July 8, 2010
G20, an open letter to Dalton McGuinty
Ali Mallah
More by this author...Mr. Premier: With great dismay I read your comments in The Globe and Mail story "McGuinty refuses to apologize over G-20 fence law."
To simply state “I know that some folks feel that their rights have been abridged...etc.” is not only a gross denial of what took place, but it is an insult to most of the 1,000 persons who were abused and unlawfully detained by the very people who are supposed to protect and serve them.
It is an insult, Mr. Premier, to all of us in Toronto, Ontario and Canada who exercise our democratic rights, which includes the right to dissent and protest.
Broken windows and damaged cars are easily replaceable, but civil liberties violations and abuses of power will leave a long-lasting impact.
Mr. Premier, apologizing for wrongs takes courage. Brave people take responsibility for their decisions and actions. It’s not late for you to be one of them.
Please spare us the fake concern about the cost of a public inquiry.
More than $1.2 billion was wasted on so-called security measures to protect the G20 leaders for a meeting that lasted only a few hours.
The same amount could have provided more than 200,000 families with basic needs, food and shelter for a year, or it could have given 200,000 students a year of post-secondary education.