Montebello - A Village Under Siege?

The right to dissent is under siege!

The police response to the protest against the SPP - and presumably also the government's - was nothing short of bizarre!

Just to be perverse, I'm going to begin at the end today. Sophie Harkat and I were bus buddies for the Montebello trip, and as we strolled toward a restaurant so I could get a coffee and we could find a comfortable place to wait for the bus that would take us back home to Ottawa, we passed this picturesque little establishment: (All pics will enlarge if you click on them)

Sophie said, "Isn't that the place the Ottawa Sun said was going to be closed and boarded up?" Turns out she was absolutely right. The Sun headline was: "A Village Under Siege".

Dominique Joly plans to close up his hunting and fishing shop for a few days, but he'll be sleeping inside with a gas mask and bulletproof vest nearby in case some protests turn violent... He's already stinging from the cost of protesters slapping up anti-summit stickers along the street, including one on his new, $1,500 La Cabane a Jo sign. Other shopkeepers are following suit by closing up shop, while several are taking a wait-and-see approach.

The fear reaction was not anywhere near as great as the Ottawa Sun wished to make it appear. In fact, the merchants of Montebello were quite friendly. As the Sun itself admitted:

Boutique owner Estelle Lavoie is one of them. Truth be told, Lavoie said, she's sympathetic to the issues of the people arriving by the busload to denounce the North American Leaders' Summit as an undemocratic, closed-door meeting. "It's not what's happening in the village that bothers me," said Lavoie. "It's what's on the other side of the fence that bothers me."

Our bus had driven by the Papineauville McDonald's (almost 8 km away) and we saw that it was all boarded up, but I noticed only once instance of that in Montebello, which will be seen in one of the later pics. The passengers on our bus had a good laugh at the world's greatest symbol of crass, commercial globalization having succumbed to the exaggerated scare propaganda designed to put down dissent against it.

Below is a sample of what the guys "huddled" "on the other side of the fence" freely advocate when disagreed with:

Yes there was the obligatory pepper spraying at this event, and as a result, I now know that it's important to flush the eyes with cool water, pouring it in at the inner corners of the eyes.

After witnessing this scene, Sophie indulged her urge to strangle Bush:

People came to Montebello from many places. Here's a dangerous protester from Barry's Bay:

Sign: "Why not let the people decide. It's called democracy."

This is what confronted people in the "Family Friendly" zone" - there was to be no escape from the cage via the cemetery:

Just to the right of this cemetery is a side street, blocked by more police. A couple of people decided to sit down as close to the police as possible, no doubt to demonstrate the fact that everyone was caged in.

Here's the rest of the cemetery, farther to the left, toward a major police barricade on the highway that runs through Montebello:


In fact, there were so many police in this pretty little village that one wonders who was left to deal with the regular criminals.

And to think we got up early just to wait and wait to become part of the bus and car caravan to this surreal event:

... and stood on line inside the PSAC building filling out forms for the legal team and waiting to be assigned to a bus.

The Ottawa Raging Grannies bypassed the initial paperwork by using their own vehicle, but they may have run into a bit of red tape when they arrived at Montebello:

Note the ubiquitous police, there to see us off, recording our every move:

The open road at last. Our bus was #4, but it was at the head of the caravan, and one lone police officer kept all of the vehicles crawling at a snail's pace - you know, for our own protection.

Our driver, accustomed to travelling much faster, nevertheless remained cheerful and patient. He obligingly rolled down his window so I could get a shot of the helicopters monitoring us overhead.

In fact, everyone was talkative and lively, though some were very tired from organizing, et moi from staying up half the previous night processing photos from the Ottawa rally.

Below: Here am I with our very efficient bus captain, Abla, both of us in need of a nap:


Forgive me for digressing a moment. Looking at the sky I noticed what at first I thought was a rainbow, but since it was upside down it had to be something else. Apparently the same thing happened in Florida in 2002 and caused quite a stir.

Fellow traveler Jan said, "It's an omen." Maybe, but hard to know if bad or good. With all the chemicals being sprayed into the skies these days - in an attempt at climate control, we gather - it's hard to know what, or who, created this spectacle.

