The Inaccessible TTC 
and the Damn Protest

Title: DAMN 2025 Demonstration at the St. Patrick Subway, Toronto

"The TTC is supposed to be public transportation," says Griffin Epstein, organizer with DAMN 2025. "Instead, it is physically inaccessible, and way too expensive. TTC fares have been raised three times in the past year; it costs twice what it did ten years ago to ride a subway. Plus, only 40% of subway stations are accessible. That's just not good enough. The inaccessibility of the TTC keeps people isolated."

Title: DAMN 2025 Demonstration at City Hall December 7, 2007

DAMN 2025 is a group of disabled people and supporters fighting for justice and dignity. They organized a rally at City Hall to draw attention to the issues with Toronto's Transit System. The problem isn't only the rising fares, 3 hikes in the past 3 years, there are further issues. The TTC streetcars lack lifts and ramps and barely half of the bus routes are accessible to the temporarily  and permanently disabled.

Title: 52 Division Officers and the DAMN 2025 Protesters

Further, the city has also failed to raise the transportation subsidy for everyone on welfare and disability to reflect transit fare increases. "That is $9 that already poor people have to shell out for transit. For a single person, that is a month's worth of bread," says DAMN2025 organizer AJ Withers. The TTC will not become full accessible to the disabled until the year 2025.

Title: 52 Division Officers outside St. Patrick Subway South-East Corner with members of DAMN 2025

Depending on which corner of St. Patrick one used the protest was either peaceful and friendly or marred with unnecessary pushing and shoving thanks to two over zealous officers. This protest was organized by the disabled and the way they were moved, on the Southeast corner, was to be pushed. The Toronto Tribune witnessed a man on crutches being pushed to the ground and a woman pushed in the back by one of the officers pictured above.

The Toronto Tribune stood up for the woman who was cowardly attacked from behind and offered to come forward should she wish to pursue charges, so great was our shock, witnessing this unprovoked assault. Earlier some protesters had attempted to block access to the subway entrance. This had ceased when a young woman, with her back to the officer was chatting with a few friends. A 52 Division officer walked up to her and pushed her to the ground with a vicious shove.

Yet right across the way it was a completely different scenario. The South West entrance to St. Patrick subway is located inside the First Century Tower. While visiting this portion of the protest The Toronto Tribune, walked in as one of the protesters received a ticket for trespassing. The ticketing officer, W. Wong, was extremely polite, thanked The Toronto Tribune for waiting to speak to him until after he had finished writing the ticket and issuing a warning to the protester. Confessing his computer illiteracy was amusing as The Toronto Tribune told him we were online. Wong was gracious when he expressed his appreciation for our honesty given we told him that our conversation was being taped.

The Toronto Tribune returned to the South East concerned and quickly observed nothing had changed since we'd visited the other three subway entrances. Immediately an officer made an unprovoked attack pushing a man to the ground from behind. There were three problem officers one this corner the two attacking peaceful protesters from behind and one who choose to attack The Toronto Tribune. As the officer pushed the man to the ground, a yellow-jacketed officer yelled 'get that tape recorder out of my officer's face'. The Toronto Tribune was nowhere near this officer and there was a very good reason for where the The Toronto Tribune choose to stand.

A few moments later the yellow-jacketed officer grabbed The Toronto Tribune reporter and announced 'I told you to get that recorder out of my officer's face'. It was a protester who came to the media's rescue holding up his phone camera and saying as much. The yellow-jacketed officer walked away. The attack on the media was not over, the officer who had pushed the man to the ground yelled 'Get that recorder out of my face'. He said it several times. The two of us had more than the subway entrance opening between us.

Now some reporters do get too far into the story and forget they are there merely to observe. This journalist had put a target on her back by standing up for what was right and offering to support the woman who had been attacked the moment The Toronto Tribune arrived on the scene. However there is a much more pressing reason why the statements these officers spouted was utter nonsense. Shortly before attending this protest I learned that my cancer has returned. I face more surgery more chemo and this time radiation. I spent most of last year undergoing chemo to save my life. Any illness delays chemotherapy as does any injury. Given the clear violence at the one street corner there was absolutely no way I would have put myself anywhere near those officers. It could mean my life should my treatment be delayed through injury. It simply doesn't make sense that anyone would go through all the horrors of chemo and surgery to save one's life and then put it at risk simply to get closer to a story.

The Toronto Tribune has the names and badge numbers of the problem officers, all of them. There were three who shamed their uniform with their direct actions. Far worse, however, were the other officers on the southeast corner of St. Patrick subway. Their silent acceptance of their fellow officers actions speaks volumes about their characters. There is one officer that is ultimately to blame for this disgraceful conduct and he is Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair.

More needs to be done not only to help the members of DAMN 2025 but also to make Toronto accessible. St. Patrick is the closest subway to one of the city's popular attractions: The Art Gallery of Ontario. It's a busy stop that brings in tourist dollars that the city badly needs to support it's programs and pay those who receive taxpayer funding in the form of wages such as the Toronto Police.