The Globe and Mail

The Council of Canadians will distribute ear plugs at meetings rallies and events leading up to the G20, saying they are to protect the community from the sound cannons bought by police in preparation for the summit. “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, regional organizer for the group. ““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.”