MONTREAL -- Police arrested more than 200 demonstrators Monday after windows were smashed and businesses vandalized during a protest against a World Trade Organization meeting in Montreal.
About 400 people showed up for an early morning march through downtown streets with the aim of shutting down the talks -- involving two dozen international trade ministers -- that continue until Wednesday.
Four people were arrested during the morning protest, including Jaggi Singh, a Montreal activist who was apprehended for violating court orders to stay away from protests, police said.
Ten police officers suffered minor injuries during the march.
Some merchants a block away from the meeting, arrived at work to find their front windows smashed. Display windows at the Gap and Burger King were shattered.
Most of the wooden boards that were drilled in place over the smashed windows will stay put until after the meeting ends.
"They're not coming down until Thursday," said a manager at the Gap, as she pointed to eight wood-covered windows.
At another Burger King outlet, a manager was waiting for approval to board up the restaurant before any damage could be done.
"They told us to be more aware of what's going on," he said."In the morning, I put employees in the front of the store to watch for protesters. We'll cover up the windows with wooden boards if I get the supervisor's permission.
Police Const. Ian Lafreniere said the protest became illegal when people started smashing windows and throwing stones at officers.
"You're not supposed to stay on the scene when people are doing something illegal," he said.
After the crowd dispersed, many people made their way to an area east of the downtown that had been deemed a meeting spot or "safe" area by organizers.
Krystal Kraus, 23, from Toronto, was among those who had gone to the area to regroup. She was able to slip away as a wave of police officers wearing helmets and carrying shields pushed the congregation up the street.
"This is obvious overkill," she said, on the outside of a police barricade separating her from the demonstrators.
One by one, protesters were plucked from the crowd by a pair of police officers, handcuffed, photographed and boarded onto a paddy wagon.
Oline Twiss, 28, said several people arrested hadn't even attended the protest in the morning.
"Everybody was here because they were looking for a safe place," she said over the telephone, as she waited to be processed by police.
Lafreniere said police used several forms of surveillance to monitor who was taking part in the protest, including undercover officers and helicopters that followed the crowd to the safe location.
"People were still gathering together. That's the reason why we followed them to this location and that's the reason we made the arrests.
"It was quite easy for us to make the arrests at this point without injuring anyone," he said.
Four Saskatchewan residents were among those arrested. According to Don Kossick, an Oxfam Canada volunteer and Saskatoon activist, the arrested demonstrators are Peter Garden, Rachel Engler-Stringer and Tyler McCreary of Saskatoon and Laura Alafero of Regina. It was not certain Monday whether they had been charged.
In an interview Monday, Kossick said it's his understanding the Saskatchewan protesters were doing some "creative things" to get their message across and were doing so "on the basis that they had a parade permit and that it was OK."
Kossick said local residents were trying to put together bail money for the Saskatchewan protesters Monday, in the event they might need it.
Protesters plan to demonstrate today and tomorrow as well.
The WTO meeting is a chance for the international ministers to determine how close the organization's 146-member countries are to negotiating a trade treaty dubbed the Doha Development Agenda. It's in advance of a full-scale WTO meeting in Cancun, Mexico in September.
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