The federal NDP and the Mouvement Action Justice are indignant at the methods used by Montreal police this week to control demonstrators who were protesting at a WTO meeting in the city's downtown.
NDP leader Jack Layton is calling for an independent investigation, asserting that freedom of expression rights may have been violated. Layton is also questioning whether the massive arrests on Monday were justified.
Action Justice coordinator Yves Manseau deplores what he calls the Americanization of police tactics and the slip towards repression of freedom of expression rights.
Manseau is asking Public Security Minister Jacques Chagnon and Mayor Gerald Tremblay to explain the development of such an imposing police presence. He believes that the massive arrests were intended to intimidate protesters.
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