McGuinty rejects latest call for public inquiry into police actions during G20
Posted February 28, 2011 1:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is throwing cold water on the idea of a full public inquiry into police conduct at the G20 summit.
A new report released by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the National Union of Public and General Employees said it’s necessary to get to the bottom of mass arrests and reports of police brutality.
But, McGuinty said there are five independent reviews of the situation already underway.
“I think that’s a lot of expertise and independent perspectives and I think that’s going to do a really good job,” he said.
Out of the five, there’s one in particular he’s looking forward to seeing.
“And I remain very interested in Chief Justice Roy McMurtry’s specific recommendations to see what we can better do to ensure that we have a law on the books, that is in keeping with our contemporary standards, values, expectations,” he said.
McMurtry is looking into the secret law that gave police the power to stop, question and arrest anyone within five meters of the security fences.
The law was actually only supposed to impact anyone inside the fence, but the government and police led people to believe it applied outside as well.
McGuinty admits he’s seen some of the disturbing videos that have come to light showing police violently arresting people, but he’s refusing to offer his opinion on what he’s seen.
“Let the reviews speak to that,” he said.
McGuinty is not saying if police should have arrested people at the Ontario legislature, where he personally invited them to protest.
