VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Anti-racism demonstrators are expected to gather across Canada this weekend decrying police violence against black people.
The rallies are the latest in a series of protests following the release of a video showing a white Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of a black man, George Floyd, for nearly nine minutes.
Floyd fell still and died, the officer’s knee still on him.
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In Toronto, at least two rallies were planned for Saturday, marking the third and fourth events over a week. A group calling itself Action for Injustice is staging a peaceful walk Saturday afternoon while a second group is set to gather as well.
Both events are not affiliated with Black Lives Matter Toronto or Not Another Black Life who organized last Saturday’s peaceful protest over the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet.
A similar event on Friday drew thousands of demonstrators who marched peacefully through Toronto’s downtown core to city hall chanting “Black lives matter” and “I can’t breathe.”
At one point, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders took a knee alongside a group of protesters, saying afterwards he “fully supports peaceful and safe protests this weekend and always.”
Meanwhile, organizers of a Montreal event scheduled for Sunday told police Saturday they were rescinding an invitation to police chief Sylvain Caron to attend after some groups opposed his presence.
Montreal police say in a statement posted to social media they respect the organizers’ decision and it doesn’t change commitments the force has made to review measures when it comes to street checks.
La Ligue des noirs nouvelle génération a annulé son invitation au directeur, M. Caron, pour le rassemblement de dimanche. Le #SPVM respecte la décision des organisateurs et sera présent pour assurer la sécurité de l’événement. https://t.co/gdUNuG4RGA pic.twitter.com/WTrjUZUdnb
— Police Montréal (@SPVM) June 6, 2020
South of the border outraged Americans are expected to flood the national capital this weekend. There they will be greeted by two oversized, street-level reactions to the country’s latest historic flashpoint.
“Black Lives Matter” – block letters as tall as the roadway is wide, stencilled by city workers in yellow traffic paint – jumps off the asphalt along the two blocks of 16th Street leading to Lafayette Square, ending just before the pastel walls of the boarded-up St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Meanwhile across H Street, a two-metre black steel fence, initially erected to keep protesters out of the park, was being extended and fortified late Friday to encapsulate the entire White House complex and adjacent buildings with concrete barriers for good measure.