After a weekend of G20-related protests tore apart Toronto, citizens will again take to the streets on Thursday, demanding an independent inquiry into the security tactics used during the summit.

The Rally for a Public Inquiry Concerning the Actions at the G20 begins at 5:30 p.m. at Queen's Park.

It features speakers from Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, as well as representatives from among the 900 people who were part of the country's largest-ever mass detention.

Its organizers are part of the same coalition that mounted massive demonstrations in the past year against the prorogation of Parliament.

The group, formerly known as Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament (CAPP), is now called Canadians Advocating for Political Participation.

Nora Loreto, a student activist and editor of the Ryerson Free Press, says the diverse group of protest organizers is making the following demands:

  • People should be free to express their opinions publicly. The violation of civil liberties over the past weekend prevented many from doing so.
  • Police Chief Bill Blair should be removed from his position. "His role of informing the public of the secret act of the provincial government had a direct affect on what happened in the streets. People are very frustrated someone with such a high office was able to misinform the general public," says Loreto.
  • "Political prisoners" arrested during the weekend's actions should be released. "One thing that was pretty clear was that people were not arrested for destruction of property... People were rounded up en masse to be dealt with later on."
  • An independent inquiry must be conducted into the way police conducted themselves.

Loreto says she was hit several times with a police baton while photographing the protest on Saturday.

She encourages anyone who is skeptical of the need for another demonstration to consider the alternative: politicians and police comfortable with employing such tactics again.

"We have the right as Canadians to demonstrate and it's really impressive for politicians to see that people are willing to spend part of their day to stand up for what they believe in," she said.

"And after last weekend I think it's also about healing a community that was brutally attacked in a variety of different ways."