SECU Committee Report

RECOMMENDATION 1

That if multiple summits are to be held at the same time in the future, that priority be given, where possible, to holding these meetings in a single location in order to more efficiently use financial and human resources and ensure that costs and infrastructure are not duplicated.

RECOMMENDATION 2

That the Government of Canada undertake a nationwide consultation with the provinces and territories to select locations across the regions where permanent event and security infrastructure can be built for large scale events, such as summits, so that these locations can be reused and to reduce the use of tax dollars on ad hoc infrastructure wherever possible.

RECOMMENDATION 3

That, in advance of a summit or large-scale international event hosted in Canada, the Government of Canada be required to supply Parliament with reasonable cost estimates in a transparent manner and that, following such events, the Government of Canada be required to submit to Parliament the final costing in an expedient manner.

RECOMMENDATION 4

That the Government of Canada issue a formal and unconditional apology to the thousands of Canadians and visitors to Toronto who had their rights violated during the G20 summit.

RECOMMENDATION 5

That the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security ask the Public Safety Minister, as the minister responsible for the RCMP and consequently the leadership of the G-8/G-20 Integrated Security Group, to apologize to the persons arrested illegally during the G20 Summit as a result of the lack of police coordination and supervision regarding human rights before and during the events.

RECOMMENDATION 6

That the Government of Canada develop a full structure for integrated security operations that can be put in place during large-scale events, such as summits, which will ensure a clear decision-making process is in place and that gross violations of civil liberties are avoided; and should they occur, a clear accountability structure is in place to handle them in an accountable and efficient manner.

RECOMMENDATION 7

That the Government of Canada convene a full judicial, independent public inquiry to investigate the security at the G8/G20 summits, with sufficiently broad terms of reference to allow it to investigate all levels of government, all decision making processes and all the events that occurred that led to property damage, civil rights violations, and bodily harm, and with the power to make recommendations stemming from its findings to ensure similar events are never repeated in Canada.

RECOMMENDATION 8

That this independent public inquiry investigates the following issues in particular:

• The RCMP’s level of involvement in the abuses noted during the crackdown on G20 protests;
• The flow of information between the police officers on the ground, RCMP officials and the Minister;
• The federal government’s level of involvement in decisions concerning both the organization of the summit and crowd control (conditions at the time of funding);
• The treatment in all detention centres of persons arrested during the G20 Summit, specifically with regard to the following: strip searches; access to legal representation; access to medical and psychological care; injections or medical tests administered without consent; food and water and how often they were distributed; room temperature; access to proper sleeping facilities; harsh and constant lighting; and the homophobic, sexist, racist or anti-Francophone behaviour of some guards;
• The existence of sufficient evidence to justify the decision to arrest individually and collectively the people in the University of Toronto gymnasium on the morning of June 27.

RECOMMENDATION 9

That the Government of Canada should make compensation available to businesses in Toronto for loss of income that can be directly attributed to the mishandling of G20 security.

RECOMMENDATION 10

That the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security congratulate the Ontario Ombudsman on the quality and accuracy of his report, which focused on such details as misuse of “war measure” legislation—Public Works Protection Act—in the present-day context of G20 demonstrations; confusion on the part of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services regarding powers of arrest, which led police to mistakenly believe they had certain powers; miscommunication by the Toronto Police Service in its dealings with partners and the public regarding Regulation 233/10, passed under the Public Works Protection Act; lack of cooperation by the Toronto Police Service in the Ontario ombudsman’s investigation; no public announcement of the Regulation; no notices to other interested parties; and the ensuing human rights violations.

RECOMMENDATION 11

That the Minister of Public Safety table a bill concerning the organization of similar events to ensure the federal government makes all security funding dependent on respect for basic rights.

RECOMMENDATION 12

That the Minister of Public Safety ensure that, during future events of this nature, being Francophone will never again be a disadvantage in terms of the right to free assembly or respect for basic rights following an arrest or the laying of charges.