G20 Toronto Summit

1. G20 Toronto Summit June 26-27 2010

2. What is the G20 • The G20 is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union, with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. • The finance ministers and central bank governors began meeting in 1999, at the suggestion of the G7 finance ministers in response to the global financial crisis of 1997-99. • Since then, there has been a finance ministerial meeting every fall.

3. What was the Summit? • The 2010 G-20 Toronto summit was the 4th meeting of the G-20 heads of government, in discussion of the global financial system and the world economy, which took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto on June 26 and 27, 2010. • The summit's priorities included evaluating the progress of financial reform, developing sustainable stimulus measures,debating global bank tax, and promoting open markets. • Alongside the twenty-one representatives of the G-20 major economies, leaders of six invited nations, and eight additional international organizations also took part in the summit.

4. Logistics • An Integrated Security Unit, consisting of police officers from different regional departments, was formed to provide security during the summit in Downtown Toronto, where the venue was located. • The event was part of the largest and most expensive security operation in Canadian history. • The total cost for preparations, including security, infrastructure, and hospitality, was determined to be approximately 858 million.

5. Security • Security officials began preparing for summit security in Toronto around mid-February 2010. • General policing and patrolling was provided by the Toronto Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Forces, while the Peel Regional Police aided in policing at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga during the arrivals of delegates. • The five departments formed an Integrated Security Unit (ISU), similar to the ISU created during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. • Additional officers were deployed from surrounding regions a week before the summit.

6. Security cont… • According to an early estimate by the Globe and Mail, 10,000 uniformed police officers, 1,000 security guards, and several Canadian military forces were to be deployed during the summit. • The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) conducted exercises on May 6 and 7 across the GTA using jets and helicopters at low altitudes. • The total cost for security at both the G8 and the G-20 summits was determined to be $1 billion, paid entirely by the federal Crown-in-Council, excluding the costs of any possible damage to local business.

7. Toronto - Logistics • The ISU created a security perimeter, beginning with the outer boundary, specifically bordered by King Street to the north, Lake Shore Boulevard to the south, Young Street to the east, and Spadina Avenue to the west, where vehicles were to be restricted during the summit dates. • Residents who lived within the security zone were issued registration cards prior to the summit and other pedestrians who wished to enter the security zone were only able to do so at one of 38 checkpoints, where they were required to present two pieces of photo identification and provide reasoning for entry. • The area surrounding the Metro Toronto Convention Centre itself was fenced and off limits to civilians and protesters. • The 3-metre (10 ft) high fence was built at a cost of $5.5-million and began erection on June 7. • Toronto Police Service installed 77 additional closed-circuit television security cameras in the area and purchased four Long Range Acoustic Devices which were to be in use exclusively during the summit. • The ISU decided on also using water cannons for riot control.

8. Toronto – Logistics cont… • A former film studio located on Eastern Avenue was designated as a temporary detention centre for individuals arrested during the summit. • Toronto Police Service announced that Trinity Bellwoods Park would be the designated protest area, but following opposition from local residents, police relocated the designated protest zone to the northern part of Queen's Park. • Canada Post declared that it would remove post boxes in the security zone. • Toronto Parking Authority removed some parking meters as well. • Small trees along sidewalks around the convention centre were removed to prevent them from being used as weapons by protesters. • Other removed municipal property include 745 newspaper boxes, 200 public trash cans, 70 mailboxes, 29 bus shelters, and 5 public information boards.

9. Protests • The Toronto summit was the target of widespread protesting which occurred in downtown Toronto during the week of the summit. • Protests began one week ahead of the summit, organized by groups including Oxfam Canada and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. • Issues such as poverty, gay rights, capitalism and globalization, indigenous rights, and controversial issues within the summit itself were the object of protests. • Despite a few arrests, protests over the week were mainly determined to be peaceful.

10. Not so peaceful Protests • As the first day of the summit approached, protesters grew in numbers. Several streets were closed down for demonstrations on the debut of the summit. • Peaceful protests were followed by black bloc tactics as individuals dressed in black dispersed from the crowd and began damaging the windows of particular businesses across Downtown Toronto, mostly fast food chains, retail stores and banks, as well as local businesses. • Police cruisers were set on fire and vehicles of media corporations were damaged. • Nearby hospitals, shopping centres, and hotels were put in a lockdown mode while public transit services were diverted from Downtown to other locations.

11. Police Response – Questionable Tactics • As security was further tightened and forces increased in presence the following day, protests against police brutality occurred in front of the Eastern Avenue temporary detention centre, where nearly 500 arrested individuals were kept from the previous day's riots. • A group of protesters was also "kettled" for several hours through the night after black bloc protesters were believed to be in the crowd. • Over 1100 people were confirmed to be arrested over the week. • The ISU performed sweeping arrests within a specific boundary from the summit venue. • However, despite media coverage informing the public that officers had the power to demand identification and to detain people within five metres of the site, it was later found that no such law existed. • Individuals arrested during the protest condemned the treatment they received from police.