More G20 Charges Dropped

NewsAdam Kovac — Published October 12, 2010

Those involved were detained during the early morning on June 27 in a University of Toronto gym where they had been staying during the summit.

Blandine Gux works with the activist group Convergences des luttes anticapitalistes, which had organized the trip to the UofT.

Of those arrested there, about “80 per cent came from Montreal,” she said. “Around 70-80 people [who were arrested] had their charges dropped.”

Guillaume Tremblay-Boily is one of the protesters who had his charges dismissed. After his arrest, he was held for 62 hours in a detention centre before being charged with conspiracy to commit mischief.

After his release on bail, he was told not to come back to Ontario except for court dates, and to refrain from participating in protests. He has since become involved with the Regroupement des arretés du G20, an organization dedicated to fighting charges stemming from the G20.

“[Hearing about the dropped charges] felt really great, I was really happy, but still it’s only the first step towards reestablishment of justice, because now we’re going to sue them for the violations of our rights,” he said.
Maryse Poisson is a protester who found out she was no longer facing charges of conspiracy to commit an “indictable offense.” Despite no longer facing legal repercussions, she maintains some anger at the authorities that detained her for over two days following her arrest.

“I would say I’m happy that the charges have been dropped, but I feel that it’s all been a kind of theatre,” she said. “They spent all this money for security, and maybe they were right to spend it, but maybe they needed something to show for it.”

While nobody who spoke to The Link could say why the charges had been dropped, Marc Laramee, a spokesperson for Regroupement des arretés du G20, was quoted in the Toronto Sun as saying that the charges were dropped due to a “lack of evidence.”

Boily agreed, summarizing the evidence he had seen against him as “complete misinformation. They tried to associate all of us with other people we didn’t know at all.”

Other protesters still face charges, such as conspiracy to obstruct justice, and 19 more are under house arrest while awaiting trial.

The Ontario Attorney General’s Office could not be reached for comment by press time.

As to what the charges being dropped said about the controversial tactics used by the police, Gux pulled no punches.

There will be a fundraising concert for Regroupement des arretés du G20 on Nov. 3 at 8:00 p.m. at Foufounes Electriques (87 Ste. Catherine St. E.)

This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 09, published October 12, 2010.