I was part of a small delegation from the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa that took part in the peaceful and non-violent demonstration. I carried the Congregation Banner for most of the march from Lebreton Flats to the Supreme Court Building on Wellington Street.

When I met the group at Lebreton Flats I remarked at the upbeat atmosphere. There was a very good mood among the many people as they gathered, with a lot of net-working, laughter and discussion taking place. The mood continued to be upbeat during the few inspiring talks that were given, and especially when the Raging Grannies sang a few of their protest songs. A good mood prevailed. The gathering included a number of young families, with mothers or fathers carrying babies on their chests or pushing their young children in perambulators. A number of older people also participated.

This good mood soon changed when we marched up Commissioner street towards Laurier Avenue and had to pass through a barrier of police who blocked the road, in riot gear, wearing dark uniforms, helmets, masks and some carrying shields and guns. We had to force ourselves through this barrier of intimidation, for that is what it was sheer intimidation.. Other police, some with dogs, lined the road. Some of the marchers were visibly moved and began to cry, not having experienced such intimidation by the police before. For many, myself included, the up-beat mood changed to one of anger and resentment that such a thing could happen in Canada.

I was aware of some police with dogs on leashes. My wife, who was marching with the Raging Grannies, personally witnessed a policeman release his dog which attacked a young man who was walking away from the marching demonstrators. There was no apparent reason for this attack.

This caused great consternation and reinforced the feeling of fearful intimidation by the police.

On Laurier Avenue at the intersection with either Lyon or Bay riot police, once again dressed in black uniforms and wearing masks and helmets, and bearing shields and some carrying guns, bordered both sides of the intersection, shoulder to shoulder. If anyone had wanted to leave the march at this intersection it would have been impossible to do so.

Just after we'd passed through, behind us, police broke rank and attacked two demonstrators. I saw five police surrounding and on top of one young demonstrator who was struggling on the ground, with another policeman rushing over towards them, pointing his gun at the young man. In my perception this attack was completely unprovoked. I did hear later that one of the demonstrators who was attacked had been wearing a mask of some kind, but this in no way warranted the severity of the attack that took place. I believe that the police motivation for the attack was to divide the march.

If so, this intention was initially fulfilled. The crowd was now divided.

We who had just passed through the intersection, turned towards what was happening…some demonstrators knelt with hands joined in prayer in front of the police. I saw one TV crew being forcefully turned away by the police. The two scuffles continued for a short while, with most demonstrators in close proximity chanting “Shame! Shame!” and “This is what democracy looks like!” Many expressed anger and fear at what was happening. After a short while, I would say about ten minutes or so, the riot police suddenly withdrew. I am not aware of what happened to the two young demonstrators as I was in deep conversation with some of the other demonstrators about what had just taken place.

The protest march continued peacefully most with a heightened awareness of what police intimidation is about. After a short while, some young demonstrators dressed in black and wearing gas-masks reached us and began walking under our banner. We decided to move away from them, desiring our participation to be in a peaceful march and not wanting to be possibly allied with a small group who might be termed “anarchist” as the media had done in describing young people dressed similarly in other peaceful demonstrations.

After turning onto O'Connor and marching towards the Hill, we once again saw the riot police, this time standing shoulder to shoulder on the bank overlooking Wellington Street. Once again, this was a fearsome sight, seeing the mass of police in intimidating uniforms, many bearing what I was later told were sub-machine guns. It is interesting to note that some of the young demonstrators who had been dressed in black and were wearing gas-masks took them off and packed them in their knapsacks on seeing the police in such intimidating force observing the peaceful demonstration. Such was the “threat” of the so-called “anarchists!”

As I reflect on this experience, I cannot but think on and remember my experience in South Africa in the late sixties and early seventies when people protested peacefully against the increasingly repressive Apartheid regime in that country. The South African Police were always present in full force with batons and dogs, and later with guns and riot gear. In the 1960 massacre at Sharpeville and the 1976 massacre in Soweto, it just took one policeman, possibly afraid and feeling a little intimidated by the large crowd of peaceful protesters, to start the volley of fire that resulted in those two killing fields. Once 1976 happened, gunfire became the normal behaviour of the police at the escalating protest movement in that country.

Who is to say that something similar could not happen in Canada? If nothing is done to curtail the police intimidation at peaceful demonstrations in Canada, I fear that what we saw in Vancouver, Quebec City and now in Ottawa is but the beginning of the slippery slope towards facism.