""The area designated by the regulation as a public work does not extend outside the boundary of the fence," Blondeau said.That means that Toronto Police did not have the right to search your bags anywhere outside the fence in Toronto this weekend unless they arrested you or had a warrant (although I saw this done to numerous people more than a mile outside the fence.) If the police searched you or your belongings without a warrant this weekend outside of the security fence you can file an official complaint here - as your rights have been violated.
Asked Tuesday if there actually was a five-metre rule given the ministry's clarification, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair smiled and said, "No, but I was trying to keep the criminals out."
The confusion, it seems, came from the wording of the regulation.
The phrase five metres does appear, but it references land well within the fence that is neither a sidewalk nor street -- land near a parking lot and land behind the Rogers Centre. A driveway below ground level in front of Union Station was also designated a public work."
Back to the point though - after admitting he lied last week about the powers granted to police Blair went on to refer to protesters as terrorists, to show off weapons seized during the G20 and to promise an internal review of last weekend's events (all here).
The thing is that after admitting to lying about police powers last week - why should we believe anything he says now? Who knows where the weapons he displayed came from? Having just admitted to lying just last week why on earth would he think an "internal review" would be worth anything?
Even without the results of a full public (not run by police) inquiry - Blair has broken faith, lost the trust of the city and must step down. We no longer have any reason to believe anything he says on this or any other issue.
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I also enjoyed when Police Chief Blair showed reporters the items that the Toronto Police Services had confiscated "over the weekend" and "from protesters" .
Among those items was the crossbow and chainsaw that they found on Wednesday night when they stopped a car on the Esplanade. The driver, who had been living out of his car had no connection with the protesters, nor was he in secured area. Moreover, they also found the items buried under the rest of his worldly possessions, not readily available or intended to be used in some terrorist plot.
After a reporter had pointed this fact out to Chief Blair, he changed his statement, and said that "some of the items" on display were in connection with the protesters.
So when are we to believe anything that he has presented to us as fact?
Also among those weapons were 'golf balls' which were probably just in his car when he pulled up for the press conference.
It's very shocking to hear the crossbow and chainsaw presented at a press conference 29 June as G20-related but are in fact from an unrelated routine car stop on the Esplanade. Actually that much of a lie is very disturbing.
This just increases the number of times I have seen this Blair lie.
I can't believe Miller got Fantino fired in favour of this Buckaroo, Bill Blair.
I want this creep fired.
You think that is shocking. Here are other items on the table that didn't belong there. Baseball bat, arrows, shields, two rusted tire irons, a tire jack, hockey stick, sledgehammer, body armour etc etc.
All items taken in two separate incidents unrelated to G20. I am also told the replica 9mm handgun was confiscated after a street robbery miles away from the zone and unrelated to G20.
I can't believe anything I am told by this chief ever again.
What a bunch of crap. These cops should be held accountable for their dispicable behaviour. We are in North America where freedom of speech is our right. Here we had no rights...DOWN WITH BLAIR..DOWN WITH MILLER..DOWN WITH HARPER
We, the undersigned, call on William Blair to resign or be removed from his post as Toronto Chief Of Police. http://chiefblair.resignnow.ca/
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