Moving on - here's the scene through the back windshield of our bus:

All those headlights - that's us, and more behind them.

Ah, now we're getting close to Bush country. See the fence - it went on for at least a mile - and the police lurking behind it? This is part of the 2.5 k (or so) security barricade around Chateau Montebello.


As we draw closer to the village, the fence moves closer to the road and doubles up. During the Sunday rally in Ottawa and now on the way to Montebello, I am constantly impressed by the many forms of transportation and fancy outfits and amenities with which the police are blessed these days. They must feel quite special.

Here's the sign that indicates we have reached the sacred sanctuary:

Next, we pass an RCMP enclave - preparing to roll out the red carpet for our would-be nemeses?

At last, signs of humanity:

And also more RCMP. Note the little chalet with the flags on it. It looks quite peaceful now, but as soon as the caravan had safely passed, we were quickly locked in by a massive police barricade across the road.

We finally come to a stop at a lovely tourist information house:

A lone voice in a large wilderness, trying to tell people the truth about 9-11:


But the Council of Canadians drew all the attention as they announced the start of their attempt to deliver 10,000 petitions from concerned Canadians to the powers that be - largely a symbolic gesture since there was no way they were going to get past the barricade:

(Centre in green dress) COC President Maude Barlow

A large crowd followed toward the end of the cage:

See the friendly restaurant owners fearlessly, yea happily, watching the parade:


Below - What do you think? Will these guys accept the petitions?

Uh, uh. They steadfastly glower and meanwhile the whole entourage is video-recorded by a police photographer ...

- and also the regular media, who probably knew who Maude Barlow is.

Request ungranted, the COC group decided to retreat, and beckoned others to do so as well, since they were committed to "family friendly" activities, but this Biblical character and many others remained to stare down the police.

Some people did manage to pass the barrier from the side of the road, but only met with more officers, and they didn't remain there very long.

This scene took me back to the 60's; not a happy recollection:

I went as far as I could go around the side and amused myself by gawking at some cops who themselves looked caged by the doubly fenced-in yard at the near side of the chalet:

Some drummers remained with us, assisting with the chants of "Bush go home":


The mood was gentle and some people chanted "Where is the Love?" but at the same time they were prepared with goggles and bandannas in case of pepper spray or tear gas.

Sign: "Free people, not trade."

Sign: "Our leaders hate democracy"

As I headed back to the "green zone" and saw the specters peering down fiercely at ordinary, law abiding citizens from the midst of a cemetery with both masks and shield to protect them, it occurred to me that our leaders and the police actually fear democracy:


All I can think is that our leaders know exactly what injustice they are committing and they expect much larger and more vigorous protests as time goes on. Soon everyone will have to become an activist, like this pleasant woman in a pink bonnet and rainbow coloured poncho:

Words on poncho: "Say no to the Bush Agenda"

And like this man who fears more for Mexico than he ever has:

No al aspan Calderon; no es Mexico.
Basically, I think: "This is not Mexico, Calderon" (or maybe "You don't speak for Mexico?")

Oh, oh! Look what's coming down the road from the "bad people's" cage, passing through the "green zone" to the police barricade:

Sign: "Shut it down!"

Banner: "Shawn Brant - Self-determination"
Shawn Brant denied bail

I don't know about you, but these people don't seem all that scary to me. In fact, I ended up at the barricade with them, in very close quarters, and found that they are the type of people you'd never have to worry about picking your pocket, and they apologize if they bump you or accidentally step on your foot. And if you try to move among them, they move out of the way without being asked. If you don't see that they want to move past you, they gently touch you on the shoulder to get your attention. They also helped me climb over a roadside barrier.

Sign: "There are no smart border, only idiot nations."

These gorgeous people call themselves the "Pink Bloc":

Here's someone who still remembers Mohamed Cherfi, one of the deportation cases that occurred as a result of tightened "security" and immigration laws, that will be increased in severity via the SPP:

See below the young lad in the white t-shirt. He was more in danger of injury from the police than he was from his fellow protesters, and the police were in absolutely no danger of injury from the protesters, yet they were excessively protected:

War weighs heavily on the minds of many young people, and they sense that many more people will die as a result of the SPP.

