The executive director of Amnesty International in Canada says the Idle No More movement should pay attention to the way the federal government is clamping down on protests in the country.
Alex Neve says there is a shrinking tolerance by Ottawa to put up with political demonstrations that clash with its agenda.
He points to the mass arrests of G-20 protesters in Toronto and the arrests of student-demonstrators in Quebec as incidents that should be examined through national inquiries:
“It’s not simply about learning what went wrong with those two particular high-profile episodes. It’s about ensuring we learn some lessons so that we don’t see repeats of this in other situations and I think absolutely instances of Indigenous people involved in protests is one of the most vulnerable…”
He adds both of these incidents involved people speaking out about issues they felt passionately about — but who were in the end treated like criminals.
He adds there are incidents involving Native demonstrators that also should be considered.
“The loss of life of Dudley George at the Ipperwash protests in Ontario back in the 90’s. There’s also been the confrontation at Elsipogtog at New Brunswick this past year.”
Neve says the government doesn’t seem to like groups that differ with its political direction:
“What we’ve been seeing for instance is that activists and organizations that are critical of the government are targeted in a whole host of ways. If they receive government funding they may lose their government funding, they may receive threats that they’re going to lose their charitable status. They’re publicly vilified and attacked by government ministers and others.”
Neve says it’s imperative Canadian citizens be allowed freedom of expression in their own country.