A Foreward by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper
When Niagara At Large posted a story in July of this year on John Pruyn – a 57-year-old amputee, federal civil servant and Christmas Tree farmer from Welland, Ontario – who had his artificial leg pulled off by security forces during the G20 summit in Toronto before he was detained in a cage for a weekend before finally being released without any charges, the response was to the post was overwhelming.
John Pruyn and his wife Susan at a rally in St. Catharines, Ontario this July, protesting security forces' actions at G20 summit in Toronto.
Within 48 hours, Pruyn’s story on Niagara At Large (still available by scrolling down to items posted in July on this site) received more than 30,000 visits from readers across North America. Hundreds shared comments expressing shock and anger at Pruyn’s story of how he was treated at the hands of law enforcement officers as he sat on lawns near an Ontario provincial legislature that is supposed to stand for something resembling democracy.
Among those who commented on Pruyn’s story, there were also those who argued that he may be lying or exaggerating about what happened to him and his family that weekend. Some argued that even if he wasn’t lying, he was to blame for what happened to him because he chose to go to Toronto during the G20 summit to attend what were intended to be peaceful rallies on climate change, world poverty, free trade and other matters of concern. If he didn’t want to get arrested, they advised, then he should have stayed home, closed his curtains, turned his TV on to an entertainment channel and minded his own business.
“At our last Amnesty International meeting, we talked about how civil rights are being eroded, even in our beloved Canada,” said James Wilson, an Amnesty International at a meeting of the group at St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake this coming Nov. 16.
Wilson called what happened to Pruyn during that late June weekend “shocking” and said that what we should all be concerned about is if it has come to a point in our country where “he deserves that kind of treatment, then so do the rest of us.” In other words, who is next?
If you are interested or concerned John Pruyn’s story and especially if you have any doubts about it, you have a chance later this month to meet this man and hear his story directly. Go with an open mind.
Here is the media release from a Niagara chapter of Amnesty International promoting the event.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—-
On the morning of June 26, 2010, the Pruyn family of Thorold could not have imagined, as they boarded a Toronto-bound bus chartered by the Council of Canadians, that their lives would be changed forever by their decision to attend a G20 protest.
John Pruyn, a 57-year-old Revenue Canada employee, would never have dreamed that he would be assaulted by police. And that he and his daughter, Sarah, a university student, would both be arrested, held incommunicado in a mass lockup, and finally released without charges.
Susan Pruyn would never have dreamed that she would spend an agonizing 27 hours searching for her missing husband and daughter.
John and Susan Pruyn will share their story Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 at the parish hall of St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 41 Byron St., Niagara-On- The-Lake (see map at http://tinyurl.com/St-Marks-NOTL) at the November meeting of Amnesty International Group 137.
Think it can’t happen here? Come hear an ordinary Niagara family’s shocking account of human rights abuses right here in our beloved Canada.
Contact: James and/or Pamela Wilson at
<amnesty.international.group.137@gmail.com>
(Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater binational Niagara region.)
Niagara At Large 
On behalf of AI Group 137, thank you, Doug Draper for your excellent coverage. And thank you for all you have done since July to bring this important story to the public’s attention.
You know, one of our Group 137 members sent out an e-mail advertising this meeting and got a response from someone who said that they don’t really like protests or protestors, and therefore, they don’t really care what the police did to them.
The famous quote by Pastor Martin Niemoller springs to mind:
They came first for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
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Once the precedent has been set that the police can, with total impunity, assault people and lock them up without charges, there is no telling who the next victim will be.
Now I totally get that the cops don’t think too much of protestors, but hey! There are probably a lot of other folks out there that the cops don’t like any better… drunks, weirdly-dressed teenagers, homosexuals, racial/religious minorities, homeless people…
So would it be okay for the cops to assault these people and lock them up for a day or two without charging them with any crime?
Fortunately, we have a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but if we don’t stand on guard for it, it could become as meaningless as the constitution of the former USSR, which guaranteed citizens all sorts of wonderful rights…
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Thank you, Doug, for keeping up and continuing on with reporting about this horrendous event in our history.
The events of the G20 lie squarely at the feet of our so-called Prime Minister, Harper. His decision to hold the G20 in downtown T.O., and subsequent decisions about how the security forces behaved, are a stark, and representative example of his take on Canada, not to mention the 100’s of other outrages he has accomplished since his time in power.
Many of us *know* that without a public inquiry, the real truth of this outrage will never spread across the land like it deserves to.
Regardless, whatever we all understand or not, the events of that weekend are surely one of the biggest, blackest stains on our beloved country. I know I will never forget that. Thanks again.
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To end this kind of thing from happening The conflict of interest at the Canadian Human Rights Commission must be fixed.
Based on race. The Parliament of Canada, Gave “Visible minorities”, the term ”Racial profiling” to access and obtain services at The Canadian Human Rights Commission and
Did not give “whites” equal term to access and obtain services at The Canadian Human Rights Commission.
So based on race some people can access the Commission’s services and others can’t
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“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” The famous quote from Wendell Phillips is very appropriate here.
We all have an obligation to speak out on matters that concern our society. Not only a right, but an obligation. Acts of vandalism and violence are not justifiable, but speaking out should never be criticized – let alone punished.
We seem to have reached a point in our society where contrary opinions are not tolerated. When we are intolerant of each other’s opinions, we are less civil – and that’s a sad thing. But when such intolerance is practised by the government on its own people, we should be very afraid.
Powerful people do not hestitate to use apathy, cynicism, ignorance and intimidation as weapons. The rest of us cannot afford to remain silent. Otherwise, to borrow the famous quote from Edmun Burke, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
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We need a full scale ” Public Inquiry”,so we can understand what happened & learn for the next time.
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“There is one choice we cannot make, we are incapable of making: we will not choose the path of submission and suffer the most sacred rights of our Nation and our people to be ignored or violated. The wrongs against which we now array ourselves are no common wrongs; they cut to the very roots of human life.”
[Woodrow Wilson]
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A front page article in today’s Toronto Star article revealed that Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair will be disciplining 90 cops who took off their name badges during the G20… their punishment? To lose one day’s pay.
So I wrote this letter to the Toronto Star, who knows if they will publish it?
James Wilson
***********************
Chief Blair, the 90 cops who deliberately removed their name badges during the G20 demonstrations clearly showed their contempt for both the demonstrators they were policing and the orders of their superior officers.
Since the G20 security force was made up of police officers from all across Canada, sadly, these 90 rogue cops have brought shame upon honest police officers all across Canada.
In a weird parallel, the 90 rogue cops’ deliberate attempts to hide their identities shows exactly the same kind of criminal intent as those “black bloc” morons who hid their identities in order to smash shop windows.
Please tell me, Chief Blair: if these 90 rogue cops weren’t planning to engage in bullying and violence, why did they felt it necessary to disobey your direct orders and hide their identities?
It is my sincere hope that each and every single one of the black bloc morons be identified and prosecuted.
And it is my sincere hope that each and every single one of the 90 rogue cops who deliberately removed their name tags be fired.
I wouldn’t want one of these contemptuous bullies dealing with anyone in my family. Would you, Chief Blair?
Sincerely,
James Wilson
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Good for you James!
Have they published it?
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Excellent folks, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thanks, Doug for your continuing support.
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