Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Friday, April 08, 2016

G20 class-action lawsuits against Toronto police over 'kettling' get go-ahead

Two class actions over alleged civil rights abuses and "kettling" during the 2010 G20 summit in Toronto were given the go-ahead by the Ontario Court of Appeal Wednesday.

The class actions involve over 1,000 people. The lawsuit alleges people were arrested in large groups and held in "inhumane conditions" at a detention centre located inside an unused film studio on Eastern Avenue.

These are the first class actions involving group arrests to be certified in the province.

The Court of Appeal wrote that police cannot arrest a group of civilians "as a way of 'fishing' for particular individuals."

It also highlighted the role these class actions would play in changing police behaviour.

A lawyer for the group said the "groundbreaking" decision could help guard the basic freedoms of all Canadians.

Original Article
Source: CBC
Author:  Nicole Brockbank

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