On October 16, it was announced that the Toronto Transit Commission
(TTC) has filed an application for a court date, expected to be
announced before the end of the week, to seek an injunction against
the October 25 Toronto Shutdown. On October 10, Metropolitan
Toronto Council voted 21 to 6 in favor of a motion asking the
Metropolitan Toronto Police to keep the TTC and other services
operating during the October 25 Toronto Shutdown. In explaining the
motion, Metro-Chairman Alan Tonks stated: "While we understand in
a democratic society there's a right to protest, it has to be done
... not at the expense of taking away services from the public."
A Scarborough-Agincourt Metro Councillor stated that Metro
Council must ensure that the police intervene and enforce the
observation of an injunction. "I'm not sanctioning force at this
point in time, I'm just simply saying I think they should enforce
those injunctions," he said. Metro-Chairman Alan Tonks has also
stated that "I don't think anybody wants to be out there breaking
heads to keep the transit system going. We would prefer to be civil
about it and if that's possible, all the better."
Both Metro Council and the Provincial Government, which is
also considering seeking an injunction to prohibit pickets blocking
provincial government offices, are expressing concern that the
Metropolitan Toronto Police cannot be trusted to do their job.
During the Ontario Public Service Employee Union's (OPSEU) strike,
Metro police refused to escort provincial employees across picket
lines. Senior Metro police officers who testified during the
inquiry into the March 18 Ontario Provincial Police attack on OSPEU
picketers, stated that their role was "to keep the peace, not to
act as picket-line escorts."
Meanwhile, a "scandal" has arisen over a Metro Councillor from
East York referring to organizers of the shutdown as "brown
shirts." Ironically, he is one of several municipal politicians
openly calling for the use of violence, "if necessary," against the
protesters. He is quoted as saying "Those people who break the law
and have no regard for civility and other people and the democratic
process, you can call them whatever you want!"
Last week, Metro-Chairman Allan Tonks told protest organizers
that they have until Friday, October 18 to "clarify their
intentions to shut down the TTC." The October 16 announcement that
the TTC is seeking an injunction, and Metro Council's motion
calling for police enforcement of the injunction are aimed at
pressuring the organizers of the protest to back down on their
decision to close public transportation on October 25. They have
refused to do so.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
