Why bother?
The Canadian blogosphere has been buzzing about three cops trying to throw stones at the SPP protest in Montebello.1 It seems quite likely that the three gents in question were involved with the cops: at the first sign of trouble they fled into the waiting arms of the Sûreté du Québec; and their boots were identical to those of the Sûreté.
I’m left to wonder about the motive. Why would the RCMP/Sûreté/CSIS bother to dress a few of their own up as protesters? One of them was carrying a rock, so we can guess that they were going to try and throw it at the police line. I can only guess why the RCMP/Sûreté/CSIS would want to do that:
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The threat of violence justifies a large police presence,
It would make the opponents of the SPP look more like whack-jobs and less like people with something to say,
It would give grounds for the police/government to limit protests in future.
But all of those reasons seem so Machiavellian. They seem motivations of a police force desperate to justify its budget, or a government that really is afraid of a “sad” protest with “only” 1,200 attendees.
The only way to get to the bottom of this is to find out who ordered the provocateurs into the protest, and ask them why it was so necessary to smear a legitimate expression of public concern.
- For those who don’t know, Canada’s main man Stephen Harper is meeting with George Bush and Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon to chat about further integration of North American security forces and economies. (back)
