OPINION: Will the Homeless be the G20’s First Victims?
Posted May 26, 2010 12:33 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Courtesy TheMarkNews.com
Poor people across the world should dread what will emerge from the gathering of G20 world leaders in Toronto next month. Governments had plenty of money when financial institutions failed and corporations began to totter, but now they plan to pay off the bailout bills through massive cuts to living standards and the destruction of public services. The summit will intensify the politics of austerity.
For the homeless people of Toronto, however, the G20 has an even more immediate and dangerous implication. The armed camp created for the G20 leaders will be used to accelerate and intensify the process of driving the homeless from the central part of the city.
On one level, there’s nothing surprising about an international gathering translating into an attack on the homeless. Any event that brings in visitors and their dollars prompts a drive to sweep those rendered destitute out of sight. What is astounding about the G20, however, is the extreme boldness with which the operation is being prepared. For some weeks now, homeless people having been telling us that the police are making it very clear that they’ll be cracking down on them when the summit gets underway. We have learned that police in the downtown east may obtain advance trespass letters from store and restaurant owners, allowing officers to move people immediately without having to seek permission from the merchants (police have not denied this in the media). The likely use of such letters would be to facilitate local sweeps to clear out the homeless.
With regard to removing the homeless, RCMP spokesperson Meghan Gray recently told the media that “those who do not move will be escorted out.” They will, she assured us, “have access to the services they need.” Since these preparations involve homeless-shelter operators, this rather implies that we’re talking about forced relocation into these institutions, regardless of how crowded they may become and despite any objections from those subjected to the roundups. Does this mean cops at the door of shelters preventing people from leaving? Does it mean the penalty for trying to leave is arrest? At this point, we don’t know, but we have enough information to see that a truly shocking violation of basic civil liberties is in the works.
It’s important to understand that we’re not just dealing with a few abuses during an event of a few days’ duration. Central Toronto is already a contested area. Upscale residential and commercial development is at the root of a mounting assault on homeless populations and low-income communities in general. An unholy alliance of business interests, property owners, politicians, and police enforcers works relentlessly to drive out the homeless. The G20 will represent a huge leap forward in terms of the implementation of that agenda.
Political activists preparing to challenge this gathering have, very correctly, opposed efforts to limit protests to highly restricted areas. They should recognize in this attack on the homeless an injustice they should resist every bit as much. Events planned to coincide with the G20 include the creation of a tent city for the homeless, which will provide a place of solidarity and safety for those under threat of police roundup.
There is sure to be international resistance after next month’s summit, where world leaders will hatch plans that will hurt people across this planet. But the resistance must begin with a struggle to ensure that Toronto’s homeless are not the G20’s first victims.
The Mark News is Canada’s online forum for opinion and analysis.
