Anti-racism, anti-police brutality marches held throughout Canada this weekend

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Anti-racism demonstrators have gathered across Canada this weekend, decrying police violence against black people.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

A more subdued group of demonstrators took to the streets following a rally on Friday in Vancouver.

The Vancouver PD say around 50 demonstrators marched from the Vancouver Art Gallery to Science World in support of Black Lives Matter.

The VPD say there were no major incidents and the demonstrations were over in about an hour.

QUEBEC

Montreal will play host to an anti-racism rally on Sunday as marches and events are planned for a few other cities in the province.

Demonstrators will gather at a large square in downtown Montreal with a march set to begin before noon.

It’s the second Sunday in a row that a rally.

Events were held Saturday in several Canadian cities including Toronto, St. John’s and London, Ont.

Demonstrations are also planned Sunday in front of the Quebec national assembly building in the provincial capital as well as in Sherbrooke, east of Montreal.

Montreal’s police chief Sylvain Caron had an offer to attend the Sunday rally rescinded on Saturday after organizers explained some participants and groups were opposed to his presence.

The force said on its social media page it respected the decision and noted officers would be present to keep tabs on the march.

Police praised the “order and respect” demonstrated by thousands who previously marched to express their indignation over Floyd’s death.

But on Ste-Catherine Street in the city’s downtown core, many merchants have boarded up their windows as a preventative measure.

Following the peaceful rally one week ago, looters and vandals got into confrontations with police, with thefts and damage including some store windows smashed.

Montreal police have said they considered the vandalism last week a separate matter by people who took advantage of the protest to commit crimes.

On Saturday, they published the photos of people caught on store cameras in the midst of the looting in an effort to make arrests.

ONTARIO

Events were held Saturday in several Canadian cities including Toronto, St. John’s and London, Ont.
Hundreds of anti-racism demonstrators marched from Toronto’s city hall up a main street, taking a knee in silence outside a courthouse.

At one of two demonstrations in Toronto, cars honked in support as they passed the people kneeling outside of the Superior courthouse and the U.S. consulate, which are across the street from each other.

The protesters marched up University Avenue, where people held signs saying “black lives matter,” “stop killing us” and “no justice, no peace.”

Rallies in Canada and the U.S. 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, who spent the last eight minutes of his life lying on the pavement after being arrested for allegedly trying to use a counterfeit $20 bill.