, stop asking cops for ‘permission’.”
Const. Drummond said the idea of setting up a designated protest zone, which will host a live feed to the summit site so protesters can be seen by visiting dignitaries, was actually a recommendation of the Hughes Commission, which investigated RCMP conduct at the 1997 APEC conference in Vancouver.