G20 aftermath

This was Queen Street West in downtown Toronto early Sunday afternoon.

Mostly empty streets, about a dozen boarded up storefronts, and police on every corner, usually rifling through the backpacks of pedestrians and cyclists.
This follows yesterday's protests during which dozens of black-clad 'anarchists' (more accurately, 'idiots') smashed storefronts, set police cars on fire, and threatened people who tried to stop them. Meanwhile, the police were performing illegal searches of people, strong-arming non-violent protesters, and shooting people with rubber bullets.

Today, while police massed outside the Eaton Centre (recent busloads pictured above), neighbouring Nathan Phillips Square wasn't giving in. The Toronto Jazz Festival is on, and a sizable crowd gathered to enjoy awesome tunes, and basically give the disruptive protesters a communal, figurative middle-finger.

Following the groovy tunes, I cycled around the downtown for a couple of hours. I was not questioned by police, even when I was standing opposite the fencing that surrounds the G20 security zone (below), but that could also be due to my genial demeanour, ready smile for police, and Aussie accent. 

The only time I was stopped was while I was being a good samaritan, trying to find out for a couple of tourists if airport shuttles were running (they were, but no idea where the usual pick-up points were behind wire fences). The police were largely friendly, and the only officer who was being brusque brightened considerably when I explained I was doing a favour for random strangers. He still wouldn't let me cycle north on Bay Street though, despite the fact people were still coming south. I had to go over to Yonge, head north for a number of blocks, then go west and back south on Bay. Make sense of that, eh?

As the hapless tourists headed to the subway, I went back to Yonge Street, where I then somehow got involved in a bicycle protest. I was happy enough to go along with it for a bit, as it seemed they were protesting the G20 goons as much as they were protesting any worldly wrongs. But then some of them started mouthing off at attending media, and I got out of there. I'm all for peaceful rebukes of violent protest. I'm dead against blatant idiocy and the lambasting of the people whose attention such protests are meant to attract.

Idiots.

As I waited for the straggling cyclists to go past, I overheard a police scanner message mentioning rubber bullets being fired. Sounded like a good time to get out of dodge. Turning homewards, I was overtaken by a flurry of unmarked police vans, a busload of more cops, and the rolling out of the horsey squad.

 

Once out of the downtown, the town was pretty much back to normal. Soccer fans cheered, brunchers munched, and sparse but cheerful crowds browsed through shops. In my neighbourhood, children laughed and played on the virtually derelict streets.

It's a beautiful Sunday in Toronto. If only the G20 delegates had been able to see it.