| | |  Americas & Beyond 
$115M Lawsuit Launched Against G20 Police
 Sheena Goodyear - QMI Agency
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September 04, 2010
| | Police arrest a protester at a rally outside the temporary G20 police detention center in Toronto, June 27, 2010. (Simon Hayter/Getty Images) | |
Toronto Two Torontonians are launching a $115-million class-action lawsuit against police on behalf of everyone detained during the G20 protests in July.
Miranda McQuade and Mike Barber, who were both arrested during the Summit, are suing on behalf of 1,150 people who were detained.
The statement of claim filed Thursday names the Toronto Police Services Board, the Attorney-General of Canada and the Regional Municipality of Peel Police Services Board as co-defendants.
QMI Agency's requests for comment from the co-defendants were not immediately returned.
"The wholesale violation of civil liberties which occurred during the G20 must be addressed by the courts to preserve our democracy, said lawyer David Midanik in a statement. These violations will escalate unless and until people are willing to stand up for their rights in a court of law.
The international Summit in Toronto on July 26 and 27 sparked massive protests in the streets that saw cops cars torched, windows smashed, and more than 1,000 people arrested and held in makeshift detention centres overnight.
Erin Cauchi, who was detained outside during a rainstorm by armed riot cops for three hours on July 27, isn't convinced suing for million is the answer. She'd rather see an inquiry.
I don't think money's going to prevent this from happening again, said Cauchi. It's about getting the awareness out there so people don't just forget about this.
Cauchi is the president of Canadian University Press, a co-operative of student newspapers. She turned up at the intersection of Queen and Spadina on July 27 to vouch for a pair of student journalists who were being held by police.
But she ended up being among 400 protesters and bystanders "kettled" by police for four hours. She said she had a rifle pointed at her and that she kept hearing rumblings that cops were going to use rubber bullets. She was eventually released, and told that she'd been arrested for breach of peace and cleared of all charges.
I'm in support of the class-action suit, but skeptical it'll amount to anything if the government won't even approve an inquiry, which is ridiculous considering the clear violation of rights, particularly of the freedom of the press, Cauchi told QMI Agency.
It's scary to think of the precedent the G20 sets wherein any high-profile or controversial event is cause to eradicate civil liberties.
The stated goal of the lawsuit is to deter the defendants and any other public authority from acting in a manner which arbitrarily limits the democratic and constitutional rights of the people.
The statement of claim accuses the defendants of assault, battery, abuse of power, abuse of process, false arrest, false imprisonment, infliction of mental suffering, invasion of privacy, trespass, abuse of public office, harassment and intimidation.
The Ontario Provincial Police, the RCMP and the Integrated Security Unit were also named in the statement.
None of the allegations have been proven in court and a response to the statement of claim has not been filed.
sheena.goodyear(at)sunmedia.ca
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