Simply Impossible to Understand

Prior to the G8 and G20 meetings that were held in Ontario last week, the official opposition milked the press core over the enormous cost of security that the federal Government was spending.   NDP foreign-affairs critic Paul Dewar went on record and stated, “when you can spend a billion dollars to send out sound cannons on protesters in Toronto, the least you can do is provide $1.4 billion over a couple of years to provide front-line health services to woman in the Congo. It's a no-brainer.”

Speaking of no-brainers, the best response came from Michael Ignatieff, when he suggested that instead of spending so much government money on security in Toronto during the G20 summit, he would rather see money spent on reducing students’ tuition or even improving broadband internet access for rural Canadians.  Ingatieff stated that the spending was “off the charts” and he said of the security spending, “It's simply impossible to understand.”

This is the man that has designs on becoming our next Prime Minister.  A person who stands before the populous and says that he 'simply does not understand.'

Micheal, do you understand that prior to the G20 summit, the United States issued a travel advisory to U.S. citizens telling them to stay out of the core of Toronto due to credible threats gleaned from intelligence?  No! I believe Stephan Harper understood!

Micheal, do you understand that  Canada and our allies are fighting a war stemming from terrorist activities and that this year alone homegrown US terrorists have targeted New York and shot up a Texas barracks?  Does anyone harping about the cost of security remember that a Nigerian terrorist tried to blow up a transatlantic flight, and Al-Qaeda double agent suicide bombers killed several U.S. Agents in Afghanistan.

Micheal, do you understand that when it had become common knowledge that several peaceful protests were planned during the G8 and G20 summits, a group of black-clad anarchists identifying themselves as adhering to the ‘Black Bloc’ philosophy had openly advertised the fact that they would be descending on the summit.  No! I guess Harper understood.

With last minute security preparations complete which included increased police presence in the form of Toronto-Metro, RCMP, and Police officers gathered from across Canada, a security buffer was set, and military leaders were on stand-by.  A thirty-foot security fence was erected around the summit meeting location, the money was spent.  'What a waste of money' was probably ringing between the ears of the likes of Ignatieff.  'If only every Canadian could enjoy high-speed internet.' was the position publicly conveyed by the honourable opposition.

In what now has become probably the best example of a political 'I told you so,' the Black Bloc did descend on the peaceful protesters, and in true fascist anarchist fashion they started a riot on Queen street.  Four police cars were set on fire, store-fronts were destroyed and before television cameras and reporters from around the world, Canada began to look like a third-world country.  While employees of retailers lining the war-zone cowered behind their cash registers, the Mayor of Toronto went before the cameras and in a brief press conferences was asked questions like; “Do you believe the amount of police presence caused the riot?”  “Are the police doing enough to control the protestors?”  The level of frustration on the Toronto Mayors face was only out-done by the terse response to a press who like Ignatieff, simply just does not understand.

The opportunity to host important international summits like the G8 and the larger meeting of the G20 is an important opportunity for Canada and speaks well of how Canada is seen as a global partner.  

The amount of money spent to secure not only the delegates of several nations but also the Canadian soil these summits occupy is necessary.  In the state of world affairs only a fool would host a world political meeting without taking every measure possible for security.

The question has been raised that if the security was in place, how could the violence erupt in the first place.  Maybe a better question would be, how did the Toronto-Metro police arrest 500 hooligans, essentially restoring peace in relatively short order?  Because that is precisely what happened.  The sheer amount of law enforcement that descended on Toronto was able to arrest the Black Bloc without instigating onlookers to erupt in an all-out free-for-all.

As a result of the riot, Toronto has incurred losses due to property damage, lost wages, and lost business earnings.  The wisdom of whether Toronto was a proper venue for the G20 summit will probably be the hot-topic from the opposition for months to come.  I suspect no matter how plainly Prime Minister Stephan Harper explains it, the opposition will find it simply impossible to understand.