By Anne Marie Owens and Heather
Sokoloff, National Post; Ian Lindsay, The Vancouver Sun
February 26, 2001
Protesters at talks of the World
Trade Organization in Seattle covered their faces. Quebec City and the suburb of Saint-Foy
have passed an anti-scarf by-law as a security measure for the Summit of the Americas in
April. People in the Quebec City suburb of
Saint-Foy could soon risk being arrested for wearing scarves or covering up their faces.
A new by-law, which was adopted as
part of security preparations for the upcoming Summit of the Americas conference in Quebec
City, is one example of precautions being taken to squelch the activities of
anti-globalization activists and protesters who typically target these types of
international gatherings.
In addition to the scarf by-law,
authorities plan to install a three-metre high metal fence around several square
kilometres of Quebec City and allow only those with passes inside the perimeter. The area
will be enforced by 3,000 to 5,000 police, RCMP and riot squads from across the country,
and police are freeing up 500 spots in the Quebec City prison to make room for arrested
protesters.
The by-law adopted by Saint-Foy
councillors, which will be enforced during the weeks leading up to and including the April
summit, permits police to immediately arrest someone in a crowd if even part of their face
is covered. A similar by-law is already in
place in Quebec City.
If arrested, the burden of proof
rests with the accused for providing a valid excuse for covering up their faces, according
to the by-law. "I think the Quebec authorities responsible for this owe the public a
pretty full example as to why they think an extraordinary measure like that is
needed," said Alan Borovoy, general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties
Association. "I can imagine all sorts of perfectly logical reasons why someone would
have part of their face covered."
Mr. Borovoy says his organization
grew concerned after seeing how various cities have fought the inevitable protests and
hearing how Quebec authorities were ramping up for this particular session. He says authorities "should not arrest,
detain, search, seize or use force beyond what is necessary to uphold the law."
The association has criticized the
focus of the security tactics and urged the federal Solicitor-General and Quebec's Public
Security Minister against using a heavy-handed and one-sided approach. "Just as it is important to ensure the
security of the summit, it is no less important to protect the viability of the
protests," said Mr. Borovoy. "It is beginning to appear that the protesters will
be quarantined miles from the centre of conference activity ... The further away the
protesters are, the less viable their protest will be."
The April 20-22 meeting will bring
together the leaders of 34 countries, including Jean Chretien, the Prime Minister, and
George W. Bush, the U.S. President, to discuss creating a free-trade zone covering all of
North and South America. These gatherings
have become a touchstone for anti-globalization activists, particularly in the wake of the
violence that erupted at the 1999 World Trade Organization talks in Seattle.
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