Saturday, June 26, 2010

G-20 Summit Competes With The Protests And Riots Outside

A man with a trumpet takes his shirt off the hood of a burning cop car on Queen Street West during the G20 Summit in Toronto, Saturday, June 26, 2010. Tyler Anderson/National Post

Violence, Confrontation As Massive Protest Snakes Through Toronto -- National Post

TORONTO — Roving gangs of black-clad protesters who split from the main protest march engaged in violent hit-and-run attacks against corporate and security targets, largely evading police for hours who remained focused on maintaining a secure perimeter around the world leaders meeting for the G20 summit.

A sign of the apparent upper hand protesters gained was stark as bright flames and black smoke spewed from two police cruisers that were set ablaze and left untended by emergency crews for perhaps 20 minutes in the late afternoon.

Read more ....

More News On Today's G-20 Meeting And Protests

G20 weekend liveblog -- CBC
G20 Chaos in Downtown Toronto -- CTV News
G20 march turns violent in Toronto, cars torched -- Reuters
G20 protest brings violence, arrests -- CBC
Violent Black Bloc tactics on display at G20 protest -- Toronto Star
Number of arrests growing following protests -- Toronto Sun
Violence by a few mars peaceful protest by many -- Globe And Mail
Police union chief sees 'very long night' ahead -- Globe And Mail
Protests turn violent in Toronto -- UPI
G20: Violent protesters ‘not welcome in this city,’ Mayor Miller says -- National Post
The G8/G20 Saturday evening roundup -- Globe And Mail
Don Martin: A smart response to a bad situation -- National Post

My Comment: I first visited Toronto in the early 1980s, it was clean, had little crime, and its economy was booming. The Provincial and municipal governments had little debt, government services were readily available, taxes were low, and the schools functioned as schools.

The Toronto of today is unrecognizable to what it was when I first visited. When I was there a few months ago, it was dirty, crime ridden, economy in decline, white flight from the city, high city and provincial taxes, a provincial debt that is over $20 billion (yes .... $20 billion) for this year alone, and .... well .... you get the picture.

After 30 years of Red Tories/Liberals/and Socialist governing the province of Ontario, what was once Canada's economic and political power house is now showing all of its rot and decay in front of the world tonight. Am I disgusted with what is happening in Toronto/Ontario .... to be honest .... I have been disgusted for a very long time .... and I live in Montreal.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"White Flight?!!"
Listen, I've lived here all my life and we've always been a multicultural city. I'm actually very proud of the fact that I have Muslim, Chinese, Sri Lankan etc. neighbours who are my equals. Your other allegations about my city are just as flawed and untrue. I recommend you vacation in Calgary from now on.

WNU Editor said...

Thank you anonymous for your comment, I guess your experiences have been different from mine, even though I have been going back and forth from Toronto since the early 1980s. You see multiculturalism .... I see the slow development and establishment of ghettos and "no go zones". I also see eye-opening deficits, higher taxes, the degradation of services, and the moving of many of my friends from Toronto back to Montreal, Ottawa, or out West.

As for me, I decided to live in Montreal rather than Toronto for a real multicultural environment, low levels of crime, business opportunities, and being close to family and friends. On reflection .... I have zero regrets.