Olivia Chow, MP

NDP calls on committee to investigate G20 security

Over a week after the G20 security fence was taken down the Conservative government has still done nothing to address concerns about the conduct of summit security personnel, violations of civil liberties, violence and property destruction, and the political and operational decisions that led to these problems. Today, after securing support from other members of the committee, New Democrat Public Safety Critic Don Davies (Vancouver-Kingsway) officially called for a special meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to be convened to get to the bottom of these lingering questions.

“The Conservatives spent close to a billion dollars on security but are refusing to be held publicly accountable for all that went wrong,” said Davies. “They said the massive security force would prevent violence – it did not. They said that civil liberties would be protected – they were not.”

The meeting, which must be called within the next five days, will be the first opportunity to publicly address the serious questions that have been raised about the implementation of security plans.

• Why did the federal government ignore the concerns and suggestions of the local government in holding the summit in downtown Toronto on a weekend?
• Who requested the temporary suspension of basic civil liberties for the duration of the summits? And why was this done in secret?
• What role did federal officials play in the Integrated Security Unit in policing the summit?
• Will the government compensate Toronto and its business-owners for the damage that Harper’s summits have caused?

“The Committee is the fastest way to publicly inquire into what happened and who made which decisions,” said Davies. “From the Prime Minister to the Chief of the Toronto Police Service, everyone has been passing the buck. Our committee will be able to investigate at all levels including the federal government, the Integrated Security Unit, the city of Toronto, the Province of Ontario and all of the police forces involved.”