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2010 G20 Toronto summit protests

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2010 G20 Toronto summit protests

Public protesting and demonstrations began one week ahead of the 2010 G20 Toronto summit, which took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 26−27 June. The protests were for various causes, including poverty and anti-capitalism.

Protests mainly consisted of peaceful demonstrations and rallies but also took the form of a riot as a group of protesters using black bloc tactics caused vandalism to several businesses in Downtown Toronto. More than 20,000 police, military, and security personnel were involved in policing the protests, which at its largest numbered 10,000 protesters. While there were no deaths, 97 officers and 39 arrestees were injured, and at least 40 shops were vandalised, constituting at least C$750,000 worth of damage.

Over 1000 arrests were made, making it the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. In the aftermath of the protests, the Toronto Police Service and the Integrated Security Unit (ISU) of the G20 Toronto summit were heavily criticized for brutality during the arrests and eventually went under public scrutiny by media and human rights activists. There has been legal action in the form of a class action lawsuit towards the Toronto police on behalf of all of those who were arrested despite the Toronto Police's several attempts to stop court proceedings by appealing the case. As of November 10, 2016 The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that it will not hear the Toronto Police Services Board's appeal. As a result, a class action lawsuit was able to proceed on November 25, 2016 towards trial. On August 17, 2020, The Canadian Press announced that the lawsuit had resulted in a $16.5 million settlement. Those arrested were each awarded dollar amounts ranging from $5,000 to $24,700.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and members of the Joint Intelligence Group (JIG) began approaching activists in February 2010. There were visits to organization offices, meetings, and activists' houses. It was later revealed via Freedom of Information requests that "at least 12 undercover officers infiltrated groups" spanning Vancouver, southern Ontario, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa, in one of the largest-ever such operations internal to Canada.

A Royal Bank of Canada branch in Ottawa was firebombed just before dawn on May 18, 2010. The attackers posted video on YouTube showing a large fireball igniting inside the bank. The video then listed the manifesto of a previously unknown group calling itself the FFFC. The message stated that the attack against the bank was because of the growing suffering of Vancouver's poor in the shadow of RBC's major sponsorship of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and Paralympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia and claimed these events were held "on stolen indigenous land."

In addition to social issues and aboriginal land claims, the video claimed the actions were sparked by environmental and deforestation related concerns surrounding the Alberta tar sands projects in "Canada's" prairies, in which the video claims RBC is substantially involved and which G8/G20 decisions furthered. The attackers also stated their intention to be present during the G8 and the G20 Toronto summits the following month.

The projected recurrence of such acts of violence and the escalating rhetoric of anti-summit protest plans caused the G8/G20 Integrated Security Unit (ISU) to increase its security measures. The attacks were quickly and widely criticized by the media, politicians, and other protest groups

Three suspects were arrested on June 19, 2010; with one, Roger Clement, being convicted in December 2010 while charges against the other two were stayed for lack of evidence although only one of those two faced charges for the arson, while the other's charges were for a separate vandalism of a different RBC ATM. Clement, a 58-year-old retired federal government employee, formerly working for the Canadian International Development Agency, eventually received a 3½ year prison sentence, that included 6 months for vandalism of another RBC branch in February 2010. An undercover police agent who had infiltrated the local activist community was revealed during the fire-bombing trial.

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