CIVIL LIBERTIES ASSOCIATION NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION FOUNDED 1968

ASSOCIATION DES DROITS CIVILS RÉGION DE LA CAPITALE NATIONALE FONDÉE 1968

Report on Quebec FTAA Demonstration

(Published in straightgoods.com, April 24, 2001)

Report on the Quebec Summit from Outside the Perimeter Fence: April 21, by Randal Marlin, President of the Civil Liberties Association, National Capital Region

The report is a personal view only.

QUEBEC CITY, APRIL 21: Our bus arrives early at Laval University. We, that is to say, a bus-load of
"grey panthers," largely older academics sponsored by the Carleton University Academic Staff
Association, are there at 10:30 a.m., and the march doesn't start until noon. The trip had begun
shortly after 4 a.m. and was uneventful. Mindful of the paradox of stopping at a McDonald's on the
way to fight global capitalism, we took a rest stop at Tim Horton's instead. An RCMP patrol car,
marked "6024 d'Autray" appeared and the officer questioned our bus driver about our destination.
When told it was Quebec City for the demonstration he parked his car behind our bus for several
minutes, I assumed to take down licence particulars.

In Laval there is the usual "hurry up and wait" syndrome. Plenty of time to walk around, meet up
with Ottawa acquaintances including the occasional former student, and take note of the different
messages on banners, placards and tee-shirts.

There is a certain amount of observers-observing-the observers. Larry George, Ph.D., Professor in
the Department of Political Science at California State University, Long Beach, is handing out a
sheet of paper to people he judges worthwhile prospects, or maybe I flatter myself. His handwritten,
photocopied note gives his address and the message: "Please contact me if you are interest in
being interviewed for a book on the movement against corporate globalization. I am an activist and
received a grant from my university to write this book. It is intended as a forum to permit a wide
range of activists to present their stories and visions in their own words. All royalties will be recycled
back into the movement. Please consider participating!"

There is Michel Tremblay from La Malbaie, who says he is collecting names and thoughts. He wants
to know where I am from and what I think about Quebec sovereignty. The easiest way to avoid a
long discussion is to say that this is a matter for Quebeckers to decide, and not knowing the
questioner I choose that safe route. A Marxist-Leninist offers me a newspaper which I take.
However, when he seeks a donation, I hand it back.

My attention goes systematically to the signs carried by demonstrators: "Don't think of it as
reasonable: think of it as terrifying"; "Reject the Phony 'Democracy' and 'Prosperity' Agenda of the
Rich for our Americas"; "Les Forets d'Amérique vont passer a Bush" ("America Forests will be
Bush-whacked and Bush-leagued" - my creative translation); "El Pueblo Unido JAMAS sera
Vendido"; "Libre Cambio a benefice de Quier?" The French for FTAA (Free Trade Area of the
Americas is ZLEA (Zone de Libre-Echange des Amériques) and there are many signs such as "ZLEA -
soumis les Amériques" ("FTAA means submission of the Americas"). There is a picture of the planet
being put into a huge meat-grinder with the inscription "ZLEA."

I notice a large, papier-maché 10-foot figure of a top-hatted moustachioed man dressed in orange
and blue. He carries two swords and words on his hat reads "Solidaire, Savoir, Sourire, Sommeil,
Santé" (in solidarity, knowledge, smile, sleep, health) and there is a big dollar sign. I'm not sure I
get all the nuances of this message. The largest collection of signs is by the Canadian Federation
of Students. The placards are yellow and the signs read "Education is a right! Public Education is not
for sale."

The U. S. Marxist-Leninists have a large sign with the message "Americans say, Fight for the
Fraternal Unity of the Peoples." On the other side is "Down with American Imperialism."
I see a yellow T-shirt with a picture of an uplifted third finger, and the message "Globalize this."
Another sign says "Pour une Mondialization plus Humaine, Reveillez-vous" ("Wake up for a more
human globalization"). "Qui est notre Dieu?" asks one sign satirically, with the reply "Bush?"
Another sign reads "Le Mondialization néo-libérale c'est du capitalisme sauvage génétique modifié"
("Neo-liberal globalization is raw capitalism genetically modified.")

The parade starts at Pavillon Palasis-Prince and is led by a white truck playing loud rhythmic music,
("Motivé, Motivé" is a favourite) interspersed with announcements from one of the organizers. The
group immediately behind the truck carry the banner "Vive la Résistance"

12:15 P.M. We arrive at the corner of René-Lévesque Boulevard Ouest and Myrand in the Ste. Foy
part of Quebec. I see the first of a half-dozen or so Ste. Foy police cars.
12:20 P.M. Walking along René-Lévesque towards central Québec I see the first of three R.C.M.P
cars, marked 4145, 4126, and 4140. These same cars disappear and reappear from side streets,
possibly giving the impression of a greater police presence than is the case. The music blaring from
the truck has now shifted to the tune "Alouette" with the refrain beginning "A Québec Gens de la
Planète," and suitable environmental verses.

