Canada literally has to copy everything America does. You might think it’s cute, but I find it offensive.
Thousands of people held a rally in Toronto Saturday afternoon in response to the death of 29-year-old Regis Korchinski-Paquet.
The protest, shared on social media under the hashtag #JusticeForRegis and organized by the group Not Another Black Life, began around 2 p.m. at Christie Pits park near Bloor Street West and Christie Street. The march was scheduled to finish at Queen’s Park, but protesters instead made their way to Toronto Police Headquarters.
The rally was a response to Korchinski-Paquet’s death as well as the wider issues of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism.
“The violence we are experiencing globally is not OK and will never be OK,” a protester said.
The claim is not that the violence is “global,” fag. The claim is that it’s specifically in America, and you are just copying because you’re copycats who can’t come up with your own crap.
You even copied our Wisconsin accents and lied and called them “Canadian accents.”
This person has a stupid name even. Does everyone in Canada have a hyphenated name?
And why is a woman named “Regis”?
Just because she’s black? I don’t think that explanation is going to cut it.
“If you are tired of reading all these posts and the news surrounding anti-Black racism, guess what, we are tired too — tired of being a walking target and dying every single day.”
Police said roads were blocked due to the large crowds as protesters made their way through the downtown core. Officers estimated there were 3,500 to 4,000 people in attendance.
How far into this article do I have to read before these Canadians tell me how she died?
Did the cops even do it? Why is it not in the lede?
The protest remained largely peaceful into the evening on Saturday, which is when demonstrators began to disperse.
“We respect people’s right to lawful and peaceful protest,” police said in a tweet.
“Our officers will be on-site to ensure the safety of everyone involved.”
Protesters chanted “justice for Regis,” “not another Black life,” “abolish the police,” and “no justice, no peace.”
A similar rally was held in Halifax on Saturday with hundreds in attendance.
The march comes three days after officers were called to Korchinski-Paquet’s apartment on High Park Avenue.
Knia Singh, a lawyer representing Korchinski-Paquet’s family, said her mother, Claudette Beals-Clayton, called 911 because her daughter was in distress over a family conflict and the call was made out of “safety” and “concern.”
Singh said the two, along with her brother, met police in the hallway leading to their 24th-floor apartment. He said she pleaded with officers to take Korchinski-Paquet to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) for mental health support. Family members said she was also having an epileptic seizure.
When Korchinski-Paquet told officers she needed to use the bathroom, Singh said officers followed her into the apartment unit and that when her brother tried to get her, he was stopped. The family was not in the unit while Korchinski-Paquet and police were in the apartment unit.
After a couple of minutes, Singh said Korchinski-Paquet called out saying, “Mom, help. Mom, help. Mom, help.” A short time later, he said the family found out Korchinski-Paquet was on the ground.
“I asked the police yesterday if they could take my daughter to CAMH and my daughter ended up dead, so I don’t understand,” Beals-Clayton told reporters on Thursday.
Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said on Friday that Toronto police received three calls to 911 Wednesday afternoon from three different people. He said the calls indicated there was an assault and that weapons were present. Saunders said officers and paramedics were dispatched to the scene and that police were there within four minutes.
Singh told Global News he didn’t hear the 911 calls referenced by Saunders, but added there were no weapons present when officers arrived and there was no dispute at the time.
Soon after Korchinski-Paquet died on Wednesday, Beals-Clayton claimed in a video posted on Instagram that police officers “shoved” Korchinski-Paquet off the apartment balcony. The Toronto Police Association, the union representing officers, later called the allegation of Korchinski-Paquet being shoved “unfounded.”
Singh told reporters on Friday the family “had a lot of emotion and grief” when the video was filmed. He noted the family was not in the apartment at the time the officers were inside the unit.
“They called for police assistance and their daughter ended up dead. Some concerns are being raised about the mother saying that the police threw her daughter off the balcony,” Singh said.
“I can verify on behalf of the family that this was not witnessed by the mother. However, at the time of the statement, that is what the mother believed.”
She had a drug overdose and a seizure and then fell off the balcony? No wonder they didn’t put that in the lede.
People are supposed to believe the cops threw this woman off the balcony because they hate black people?
And they’re supposed to believe that this just oh-so-conveniently happened exactly when Canada needed to copy our riots?
This whole idea that “no one should ever die for any reason and if they do it’s white people’s fault” is babyism and it’s confusing. I mean, imagine believing that the cops just throw people off of balconies because they are so filled with racism. Even villains in cartoons are not that silly.
This is a lot of people marching.
Thousands marching on Bay Street right now as part of the #JusticeForRegis protests. #notanotherblacklife pic.twitter.com/RJfoXicFMX
— Jorge Sánchez Ortiz de Galisteo (@jsogalisteo) May 30, 2020
All those people believe that the cops just threw this woman off a balcony because they hated the color of her skin?
Really?
What is going on? How is this thing that is happening around me “reality”?