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Protesters spend the night in downtown park
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Protesters spent the night in a downtown Toronto park after a day that saw about 1,000 activists take to the downtown core as part of the May Day movement.
They planned to hold a demonstration outside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Wednesday morning, where Barrick Gold Corp. is holding its annual general meeting.
Tuesday's May Day actions in Toronto were led by three groups, including "Occupy Toronto" protesters who staged a camp-in at a local park for more than a month last fall.
No One is Illegal and The May First Movement were the other two groups involved in the day-long action. The protests were part of a global movement known as May Day -- or International Workers Day -- a day meant to highlight the plight of labourers.
In Toronto, scores of activists rallied outside Nathan Phillips Square, carrying messages denouncing wealth inequality, the deportation of refugees and recent service cuts by governments.
Lana Goldberg, a spokesperson for the ‘Occupy' group, told CP24 that she and fellow activists came out to support causes that affect all Canadians.
"It's time for everyone to come together with various issues and stand united," she said. "We are all on one side and we all want the same things. We want better immigration policies, we want better workers rights, we want to respect indigenous sovereignty and we want to stop the austerity agenda."
Despite the presence of a handful of protesters who disguised their faces, dressed in black and draped themselves in flags representing anarchy, the rally remained peaceful as police on bicycles kept a close eye on their movements.
Toronto police Const. Wendy Drummond told CP24 on Tuesday that the protest had been co-operative and safe thus far.
She added that one arrest was made during the march Tuesday afternoon for marijuana possession.
Leaving Nathan Phillips Square, the group made its way through Chinatown towards Alexandra Park, at Bathurst Street and Dundas Street West, arriving at around 7 p.m.
Shortly after 9 p.m., the crowd of approximately 300-400 demonstrators began to march again, travelling south on Bathurst Street then heading east on Queen Street.
The group arrived at Simcoe Park, located on Front Street between John and Simcoe streets, shortly after 10 p.m.
Toronto police Const. Tony Vella told CP24 that absolutely no tents would be allowed in the park Tuesday night. A small group attempted to put up a screen and sign but were immediately told to remove them by police.
Protesters, however, were allowed to stay in the park past midnight, Vella said.
Shortly before midnight, demonstrators attempted to erect a tent in the park to test the no tent rule established by police.
After lengthy conversation with police urging them to take the structure down, three demonstrators - two women and one man - were arrested and charged with prohibited activity on private property, Vella said.
The charge carries a $65 fine.
Earlier in the day, a smaller group of protesters staged a gardening pot luck party at the back of Queen's Park. In the morning, they played a mock game of chess at Nathan Phillips Square to illustrate the uneven distribution of wealth. Someone dressed to represent the wealthy one per cent was commissioned to move the pawns – people representing the rest of the population.
Ottawa protest
In Ottawa, protests were peaceful and even harmonious outside Parliament Tuesday morning.
Activists sang their causes through hip hop, slam poetry and even through the music of Aretha Franklin.
Larry Rousseau, a union vice president, pointed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office as he led the crowd in a rendition of "Respect."
"Their political promises may be sweeter than honey," he sang.
"But guess what? So is my money. I'm telling you now, you don't mess with me. I want respect."
Union members working for the Ontario and Ottawa government were heavily targeted in both the provincial and federal budgets. The budgets hinted at thousands of job cuts, wage freezes and rollbacks on benefit plans.
Students who have been embroiled in a bitter dispute in Quebec over tuition increases were also represented in the Ottawa rally though union officials said a group of students were not allowed to cross the border from the French province to take part in the day's activities.
Union president John Gordon addressed Harper as he spoke to the crowd, assuring everyone that the labour movement would continue to speak out against the government's austerity plan.
"We're not going to take this sitting down," Gordon told the crowd.
"We're going to be in every community, we're going to be in your face every single day because communities are losing services."
With files from The Canadian Press
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