Not all Ontario public officials have been bullied into submission by Stevie Spiteful

Less than a month ago,

[...] after a nasty, three-month fight to keep his job was publicly played out. [Ontario Ombudsman André] Marin said his office is doing what it does best by “staying the course” and ignoring detractors. The ombudsman can serve as a “bulwark of democracy” in troubled economic times, Marin said. The report highlights the work the provincial watchdog did throughout the year.

Little did Marin suspect, when he said those words, that he would be the first public official to investigate the complaints of citizens bullied by riot police and deprived of civil liberties and human rights during the G-20 in Toronto.


Today, Marin stated in a news release:

[...] his investigation will probe "the origin and subsequent communication of the controversial security regulation passed by the province prior to the June 26-27 G20 summit."

The temporary powers regulation, which was published in the official Ontario Gazette last Saturday, five days after it lapsed, became publicly known when a man was arrested two days before the summit for refusing to provide ID to police while exploring the fence around the G20 "red zone." [...]

Marin said his office has received 22 complaints alleging a lack of transparency over the new rules. "The complaints we've received so far raise serious concerns about this regulation and the way it was communicated, and I think there is a very strong public interest in finding out exactly what happened and how that affected the rest of the events of the G20 weekend," [...]

Good. It's a start.