In June 2010, hundreds of thousands of Canadians took to the streets of Toronto to peacefully protest the G20 Summit, which was taking place behind a fortified fence that walled off much of the city鈥檚 downtown core. On the Saturday evening during the Summit weekend, a senior Toronto Police Commander sent out an order 鈥� 鈥渢ake back the streets.鈥� Within a span of 36 hours, over 1000 people 鈥� peaceful protesters, journalists, human rights monitors and downtown residents 鈥� were arrested and placed in detention.
The title of this publication is taken from that initial police order. It is emblematic of a very concerning pattern of government conduct: the tendency to transform individuals exercising a fundamental democratic right 鈥� the right to protest 鈥� into a perceived threat that requires a forceful government response. The case studies detailed in this report, each written by a different domestic civil liberties and human rights organization, provide contemporary examples of different governments鈥� reactions to peaceful protests. They document instances of unnecessary legal restrictions, discriminatory responses, criminalization of leaders, and unjustifiable 鈥� at times deadly 鈥� force.