| Over the last few years in Calgary, issues ranging from homelessness to traffic congestion have become more visible as the city has expanded, and so has activism. But while grassroots organizing, protests and other manifestations of activism have increased, the sort of police repression that has accompanied activism and protesting in many major cities often seems remote – most people don’t think it happens here. Local activists, however, beg to differ.
Donna McPhee, a longtime aboriginal and anti-poverty activist in Calgary, has seen police harassment and intimidation first-hand, and tells of numerous unsettling experiences over the years.
"I have been followed by police," she says. "I had to stop driving, I was getting pulled over so often." McPhee describes a "big push" by the police in the last few years, attempting to target activists. In May 2004, McPhee and others taking part in a protest were hit by a disgruntled motorist – the police, however, chose to charge a protester with allegedly damaging the motorist’s vehicle rather than charging the driver. The case is still in court.
In a protest a year earlier, police attempted to arrest a young man whose flag had flown in their faces. More recently, Lily Phan, a community activist, was arrested for yelling at then Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh over his government’s lack of action in improving public health care.
Gordon Christie, executive secretary of the Calgary and District Labour Council, describes similar incidents, noting that police attempted to prevent a protest at the World Petroleum Congress (WPC) in June 2000 from even getting a marching permit.
"I always ask, ‘What activist action has ever gone badly in Calgary?’" says Christie, pointing to the disproportionately heavy-handed police presence at various demonstrations. During the WPC, which drew between 2,000 and 4,000 protesters, the police brought in several hundred reinforcements, armoured vehicles and a tank, but no violent incidents occurred. During the G8 Summit held at Kananaskis two years later, the police had a similarly strong presence, though riot police were mostly kept off the streets.
Christie also described police attempts to infiltrate activist groups, citing the case of "Mark the Narc," a police officer who disguised himself with facial piercings and combat boots and joined a number of groups leading up to the G8, before it was later discovered that he was a police officer. He also told of another pair of undercover police officers who showed up to a number of meetings prior to the G8.
"One time, we were taking meeting notes on the backs of old picket signs and at the end of the meeting, they volunteered to take them home. I never got those picket signs back," he adds with a laugh.
However, it doesn’t have to be a large event to draw the attention of local police. At a demonstration at the Federation of Labour Convention in 2003, Christie claims that, towards the end of the rally, a police officer openly stated that the crowd was thinning out, so the rules were going to change.
"The police are especially bad at smaller protests," says Christie. "For every cop you see, there are two that you don’t."
According to McPhee, the Calgary Police Service lacks a fair process for lodging complaints against the police.
"You have to go to the people who are harassing you; you have to go into the wolf’s den (to file a complaint)," says McPhee. "There has to be a different process." After being hit by a car at the protest in May 2004, she went to file a complaint and claims the police initially did not even intend to hear her out.
McPhee says another difficulty activists face is feeling uncomfortable talking about their experiences.
"You don’t want to tell too many people – people just don’t believe you," she says. "It’s as if activists live in a fairy land."
Christie, however, feels that the situation has improved. Comparing the G8 to the World Petroleum Congress protests, he says that, at the later protests, the police were more accepting of demonstrators.
"During one action, we stepped out onto Ninth Avenue and the police were there," says Christie, adding he initially feared the worst. "But, they went up ahead and started stopping traffic for us."
According to him, activists asserting their rights had a lot to do with the shift in attitude.
"During the World Petroleum Congress, we told them that we were going to have a march whether we had a permit or not. Their attitude changed."
The overall situation may have improved, but as long as problems exist, the activist community has good reason to continue speaking up. Both McPhee and Christie cite the case of Juan Melendez, a Calgary man who was allegedly beaten badly by police and became an activist in an attempt to fight back. Every year since then, a rally has been held on March 15th to call for an end to police brutality.
"Citizens have to make the police more accountable," says McPhee. "People have to stand up."
The Calgary Police Service did not respond to interview requests by deadline. |
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