"We all have to stand together as people whose rights are being violated, "says Kelly Pflug-Black – an anti-poverty activist from Guelph. "We have to stand together as women, as trans people, as poor people, as immigrants, as people of colour, as youth. Our strength is in our numbers."

About 200 people marched through downtown Toronto on June 21 surrounded by almost 100 police.   The demonstration kicked off a week of actions that will be happening in Toronto during the days leading up to the G20 meetings.

The march was organized by Statford Action for Equality (SAFE), Kingston Coalition Against Poverty (KCAP) and Sense of Security (SOS), based out of Guelph. 

"We see on a day to day basis the kind of problems that result from capitalism," says Pflug-Black who is part of SOS. 

The march started at Allen Gardens and made its way to an Esso station at Church and Dundas.  About a dozen participants briefly occupied the convenience store at the station.  "We thought it was a legitimate target," says Juliane Ichim, also with SOS.  "People are sleeping on the streets while the oil industry is becoming rich off our backs.  It's a symbol of everyhting that's wrong with the G20."

An Indigenous sovereignty activist was tackled by police and arrested as the march was dispersing.  "I would say it was unprovoked brutality," says witness and independent journalist Dan Kellar.  A bystander was also wrongfully arrested before the demonstration began and later released.