Police declared an early morning anti-G7 protest illegal a few minutes after it began this morning in a Quebec City suburb.
About 100 people gathered in a parking lot adjacent to a highway leading to La Malbaie, que, where G7 leaders are meeting for the 44th annual summit.
Protesters chanted anti-capitalist slogans and marched in the street, blocking traffic, but police quickly surrounded them and told the crowd through a loud speaker to leave or they would be fined.
The crowd remained defiant and stood their ground in the middle of an intersection with officers in riot gear blocking them at every corner and helicopters flying overhead.
Protesters said they achieved their goals of shutting down Quebec City after the legislature was closed down on Friday and many businesses decided to shut their doors.
The protest action began around 8 a.m., and an hour later the demonstrators remained in a tense standoff with police.
The group organizing Friday morning’s demonstration, the Anti-G7 Resistance Network, says it denounces the “imperialist, colonialist and anti-environment” agenda of the G7.
“The objective of this summit is not to resolve the coming climatic catastrophe, but to maintain the hegemony of the G7 countries over our crumbling planet,” the group’s website says. “The agenda might sound progressive, but experience shows that these beautiful speeches will lead to nothing beneficial.
Source – National Post