The many thousands of people engaged in the democratic principle of free speech and protest gathered on the streets of Toronto and marched to spread their awareness about their causes - which for the most part centered around union solidarity and helping others, in fact the title of the march was "People First".
Some came looking for a fight and violent confrontations but the vast majority wanted to take part in a typical Canadian protest - which includes bright flags, colourful costumes, funny signs and friendly smiles. Many more gathered and joined in the march to witness the day's events and to add their voices in protest as there were some that found the G20 police presence and loss of freedom was something to be concerned about. We saw one hothead grab some bricks and the crowd around him told him to drop the bricks - which he did.
My favourite group was the clowns who joined in a small group and in an intriguing fashion moved closer and closer to the line of police blocking Bay Street at Richmond Street. They moved everyone out of their way by saying they weren't looking for us, they were looking for the police. Each one moved from the back to the front, posed and then another from the back took their place. They finally get to the police line, bring a smile to the police, were refused passage and carefully backed away in the same manner as how they arrived.
Some people wore funny outfits or had funny sayings on their shirts - like the ever popular "Don't Taze me Bro" or "Free Hugs". Many of the friendly faces were even those of the police after the main groups of protesters pass they quickly relax and even joke around with people.
You can see more pictures of the protesters after the jump.
