Toronto Police reviewing protest that prompted cancellation of PM’s reception

Investigators with the Toronto Police are reviewing whether or not criminality occurred throughout a weekend protest that led to the cancellation of a reception hosted by the prime minister for a visiting G7 chief, the drive stated Sunday.

The Saturday night occasion on the Art Gallery of Ontario was meant to cap off a day of conferences between Justin Trudeau and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Toronto, however it was abruptly cancelled after demonstrators shouting pro-Palestinian slogans blocked entrances to the constructing and prevented many attendees from getting in.

Trudeau’s workplace stated Saturday neither he nor Meloni had been capable of enter the venue, which briefly went into lockdown. International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen was seen strolling for 2 blocks with a police escort to search out an unoccupied entrance. 

Toronto Police Service spokeswoman Stephanie Sayer stated police had been in touch with the prime minister’s safety crew, who had been advised officers had been ready to offer safe entry to the constructing for Trudeau.

She stated Toronto Police didn’t advocate the occasion be cancelled.

“Ultimately, the Prime Minister’s team decided not to proceed,” Sayer stated in an announcement.

“It was not at TPS’s recommendation that the event be cancelled, and many guests were already inside.”

Sayer stated roughly 400 protesters had been gathered exterior the AGO. She stated there have been no accidents or arrests, although police are persevering with to research what occurred.

“We are reviewing the events of last night and if it’s determined that illegal activity occurred, charges can be laid at a later date,” she stated.

The Prime Minister’s Office didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Sunday.

Demonstrators, who criticized the federal authorities’s dealing with of the Israel-Hamas battle, chanted slogans resembling “Justin Trudeau you’re a liar” and calling him “genocide Justin.” Would-be attendees had been confronted by demonstrators, with their paths to entry blocked, however police later escorted some to the constructing’s entrance.

Security for the occasion additionally blocked some reporters from getting inside.

The disruption marked a tumultuous ending to an in any other case cordial day of conferences in Toronto, throughout which Trudeau and Meloni stated they agreed to determine the Canada-Italy Roadmap for Enhanced Cooperation.

Liberal MP Marco Mendicino referred to as on police “to enforce the law” following Saturday’s protest, calling the demonstrators antisemitic.

“The location was not secure. And that was their objective. They don’t want their fellow Canadians to feel safe,” he stated in a collection of posts on X, previously Twitter.

“You break the law, you should be arrested, charged and prosecuted … These thugs think they scored a win last night, but all they did was lose public support and embarrass themselves. Time for the madness to stop.”

Deborah Lyons, Canada’s particular envoy for combatting antisemitism, stated in an X  put up the cancellation of the occasion “is the direct result of caving in to the irrational demands of an out-of-control and noisy cohort, fueling their determination.”