My name is Richard Renshaw. I am a Roman Catholic Priest and work in Ottawa as Assistant Secretary General of the Canadian Religious Conference, the Canadian association of the leadership of Roman Catholic Orders of men and women. We have a approximately 250 institutes who are members of the Conference representing more than 25,000 vowed Sisters, Brothers and Priests in Canada.

My submission is simply an account of what I witnessed. I am not going to express any opinions at this point.

The Canadian Religious Conference sits on the steering committee of the September 11 Coalition. This is the group that called for a National Day of Action for Peace in November, 2001. The Ottawa-based members of the Coalition were particularly involved – along with many others – in the organization of the march that took place on the morning of Saturday November 17, 2001. Some of us were also involved in encouraging the (aborted) Vigil that took place at the Human Rights Monument on El gin Street in the afternoon of November 16.

I would like to begin by speaking of the Vigil. This was conceived as an opportunity for "persons at risk" to have a completely safe environment in order to make public their concern for peace in Afghanistan and for respect for minorities in Canada. It was also the beginning of Ramadan and we felt it was important that there be a space for the Muslim community to participate in a public event without fear of hostility.

The event began with a gathering outside one of the buildings at Ottawa University. A few people spoke briefly and then we walked quietly across the Laurier bridge to the Human Rights Monument. It was an extremely low-key affair; we didn't even have any signs !

When we reached the Human Rights Monument there was some delay as an attempt was made to get the public address system working. Just as we began a large number of people from the "Snake March" joined us along with a considerable number of police in riot gear – 50 or 60 perhaps. The police were largely massed on the Western side of Elgin and also to the North of the Human Rights Monument across Elgin Street itself. The people from this march stood quietly on the Eastern side of Elgin facing South toward the Monument as we began our vigil.

At one point I noticed a movement from the opposite site of the street somewhat behind me at the corner of Nepean and Elgin. A group of five or six police in riot gear were moving quickly toward the median, grabbed a man who was standing there, forced him to the ground and dragged him into a waiting van. It happened very quickly. Some people who saw what was happening began to move toward the police. At that point, one of the police turned in my direction – I was perhaps 30 meters away – and fired toward the ground. A cloud of white smoke billowed up and people began to run back.

I want to underline that the event was a peaceful one; no one at the event was engaged in any activity that could remotely be called aggressive, violent or criminal, including the second group that had arrived and including the man who was carried off.  At the time he was "captured" he was simply standing on the median listening to the speaker.

Following this, the Muslim organizers were seized with fear and advised their community to leave immediately. The "Snake March" moved on. The Vigil was quickly disbanded. The effect of the police action had sown panic in those assembled, disrupted the event and effectively ended it.

The second event on which I would like to comment is the march on the morning of November 17. Once again, this was organized and advertised as a peaceful march for peace. The organisers had made it clear that they wanted an event in which women and children as well as those who are physically challenged could participate. As a result, there were children, including babies and strollers present as well as pregnant women. There were also people with who were physically challenged.

The march, as you know, had two starting points: one at Lebreton Flats and the other at the University of Ottawa. I went to the Lebreton Flats site. We were a significant number of people, perhaps 1,500 when we started out. The various groups participating had tended to arrange themselves together. Among them were some young people dressed in black and carrying black flags. Other groups that I saw included the Raging Grannies, Mothers and Midwives, First United Church, the Nowar group, and the Council of Canadians.

As we started up the hill from the "staging area" we were met with a wall of police, in full riot gear, standing about a meter apart from one another and in three rows about a meter one behind the other. This left room for the marchers to walk between the police along the road. This is what we did, frightening as it was. Everything went very peacefully until the group dressed in black reached them. At that point the police simply closed ranks, catching them in the middle between their rows and marched them off to the side of the road. I should add that I did not see those young people do absolutely anything different from anyone else in the march at that point. I saw the Raging Grannies walk over to the police and was told later by one of them that they told the police that these were participants in our march, had done nothing and should be allowed to continue. Meanwhile the march had stopped and everyone was waiting to see what would happen.

I underline that all this took place in the first 100 meters or so of the march. In any case, we were allowed to continue and those who had been separated were allowed to continue with us. Later, as we passed the corner of Lyon and Queen, I believe, there was a row of police, again in riot gear, standing across Lyon on either side of Queen. When I had passed I turned back to see two columns of police marching across Queen and effectively enclosing those who were at that point in the intersection in a closed square of tightly formed police lines. It was an ambush! Among those who were caught in the ambush were again some of those dressed in black as well as some people from the United Church, journalists and women with children. The police began using their truncheons to remove those they did not want to interfere and to control those they wanted to capture. The lines of police on Queen were turned facing the crowd on both sides of Queen Street and used their shields to push people back.

Once again, I underline, that I did not see any participants in the march causing any disturbance whatsoever before this police action. We were marching peacefully along the street; no one was engaged in any vandalism or in any aggressive behaviour at all before the police moved in. The police had set themselves up at that intersection before we arrived and moved in a precision way that indicated a previously planned manoeuvre. It is clear that many of those in the march were seized with fear and others were physically assaulted. I underline, I saw absolutely no provocation of the police or aggressive behaviour among those in the march before the police action. In fact, I saw no aggressive behaviour among those in the march during or after the police action!