Anti-lockdown protests spread to suburbia, cops keep handing out tickets
Dozens of anti-lockdown protesters converged near a plaza in Vaughan, Ont., on Sunday to protest the ongoing economic lockdown. Many of the protesters were professionals — ranging from personal trainers to registered massage therapists — people who have been rattled not by the Wuhan virus, but by governments and bureaucracies decreeing that they can no longer earn a living.
Apparently, they are just not essential enough.
Also in attendance were the illustrious members of the York Regional Police.
This was somewhat ominous for Yours Truly. You see, the last time I encountered the York Regional Police at a public event was back in January 2020, at a taping of Rogers Hometown Hockey. It was staged in a public area in Vaughan, and I merely wanted to ask Ron MacLean, ex co-host of Coach’s Corner, a few questions. (Namely: why did he backstab Don Cherry?)
I soon discovered that asking celebrities impolite questions is verboten in York Region. Several police officers actually physically assaulted me to prevent… the practice of journalism? Most of the assault took place under the cover of darkness between two tents, but my cellphone camera caught much of it (the incident is currently subject to a lawsuit).
Well, it’s amazing how the York Regional Police modify their behaviour when the sun is shining and dozens of cameras are filming them. Which is to say, the cops didn’t get handsy with anyone on this day. They did, however, issue a few $880 Wuhan virus tickets to demonstrators for… exercising freedom of assembly? For… embracing freedom of speech? For… staging a peaceful protest? Well, yes, yes and yes. After all, the boys in blue do have quotas to meet…
Yet, what made the ticketing even more egregious is that fact that in the plaza where the demonstrators gathered, there were several merchants such as Longo’s and the LCBO conducting brisk business. How can it be that the police are so overly concerned about an outdoor peaceful protest in which the potential for virus transmission is virtually zero, yet they have no problem whatsoever with people jammed inside big box stores?
And comparing apples to apples, these are the same police who last summer not only turned a blind eye to far larger Black Lives Matter protests, but actually bent the knee in solidarity with these demonstrators.
Folks, are you getting sick and tired of the ongoing double standards and hypocrisy? We are.
But on the bright side, at least the York Regional Police didn’t get violent with members of the media, like they did back in January 2020 at the Rogers Hometown Hockey event. I have little doubt that the inability to put choke-holds and bear hugs on journalists must’ve been so disappointing for so many of the cops in attendance on this day…
Toronto's decolonization manager, key in Dundas Square renaming, no longer works for city
By Roberto Wakerell-Cruz
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