The walk is long into the city and the march is slow. I have defined my role as that of observer, so
have taken a position slightly ahead of the parade. I am in the company of a few camera-men.
Without walking particularly fast, I find myself increasingly distanced from the demonstrators. I stop
to talk with a few bystanders. They want to know where I am from, and I tell them. One of them
opines that he is too heavily taxed. He tells me that Quebec is one large village, hardly a city
suitable for a big international event. I have stayed with friends in the area before but I forget
which suburb, though I know it is to the west. He guesses correctly Cap-Rouge, giving as a reason
that it is heavily populated with academic or other white-collar types.

People are looking on from balconies or the gardens in front of their houses. The loudspeaker is
urging the many onlookers to join the protest march. Somewhere past some shops I pass a group
of a dozen smiling, drum-beating young men and women dressed as condoms. Their signs and
voices call for contracepting the FTAA.

1:15 P.M. Arrive at Moncton Ave. I am a little over a block ahead of the demonstration march, which
comes to a halt. Two tourist buses are having trouble crossing René-Lévesque, although I am too
far away to see the reason. A tear-gas bomb detonates. A helicopter flies directly overhead, with
numbering "E68PQ" plainly visible. After a few minutes' delay the buses and a car or two manage to
cross. I talk in French with a man on a bicycle who tells me that the trouble has begun with the
"casseurs noirs" with their masks. I assume he means the black-clothed anarchists, some wearing
helmets and gas masks. Later I can see more distinctly that they have taken a position ahead of
the truck. I use the delay time to buy some bottled water, in case of tear gas coming too close to
me.

The way ahead has now notably been cleared of any sign of a police presence. Wisely, police seem
to have taken the measure of the overwhelmingly peaceful mood of the demonstrators, and have
reacted in kind.

1:40 P.M. Meeting up with members of other groups at Turnbull Avenue. I proceed along to the
Parc de l'Amérique-Francaise, where René-Lévesque runs into the perimeter chain link fence. On
the other side of the fence are a row of police in army-green riot gear. The sound truck is no longer
present. Later I learn that the path I have taken is for the more violent group and that the main
peaceful demonstrators have headed north down to the lower City.

1:50 P.M. The crowd is now gathered in the Parc de l'Amérique-Française. I move toward the gate to
get a view of police and the equipment. The television trucks of CTV, Global, Ce Soir, and CJOH
occupy some of the road space in the park area. There is a mixture of apprehension,
fun-and-games, curiosity and serious observation. I take a position slightly up-wind from what I
see as the likely area of activity.

1:57 P.M. Sticks and other projectiles are thrown at police from the park side of the perimeter fence
blocking René-Lévesque Boulevard. Two tear gas projectiles are fired from the police side. Tear gas
cannisters, possibly picked up, are thrown to loud cheers from the demonstrators' side. The
helicopter is overhead.

2:08 P.M. There are new volleys from the park side. Police now respond with the firing of a
water-cannon. The weather is warm and the sun is shining. There is pushing at the chain fence.
Tear gas is thrown from both sides of the fence. In addition to drums, there is now clanging on the
fence. Clouds of white smoke are generated by what seem to be more powerful tear gas cannisters.
2:15 P.M. My position fairly close to the action is now jeopardized by tear gas projectiles fired by
police at targets 10-20 metres inside the park. In order not to be hit, I move (along with many
others) further south, slightly uphill, away from the fence. One or two cannisters reach a point
midway into the park, and I back off to Rue Saint-Amable, where there is a row of vans, buses and
a yellow-green large police truck #19.

2:20. P.M. The exchange of tear gas cannisters, and the hosing from the water cannon, continue. I
notice that police are getting out of the vans at rue Saint-Amable. I take a photograph of police
underneath the sign that paradoxically suggests love. I count 26 blue-coloured police in riot gear,
and hear the noise of a dog barking inside one of the vehicles. My position is now at the
intersection of Claire-Fontaine and St. Amable, and I am slightly worried. A phalanx of army-green
attired police are proceeding very slowly north on Claire-Fontaine, blocking escape on that route. I
reflect on Jean-Paul Sartre's description of the crowd movements prior to the storming of the
Bastille. The feeling of being trapped by different opposing soldiers led them to seek arms from
that source. Here, however, the name of the game is crowd control and minimizing violence. So far
as I can tell, everyone, police included, are reasonably assured.

2:30. I meet familiar Glebites and chat. I see author Phil Jenkins coming ahead of the police and
we talk. He tells me that the trouble at 1:15 p.m., which he witnessed, was caused by an individual
lying down on the street, blocking traffic across René-Lévesque. He tells me that police launched a
tear gas cannister at the protester, hitting him in the chest.

