Before Dave Vasey, 31, was arrested and detained for a few hours on June 24, 2010, very few people knew about the vast powers of search and arrest that police were given for the G20 Summit being held in Toronto on June 26 and 27.
After Vasey’s story became public, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair held a news conference where he explained that the law was neither new nor passed in secret. It was done just as much to protect protesters as other people. He was correct in saying that the law under which these enhanced powers of arrest and detention were granted was not new; it has been around for years. But, as far as the regulation that applies specifically to the G20 Summit weekend in Toronto, it was secret for all those who don’t make looking at new Ontario government regulations on the Internet part of their daily routine.
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