Not only the protesters had things to say. This gentle dog barked emphatically at the police until finally stopping to take a little panting break and receive a few pats and congratulations from the crowd:

This helicopter set up a much worse racket that continued for quite a while, almost drowning out the voice of the people. Soon, a larger, yellow helicopter flew over and some people seemed pretty certain Bush was in it, judging from the shouts of "Go home" that went up:

Well, look at this. It's after 2 PM, and the petitions are still waiting for someone to come and get them, and now I know how a media person got himself up so high above the crowd, if the broken and pushed in tops of the boxes are an indication:

Hmmm... a second row of police has moved up:

The cops are getting pumped for a little action, but they haven't taken quite enough pictures yet:

Another reminder of the 60's - a beautiful young woman tries to give the policeman a peace offering:
He stares stonily back, and she looks at me and hands me the little sprig. I can see that approaching the police had taken every ounce of her courage because her lips were trembling, and sure enough, she began to cry:


The fellow in black, wearing goggles, a mask, and holding a black umbrella, stands for a long time staring at the police. He appears to be attempting to mirror back to them the impression they make with their own goggles and masks and batons.

Here's a hint: whenever you see a policeman whisper in another policeman's ear, expect a new tactic. See below the cop close behind 8010? 8010 listened without turning his head, and then nodded. The cop to the right looked expectantly on.


I turned to watch the crowd activities for short while, and when I looked back at the police the whole front line had been replaced with carbon copies of this:

Some healthy looking steelworkers moved up toward the front, and for the first time, they had covered their faces, along with other people. A couple of young males in black advised me kindly that maybe I should leave now because they didn't want to see me get sprayed by the police.

Now there was a third row of police inching forward:

Seemingly oblivious, a member of the marijuana party, from St. Catharines, talked to a member of the media -who might actually have been a police officer because there were a number of people wearing tags saying simply "media" but not specifying what news outlet. Even I had a card on my hat stating my name and that I was from YayaCanada.com.

Anyway, he's holding up the water bottle and explaining to the "media" person that Canada's water is already being poured out of our taps and into bottles for sale elsewhere:

Meanwhile, there was a humorous attempt by someone to burn the American flag. Trouble is it must have been flame retardent polyester, because an ordinary lighter had no effect. Someone handed him a canned blow torch and he shot out a huge flame that only succeeded in melting the bottom part of the flag. Flags just aren't made the way they used to be.

Sidenote: I keep hearing on the radio that Harper and Bush talked about protecting consumers by preventing the import of dangerous toys. Translated, that means a boycott of Chinese goods. You may have noticed that there's been an ongoing campaign lately to condemn all sorts of goods from China as being "contaminated" in one way or another.

I'm also hearing that there were no protesters at Montebello today. Wonder why not. Couldn't get in, most likely.

Moving on: With help, I managed to get over the low barrier at the edge of the highway to see what was going on at the far end of the front line. People were singing and chanting peacefully, but the police were starting to get antsy.

When the police helmets point downward, they are looking at their target. Note the fellow above at the far right in front of a cop. Watch for him below. See the female above in the pink shirt? See her below? A cop has moved in closer to her. She doesn't react, but the crowd starts yelling "Peaceful protest, peaceful protest":

Now you can see (below) the bent knee of the cop who appears to be nudging the sitting female in pink. Remember the male at the right? Below, he has suddenly turned his head in response to a nudge. Another male in a pony tail and black shirt with a white stripe down the sleeve at the far left end has also become a target:

Below, the cop raises his baton and begins to push the young male with it. Meanwhile, over to the far right, a cop is kneeing another young male.

Below, the male at the far left is still being pushed back and the female in pink is now being threatened with the baton, but she hasn't budged an inch:

Below, the police are pushing their comrade from behind, so it would appear that there is now some serious pushing back.


At this point there was suddenly a big scuffle, and I was reminded of a farmer who had chased and finally caught a chicken. I think somebody was removed because there was a movement toward the chalet by at least one of the police at the far end, but it all happened so fast I couldn't get it on camera.

