First Major Protest During G20 Summit Staged in Toronto

TORONTO, June 25, 2010 (Xinhua) --

A major protest was staged Friday in Toronto on the eve of the fourth Group of 20 (G20) Summit, as at least 2,000 people took to the streets in the Canadian host city.

The protesters, mostly young people and many appearing to be college students, gathered in a local park around 2 p.m. before starting to march toward the area where the main venue of the G20 summit lies.

Over 100 riot police holding shields blocked the way of the marchers at the intersection of Elms Street and University Avenue, forcing them to change direction at around 6 p.m..

Police patrols on cars, bicycles and horseback were also seen on the scene.

Some protesters, holding posters that read "Do You Want to Starve? We Need to Eat Too," told Xinhua that they were protesting against the high government spending on the hosting of the event.

The two-day summit is estimated to cost some 2 billion Canadian dollars (1.93 billion U.S. dollars), far exceeding the original budget of over 100 million Canadian dollars (96.57 million dollars). More than half of the sum will be spent on security.

"The government should tax the banks and bailout the poor," one protestor shouted.

The demonstration remained mostly calm and peaceful. There were only a few minor confrontations and skirmishes between the protesters and police, according to local television reports.

Earlier CBC News reports said the protesters claimed to speak for more than two dozen causes, including environmental protection and labor rights.

Hundreds of police officers, many wearing helmets and holding anti-riot shields, are guarding the summit venue and patrolling the roads leading up to the venue in cars, and on bicycles and horseback.

The G20 Summit, the fourth of its kind since November 2008, is scheduled to start on Saturday afternoon at Huntsville outside Toronto, shortly after the closing of the annual Group of Eight (G8) summit in Huntsville, the Muskoka region -- about a 2.5-hour drive from Toronto

It is the first time for these two important international forums to be held back to back in one country.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

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