Black Bloc ‘terrorists’: poll

A majority of Canadians believe that the Black Bloc members responsible for much of the damage during June’s G20 summit in Toronto should be charged under Canada’s terrorism laws, according to results of a Global News-Ipsos Reid poll released on Tuesday.

During protests at Toronto’s G20 summit last month, members of the Black Bloc smashed windows of businesses and set cars on fire.

Seventy-five per cent of Toronto-area residents, and 74 per cent of Canadians, agree "members of the Black Bloc group should be charged under Canada’s terrorist laws and not the regular Criminal Code," according to the survey.

A quarter of Toronto-area residents and 26 per cent of Canadians said they disagreed.

“When you look at being classified as a terrorist in our society, you see much less evidence necessary to hold the individual,” John Wright, senior vice president of Ipsos Reid, told Global News.

“[The results] show a public very attuned to what was going on, very on-side with what the police did.”

Toronto Police Service chief Bill Blair has already called members of the Black Bloc terrorists.

During the riots, Black Bloc members had their faces covered with bandanas, which many Canadians say should be illegal during protests.

Eighty-two per cent of Toronto-area residents and 80 per cent of Canadians said they agree it should be illegal to cover your face while "participating in public demonstrations.”

Public inquiry

In the wake of the riots, police have faced criticism for not being forceful enough with protesters, while others have pushed for an independent inquiry on the use of force.

The poll found that 47 per cent of Canadians and GTA residents thought there should be an inquiry.

“The process of an inquiry costs so much money, goes on forever, and is often politically hijacked. I think people are uneasy about the process,” said Wright.

“They think they will get fingers pointed, and I’m not sure that’s what the public wants.”

Ninety per cent of Toronto-area residents and 77 per cent of Canadians agreed that the federal government should compensate business owners and the City of Toronto for damages.

Thirty-nine per cent of Toronto-area residents and 44 per cent of Canadians overall said they believed “the messages and voices of peaceful protesters were heard despite the violence,” the poll reported.

The poll was conducted between June 30 and July 5, 2010 and a sample of 1,859 Canadian adults, 683 from the Greater Toronto Area, were interviewed online.

The poll has an estimated margin of error of 2.3 percentage points, plus or minus, 19 times out of 10.