My name is Alison Gorbould.  I live in Toronto, so I will be unable to make it to Ottawa to testify, however I would be willing to speak to anyone who wishes more information.

I was at the demonstration in the role of Street Medic - treating people suffering from health problems brought on by violence, weather etc.   I was in constant contact with other medics by radio and in person, and went to the clinic that was set up several times.

I witnessed many acts of unwarranted, unprovoked violence and aggression and use of force by the police.  My colleagues and I treated many injuries, the scariest of which were a shattered ankle and a large number of police dog bites.

I have never had to deal with dog bites at a protest before - I was shocked by how out of control the police dogs seemed to be - I had always assumed they were tightly controlled, but I witnessed several cops being bitten by dogs, and dogs lunging at non-protesting passers-by.

I also treated a number of people for pepper spray exposure - "spray" seems like an inadequate word to describe the sheer force and amount of pepper powder that was used - one gentleman I assisted was covered head to toe in yellowish powder.  He suffered serious respiratory effects and was temporarily unable to see.  Another woman who was peppered said her glasses fell to the ground when she was attacked, and the police deliberately stomped on and smashed them.

While leading the above-mentioned gentleman away from where he had been attacked (I was close by and saw no particular disturbance or provocation by protesters) I was also subjected to a pepper blast by the police.  I was clearly identified as a medic - I had red crosses on my hat, both shoulders,  front and back of both jacket and pants - and I was clearly leading a person (who could not see at all) AWAY from the action - I could not have possibly been seen as a threat to anyone, and yet I too was attacked.

The targeting of medics was a common experience among other medics I spoke to.  Many medics fear identifying themselves with red crosses etc. because, from experiences like the ones in Ottawa, they know that police will target them for punishment for helping the victims of police violence.  This makes the world a less safe place for us all.

As a medic it is my goal to enhance the safety of those exercising their civil right to public dissent.  If I can in any way assist in the inquiry, I would be most happy to take part.

Alison Gorbould