Every summer in T-dot seems to bring a state of unrest to the bustling metropolis.
Last year, the city-wide garbage worker strike had citizens holding their breath as they silently protested the mounds of garbage beginning to fester in the heat of summer, not daring to open their mouths for fear of the reek.
This year, protesters in the city have found not only a louder voice, but also a much more complex issue to speak out against.
With the G20 summit scheduled to take place in Ontario's capital city, downtown Toronto has received a makeover, complete with a two-kilometre-long and three-metre-high chain-link fence separating the public and the world leaders who will converge at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre this weekend.
The fence alone is estimated to have cost the government $5.5 million dollars, in addition to the security costs of hiring RCMP patrols, in cruisers, and on foot to apprehend anyone who might try to bypass the "five-tier system of security" boasted by Const. Ed Boltuc with the Integrated Security Unit at a workshop for community members held in March.
With the summits looming in the not-so-distant future, protesters have taken to the streets while they still can, protesting not only the issue of the exaggerated security, and the government's plan to create a fake-lake mimicking the Muskoka landscape for visiting world leaders, but also G20 issues such as the Conservative Government's refusal to delegate money into the movement for international women's health and protection due to the push from other nations to have the money also cover safe abortions.
The Conservative Government, true to form, has refused to make any such promise of a donation until the issue of abortion is off the table. With majority of the countries involved in the pledge being pro-choice on this issue, Prime Minister Stephen Harper may find himself under attack on this particular matter.
Protesters on the streets of Toronto are also packing on the heat for Harper, calling for increased transparency for the public into government decisions. Whether the subject may be abortion laws in women's rights, or gay and transgender rights, the issue of violence against minorities in society is on every one's mind. As such, rioters are hoping that their voices are loud enough to be heard by the G20 leaders expected on the weekend.
Meanwhile, local businesses, and transportation services are seeing a definite drop in revenue, as commuters working in the city, in particular in the Bank towers, have found themselves working from home or satellite locations until the G20 storm passes.
Smaller businesses such as restaurants and shops are also feeling the pinch, as people cancel reservations, and regulars stop coming in, due to the difficulties in reaching the downtown core by car or public transportation.
All in all, once the summit begins, the city of Toronto will truly become a ghost town. The fear of being detained by security is all too real for community members, and with many people being forced to delete pictures of the chain link fences off their cameras, perhaps this fear is not without reason.
One thing is for sure, while the G20 looms over the city of Toronto, tensions will remain high for both security personnel, and community members, as riots will continue to increase in fervor before being forced to abandon their causes, as Toronto gets set to empty.
All Torontonians can do now is stay home and hope that "the worst that could happen" doesn't happen, so that their lives can be allowed to resume in normalcy as soon as possible.
