Last night a protest near NATO conference in Montreal turned into chaos - police had to deal with burning cars smoke-bombs and broken glass. At least 3 people were arrested during the un-peaceful demonstration
The anti-NATO rally (organized by two groups - Divest for Palestine and anti-capitalist activists) left a trail of destruction: two burned-out vehicles damaged store-fronts and smashed windows at the conference center. Metal barriers ended up scattered in streets; demonstrators used various tools to create havoc
Melanie Joly and Bill Blair - top Canadian officials spoke about yesterdays events: both ministers pointed out that while free speech is important violence isnt acceptable. Blair described the situation as pure anarchy saying “it was nothing like lawful peaceful protests“
What we saw was not peaceful protest; what we saw was actually violence hate and antisemitism and this has no place on our streets
The NATO meeting (which brought together representatives from member-states and partner countries) focuses on several key topics:
- Support for Ukraine
- Climate change issues
- Future alliance planning
Police spokesperson Manuel Couture confirmed that by late evening officers managed to clear-out all protesters from the area - though the clean-up of the damage continues today