A Muslim mass prayer service – captured on videos – shut down one of Canada’s busiest intersections last Saturday, but cops say no laws were violated.
“In Canada, no permit is required to hold a demonstration, as peaceful assembly and expression, including prayers, are protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” Toronto Police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said.
Even, police say, if such a demonstration inconveniences other citizens by snarling traffic and delaying public transit.
This was tested a week ago, around 6:45 p.m., on the west side of Dundas St. heading east near Yonge St. when dozens of people protesting in a downtown march in support of Palestine collectively prayed to Allah in what one Muslim worshipper on scene explained was the third prayer of the five prayer schedule called Asr – the one observed in the late afternoon.
While Yonge-Dundas Square was a few hundred metres to the east and Nathan Phillips Square was one street south, a decision was made to pray as a group along the protest route. Some participants used prayer rugs and mats on the roadway and over the streetcar tracks while some prayed kneeling on Palestinian flags.
Dozens of police officers stood guard on the same roadway during the prayers.
It appears traffic was stopped in both directions for safety reasons. There were no altercations and no charges were laid.
“The role of the police is to balance the right to protest with the responsibility to protect public safety and ensure that the broader public can continue to enjoy their freedoms,” Sayer said.
If you were in a car, riding a bike or scooter, or on a bus or streetcar, there was nowhere to go from either direction. Yonge and Dundas, say witnesses, was shut down for up to 30 minutes for the prayer service and for the finale of the march, which wound up at the nearby public square.
While there were no delays noted at Yonge and Dundas during this time, Toronto Transit Commission spokesperson Stuart Green said there were recorded delays on routes to the south and west.
“The only incident around that time we had was at Queen and Bay and it was a 22-minute diversion,” said Green, explaining the 501 Queen service was diverted both ways via Spadina Ave., Queen St. and Church St.
If you were heading to a hospital in this area, you would have had to find an alternative way to get there.
“While demonstrations may temporarily block streets, our priority is to ensure they do not obstruct critical infrastructure, such as hospitals and highways, thereby minimizing disruption to essential services,” Sayer said. “We also reroute traffic to minimize disruptions as much as possible.”
“As always, we strive to manage these events in a way that respects both the rights of the protestors and the needs of the community,” she added.
Much has changed in the approach to policing since the G20 in 2010 where many were arrested for protesting, or when Adam Skelly was busted during the pandemic for his lockdown protest at his Adamson BBQ restaurant in 2020, or Christian Pastor David Lynn was charged with causing a disturbance for preaching to more than a dozen supporters near Church St. during Pride Month in 2019.
Another incident last week where demonstrators protested the police shooting of an indigenous man found participants on the ramp of the Gardiner Expressway and even hitting cars with a protest sign.
In one encounter, a person in a truck allegedly took off and ran over two people. The driver was later arrested but so far has not been charged.
And no protesters have been charged.
While there has been a zero-tolerance approach in the past, things are handled differently in 2024 – as we saw with the University of Toronto protest that went on for months.
“As always, we strive to manage these events in a way that respects both the rights of the protestors and the needs of the community,” Sayer said.
So, if you find yourself behind a protest, or a large group of worshippers praying, police maintain these are citizens exercising their Charter rights and they are permitted to protest as citizens not participating wait.