Just rolled up a van and were free to spill
Shortly after 10am this morning a group of protesters rolled-up in front of Queens Park and simulated a chemical spill in the name of the people of the Grassy Narrows First Nation. The group’s eco-terror simulation had all the trademarks of No One Is Illegal’s anti-Canada extremists; like Jaggi Singh’s Teddy Bear Catapult at the 2001 Summit of the Americas, when his close allies at Black Lives Matter Toronto set up a potentially large bonfire in front of Toronto Police Headquarters, or when BLMTo and #OccupyINAC protesters recently left a mysterious liquid in front of Kathleen Wynne’s house.
NoII leader Syed Hussan was an accessory to today’s attack. His primary duty was to act as their spokesperson, but he also waved around a banner behind a Toronto police officer who was addressing the media. Reports are that six people were arrested, it’s uncertain if Hussan was, probably not.
The protest was over new allegations that Ontario’s government hasn’t done enough to deal with mercury poisoning at the Grassy Narrows First Nation. There’s no evidence and haven’t been any statements indicating any of the people who were arrested came from the community, or whether a majority of the people in the community agree with this action taken in their name. NoII has an unfortunate history appropriating native voices for labour backed radicalization campaigns.
Grassy Narrows has a long history with outside radicals. Forest Ethics leader Tzeporah Berman was up there in her early days along with city councillor Shelley Carroll’s disturbingly militant assistant. These days they see a lot of Alex Hundert, a convicted ringleader of the violence at the G20 who claimed to be teaching at a community school. Most have one thing in common, a fundamentalist-grade hatred of Canada and a desperate need for attention.
The media eats this stuff up and were on the protesters quicker than a flash. But, ignoring the fact that Hussan is widely known to them, reporters acted like he was just another guy who showed up out his passion for the cause- nothing about his organization’s passion for causing economic damage.
Hussan refused to confirm to the media if the mixture in the protester’s barrel was dangerous or inert- and the police appear to have let an accessory off the hook after helping with a hoax chemical attack on the Legislature. Toronto police and emergency services have no doubt been hard at work over the past few days preparing for Toronto’s big Pride weekend.
But rather than focus on the gigantic task of protecting a Prime Minister in a crowd of 10’s of thousands of people, they’re wasting their time today on what’s obviously a barrel of soap suds. But, at least, Syed Hussan got his face on TV!
3 comments
So this is their way of showing how they take care of the environment. They don’t.
Their trying to prove a point which you obviously don’t see.
Author
Got that loud and clear. It’s their right to try and prove their point, core job of any kind of activist. That said, their right to do that fades quickly when their tactics impose costs and potential risks on others. The protesters will say that their tactics were justified by the importance/urgency/righteousness of their campaign.
Regardless if they’re right or wrong about that, it’s not okay for them to impose their value judgements on others without consent…