A group of First Nations numbering in the hundreds wound their way through downtown streets to call attention to indigenous issues they say are being ignored by the G8 and G20 Summits.

The protesters started off from Queen's Park late Thursday morning. Their ultimate destination is Allan Gardens at Sherbourne and Carlton Streets.

On the website of the Toronto Community Mobilization Network, which has co-ordinated the pre-summit protests, the following demands are listed:

  • that Canada sign and implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
  • justice for more than 520 missing and murdered native women
  • stop the HST
  • stop the development of the oil sands

One organizer said they hope to raise awareness of issues such as treaty rights and poverty on First Nations reserves.

A demonstrator said she's upset that so much attention is paid to visiting world leaders, yet the hundreds of missing and murdered aboriginal women get virtually no attention.

Some native groups had threatened to block highways in the Toronto area and near Thunder Bay as part of their G20 protest activity, but those have been called off.

CTV Toronto's Jim Junkin said the protest in Toronto had its own security and required that protesters not wear masks or bandanas or engage in violence of any kind.

Police were on standby to scan the crowd and had a video truck that transmits images back to the Integrated Security Unit's headquarters so that officers there can see if there's any known agitators in the crowd, he said.

Quiet downtown

People commuting into Union Station on the GO train probably found they had more room than usual as businesses surrounding the G20 site started to gear down in advance of the G8/G20 Summits period.

Many employees in those businesses have chosen to work from home.

Telus encouraged its 1,600 employees to telecommute. However, one woman said she'd be more productive working in her suddenly quiet office space.

CTV Toronto's Alicia Markson said some businesses have advised their employees to dress casually to reduce the risk of being hassled by any protesters on Thursday and Friday.

With reports from CTV Toronto's Jim Junkin and Alicia Markson