Protestors paint ‘Defund The Police’ in front of Toronto police headquarters

Anti-Black racism protestors took to the streets of downtown Toronto by the thousands on Friday, painting ‘Defund The Police’ in giant purple letters in front of Toronto police headquarters.

On its Twitter account, Black Lives Matter Toronto tweeted photos of the street being painted, adding the caption: “It’s a beautiful day to beautify the ugliest part of College street with dreams of liberation.”

Earlier Friday, Black Lives Matter Toronto released a list of demands, including the defunding and demilitarization of police. Full list here.

“The Toronto Police Services (TPS) budget is over $1.1 billion dollars, which is more than public funding allotted to libraries, housing, shelters combined,” the group wrote. “We believe that Black communities, and all communities, deserve better.

“We are working toward the abolition of the police and toward a society where we can all be safe. While this is focused on law enforcement, we are also calling to defund jails, prisons, immigration detention centres, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA).”

The protests closed several downtown arteries for most of the day.

Toronto police tweeted about the traffic disruptions, urging participants to “be respectful of each other and officers.”

Police also noted that “everyone has the lawful right to peacefully protest.”