Organizers of a protest planned for next week's G-20 meeting are promising it will be family friendly and said today the $900 million the government is spending on security has turned Toronto into an armed fortress meant to intimidate peaceful protest, according to AP. Labor groups are organizing what they expect to be the largest public demonstration at the G-20 summit on June 26. Ontario Federation of Labor President Sid Ryan said that a planned march has been rerouted to avoid the extensive steel and concrete barriers that ring the center of Toronto. The security perimeter covers several blocks and has already disrupted traffic. Ryan said police are going too far and it doesn't bode well. «Nobody should be afraid of marching with the labor movement, and yet we've got this armed fortress in our city the likes of which I've never seen,» Ryan said. Ryan said he hopes to attract thousands to send a signal to world leaders that the economic crisis was not created by workers. Canadian Labour Congress President Ken Georgetti said 300 of their own marshals will monitor the protest. Georgetti called the security presence overblown and said Toronto isn't likely to have the kind of violent protests that have marred other summits. «This is a very peaceful country. We have no evidence whatsoever that would happen in Canada,» he said. He added: «Protecting dignitaries is fine, they have to do that. But going as far as they are and threatening us with sound cannons and other devices that put innocent bystanders at risk is unnecessary in Canada.» Labor groups and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association are seeking a court injunction against the use of sonic weapons by police. Toronto police recently purchased the devices, which are meant to use sound to disperse crowds. Nathalie Des Rosiers of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said the weapons can cause permanent hearing damage and have not been tested or approved in Ontario.