2:32 P.M. About 50 police have now formed a line cutting off access to and from the park at St.
Amable and Claire-Fontaine. There appears to be no exit.
2:45 P.M. Quebec Police tell the crowd by loudspeaker in English and French to "Please clear the
area." "If you don't we're going to proceed." A space is cleared along St.-Amable to allow passage,
and I decide to follow instructions. I could stay to defend my civil right to be in a park when I
choose. However, I am not able to see the whole picture, and thus cannot tell how reasonable or
otherwise the police demand is. On the whole, they may well be making a reasonable request. I
have another reason for avoiding heroics. At the age of 63 and with a heart beating arrythmically at
the time I have little energy for confrontation. As I a take blood-thinning coumadin, truncheon on
my head could have more serious consequences than for most people.

I leave the area. I notice another phalanx of police in green riot-gear blocking Turnbull Avenue. I
talk to a resident, who tells me that Friday was much more violent than today.
Believing things more or less over, and in any case not being willing to risk arrest in the name of
further observations, I head towards Cartier Avenue, where there are friendly shops and I settle for
a rest in Nourcy Patissier-Traiteur, where I get my delayed lunch in the form of café au lait and a
ficelle of ham, cheese and lots of lettuce. I also indulge in a magnificent tartelle aux fruits, taking
note of the establishment for my next visit.

3:40 P.M. Still sitting in the rue Cartier café I read for the first time the Quebec newspaper, Le
Soleil, with its headline "Vendredi Noir" (Black Friday) and learn about the violence of the previous
night. I learn from a story by Alain Bouchard that the Quebec anti-riot squad the previous night had
surprisingly invaded the area of Cartier and Fraser. I look out the café window to see the name of
the cross street in my location and make out the word "Fraser." All remains quiet, however, and no
police are to be seen.

Later, I meet up with Carleton contacts in the Café Classique Bar Restaurant at rue de la Couronne.
This part of the city is downwind from points of assault on the chain-link fence, and the air reeks of
tear gas. Peaceful demonstrators seem to have undergone considerable distress, some
skin-sensitive people more than others. I never got close enough to the tear gas to experience the
eye and skin pain reported by others. The worst unpleasantness I encountered was not much
different from my reactions in smoke-filled café.

Far greater numbers had chosen the lower city to demonstrate, as distinct from the few thousand in
the area I observed in the park. My philosophy colleague at Carleton University, Marvin Glass, told
me that trade union organizers counted 1400 out-of-town buses. If we assume 40 per bus that
would total 56,000 from that transportation mode alone. Taking cars and other modes of
transportation into account, and including local demonstrators the overall numbers would likely have
been well over 60,000. Our own group from Laval numbered about 5,000.

Our bus broke down with clutch problems on arrival at Laval and we needed a replacement.
Fortunately, a replacement came not much later than 6:30 p.m. and we got back to Ottawa shortly
after midnight. My wife Elaine welcomed me back as "the warrior" returning, but I thought "the
worrier" was more appropriate.

One militant demonstrator told me grudgingly that the police had been well-disciplined. The aim
had been to get them to lose their cool, and they had not succeeded. My own impression was that
the police had indeed behaved in a well-controlled way, at least in the vicinity of my observations.
There can be no doubt that the overwhelming majority of the demonstrators were concerned to
deliver a peaceful message, by peaceful means. The activists in the area of my observation
appeared also to be reasonably restrained. Throwing projectiles at well-protected police seems part
of a script to get media attention. [I am reminded of the story about the editor who responded to
complaints from peaceful demonstrators that the newspaper was not giving them coverage. "You
got violence? Call me when you got violence."]

The drama benefits both the peaceful demonstrators and the police themselves, whose presence
might otherwise appear to have been unnecessary. Both sides seemed to be familiar with the script
and there was no sign of panic. Meanwhile, the message of the peaceful demonstrators managed
to get out. The message was simply that free trade needs to be subordinate to fair trade, that
environmental and human rights concerns should not take second place to corporate profits, and
that democratic rights to decide priorities in health and education should not be overridden by trade
agreements protecting corporate behaviour from political initiatives in these areas. Unfortunately,
while violence gets media coverage, it also provides the right-wing press with an opportunity for
discrediting the peaceful protestors, by lumping them together with the militants.

Jean-Chrétien in my view emerged as a big winner. He was able to show a federal presence in
Quebec with federal, provincial and city police forces co-operating. He concluded the Summit
beginning his speech in French and continuing in that language for some length. The message was
very clear: federalism provides world-stature for Quebec City and the French language in a way that
would be hard to match by a separate Quebec. Some of the messages by heads of state inside the
Summit meetings, such as that of the president of Costa Rica, were not much different from those
outside, namely, to ensure that hemispheric capitalism show respect for democracy, human rights
and concern for the environment.

From a civil liberties perspective, it was unnerving to see such a massive police presence, but it is
not possible to condemn this as over-reaction in the light of deliberate provocation, the existence
of the latter not being in doubt. The demonstration took place in huge numbers, and a less
well-disciplined police force might have misinterpreted the signals presented by the front-row "Black
Bloc" or the anarchistically-inclined. If there was over-reaction, I cannot claim to have witnessed
anything particularly oppressive given the circumstances. Obviously I cannot speak for what took
place elsewhere, and what other people may have seen or experienced.

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