Things seemed to settle down after that a bit, although the group kept chanting and singing and this cheery guy with a very valid complaint (tuition fees) suddenly appeared out of the crowd:

I tried to see if I could get a clue from looking behind the barricade, but couldn't ascertain much:

It was after 3 PM and I knew I'd better re-establish contact with my bus buddy, Sophie. So I began my retreat. Most of the people who'd been standing behind me were also trying to figure out what had happened. The police are a cagey lot in more ways than one. They must feel proud of being able to out-muscle people who have had no military training and believe in non-violence.

See the fellow below making the peace sign with his fingers? That means nothing to the police, apparently. When they want something finished, they want it finished. They intend to call the shots, with full permission of a government that consults in secret with foreign countries and calls itself (out loud) democratic.

Back in the "green zone", people are dancing in the street, still monitored by the cemetery ghouls. All hadn't gone so peacefully there, I found out later. See the video (YouTube) and read the report (Harper Index) of the police provocateurs that caused a ruckus in the place where we were given to believe was the most unexpected place for altercations.

I spend the next few minutes hunting for Sophie, and find out she's been having a pleasant time visiting with all sorts of people and eating ice cream. I'm glad for her, because she at least was able to be there at a historic moment, and make her point about the SPP without jeopardizing her husband's situation.

Suddenly, people start running from the barricades toward the "green zone". The police have sprayed the crowd. I'm eating an apple and don't get my camera out in time. I can see the haze in the distance made by the spray. Most of the people up front were wearing face covering, but as you saw at the start of this tome, some were caught without them.

The t-shirts below pretty much express my sentiments:

Tshirt: Hitler and Bush - "Same shit, different assholes."

"Les vrais criminels sont au château, pas dans les rues de Montebello."

My bus buddy and I started to head back to the tourist information centre where the buses were to arrive and take us back home. I ordered a large coffee at a happily thriving patio restaurant and savoured it while Sophie talked with more people who were wanting to know how she and Moe were coping. Then we sauntered over to behind the tourist centre where the porta potties were located, passing some of the world's most dangerous protesters as they rested on the grass and shared their subversive grub.

The buses didn't exactly show up where planned. The police had a hand in that, though. All in all, the organizing was top notch in spite of all the long waits. I didn't see a single person even close to being irritable, let alone violent - except for the police.

Update #7: TorStar: Probe required into police tactics

Update #6:TorStar: Quebec police admit agents posed as protesters
Deny role of undercover officers was to provoke violence at summit of North American leaders
YYC: Reader "John" raises an interesting question with this item. What was in the backpacks the agents wore? More rocks?

Update #5: Aug. 23/07 - From Ottawa Legal Support Cttee: The last of the people arrested during anti-SPP actions in Montebello was released just before noon today after spending three nights in jail.

Update #4: YouTube VIDEO
YYC: If you want to see just how freaky our police have become - if indeed they really are police and not military in disguise - watch this video and see how they move in lockstep.

Update #3: From the event organizers: Joint Press Release:
Police used Provocateurs at Montebello Protests - Organizers call for resignation and public inquiry

Update #2: From the Toronto Star: Re the police provocateurs:
Rather than leave, the three actually start edging closer to the police line, where they appear to engage in discussions. They eventually push their way past an officer, whereupon other police shove them to the ground and handcuff them.
Late Tuesday, photographs taken by another protester surfaced, showing the trio lying prone on the ground. The photos show the soles of their boots adorned by yellow triangles. A police officer kneeling beside the men has an identical yellow triangle on the sole of his boot.

UPDATE from a report by the Montreal Legal Team: The police used tear gas! Four arrests confirmed. Three have been released but a woman is being held in Gatineau. "The SQ has told a Canadian Press reporter that there were four arrests in total (ignoring the three additional "arrests" shown in the video), and both the RCMP and SQ are refusing to comment on these seemingly staged "arrests" of police provocateurs."

RELATED: Maisonneuve/Himelfarb: Those Anarchist Punks in their police boots
CTV: Union leader claims cops posed as protesters
The three men then push their way into the police line and appear to be arrested, then taken away.
Activist Magazine: Resisting the SPP in Montebello
See Justice for Mohamed Harkat website for photos of Scrap the SPP event on August 18.
BE SURE TO VISIT VIVELECANADA.CA FOR OTHER EYEWITNESS REPORTS