MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 27, 2010

Council of Canadians distributing ear plugs to protect community from G20 sound cannons

Toronto - The Council of Canadians will give away free earplugs during the G20 to protect people from the permanent hearing loss that may result from the sound cannons recently purchased by G20 security forces.  Police have announced that they have purchased four sound cannons or long-range acoustic devices to communicate with crowds during G20 protests. The devices can cause extreme pain and are only partially directional.

“Saying a sound cannon is a tool for communications is like saying waterboarding isn’t torture, just a tool for encouraging dialogue,” said Mark Calzavara, the Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians. “These weapons affect a large area are used without accountability. The victims won’t know who fired them and won’t be able to prove they were targeted. At last year’s G20 meeting in Pittsburgh the police used these sound cannons to assault protestors and even the weapon’s manufacturer said it was abusive. This is meant to intimidate people and make them too scared to protest. They have spent over a billion dollars on security for this event now and it is clearly violating our charter rights.”

The Council of Canadians will be distributing ear plugs at meetings, rallies and protests from now until the end of the G20 meetings. The earplugs will protect the wearer’s ear drums from permanent damage.

“At the summit, the twenty richest nations will impose their idea of what is best on the rest of the world.  The G20 is illegitimate and people have a right to protest,” adds Calzavara. “The earplugs will help protect people while they assert their right.”

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Contacts:

Dylan Penner, Council of Canadians, Media Officer, (613) 795-8685; .