“Today, inspired by a summer of rebellion and anti-racist protest, a diverse coalition of young activists take it upon themselves to act where the city has failed,” read the flier.
“We offer this action in solidarity with the Indigenous peoples of Tio’tia:ke, Turtle Island and across the globe, and all those fighting against colonialism and anti-blackness in the struggle for a better world.”
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The statue — which has long been at the centre of a debate over how it symbolizes Canada’s colonial past — was unbolted, pulled to the ground and sprayed with graffiti earlier Saturday afternoon, according to images of the incident posted to social media.
The statue was removed at the end of a peaceful protest where an estimated 200 people marched, according to The Canadian Press. No arrests were made.
Protests have also taken place in Toronto and others are expected to happen in Fredericton, Moncton and Calgary on Saturday.
The demonstrations are calling for money allocated to police forces to be reinvested into community organizations that work to address systemic racism and save the lives of BIPOC Canadians.
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“This event, it’s been organized by groups and organizations from all across the country. We all got together and decided we needed to stage something bigger to get more people’s attention and to try and get people to understand that we’re not just going to take this lying down,” Gal Harper, member, organizer, and lead activist with Black Lives Matter London told Global News.
“Things need to change and it needs to happen now,” Harper said.
In Toronto, demonstrators gathered at Downsview Park for a march beginning at 11 a.m. ET, according to the Coalition for BIPOC Liberation.
By 12:30 p.m. ET, dozens of protesters had gathered on Sheppard Avenue.
Dozens have gathered on Sheppard Avenue in support of the Coalition for BIPOC Liberation during a nationwide day of action. Demonstrations are taking part in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Moncton. @globalnewstopic.twitter.com/yJDtEJQBr9
A second march is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET at Christie Pits Park.
4:58 Jacob Blake’s family delivers powerful message to protesters: “You must fight with self-love”
Jacob Blake’s family delivers powerful message to protesters: “You must fight with self-love”
In a Facebook post Saturday morning, the coalition outlined its demands.
“We demand our basic human right to live peacefully with the equitable opportunity to live our best lives, take care of our families and support our communities,” the statement reads.
The coalition says without the removal of the laws of colonialism, the liberation of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour will “cease to exist.”
“Invest in people, not police,” the statement says. “Reallocation Committees will ensure funding divested from police forces will be reallocated back to community-based initiatives.”
In a press release issued on Thursday, Black Trans Lives Matter, DefundYYC and Idle No More — who have organized the demonstration in downtown Calgary — asked protesters to gather at Sien Lok Park.
That march is slated to begin at 2 p.m.
In the release, organizers said the world is “changing fast,” and that systems in place are “not evolving at the same pace as humanity.”
“We must keep putting pressure on those in power to make swift change that immobilizes racism at every interaction to alleviate ALL oppressions,” the release reads. “We believe ALL Black lives matter and will amplify Trans voices as well as other folx on the LBGTQ2S+ spectrum.”
1:14 Kenosha police chief confirms 2 people killed, 1 injured during Jacob Blake protests
Kenosha police chief confirms 2 people killed, 1 injured during Jacob Blake protests
However, opponents of the defund the police movement claim doing so could have dangerous implications for society.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed calls to defund forces are an attempt to “take away” police.
The Radical Left Democrats: First they try to take away your guns. Then they try to take away your police!
The survey found 51 per cent of Canadians support the idea of defunding the police and redirecting the funds to other local government services.
Of those respndents, 19 per cent said they “strongly” agree, 32 per cent said they “somewhat” agree.
However, 49 per cent of Canadians said they do not support the idea of defunding the police.
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The protests in Canada come less than a week after Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was tasered and shot seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday.
The incident was caught on camera by bystanders and has been shared widely on social media.
1:10 UN human rights office calls Jacob Blake shooting “excessive”
UN human rights office calls Jacob Blake shooting “excessive”
Blake was shot as he opened the door to his vehicle. Three of his children were present at the time of the incident.
In an interview with the Chicago Sun Times, Blake’s father — also named Jacob Blake — told the paper that his son, who was rushed to hospital after the shooting, is now paralyzed from the waist down.
Wisconsin’s Department of Justice is investigating the shooting, and all three officers involved have since been put on administrative leave.
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The shooting sparked days of protests in Kenosha. On Friday, a candlelight vigil was held for Blake in the city.
A number of pro sports games were postponed after players took a stand against racial inequality following Blake’s shooting.
The NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks were the first franchise to postpone a game.
The decision caused a domino effect within the NBA and across several pro sports leagues with athletes in the WNBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, MLS and ATP choosing to stand with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Blake’s shooting follows months of unrest across the U.S. and around the world over police brutality and racial injustice.
Those protests began after George Floyd — a 46-year-old Black man from Minnesota — died after a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for more than seven minutes during an arrest.
–With files from Global News’ David Lao, Chris Jancelewicz, Jacquelyn LeBel and The Canadian Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
