A rally to abolish the police is taking place in Toronto this weekend

A rally to abolish the police is happening in Toronto on Sunday.

Abolish Police in Canada: A Pride Rally & Teach-In, is being put together by No Pride in Policing Coalition (NPPC), and will take place at Nathan Phillips Square from 2 to 6 pm.

In 2018, the NPPC was created by queer and trans communities to support all the demands Black Lives Matter – Toronto raised in the 2016 Pride Toronto parade.

The goal of the rally and teach-in is to demand a 50% cut to the Toronto Police Services budget in the first step towards abolishing the police.

“Pride is a protest. We will not rest until all are free!” the Facebook event page says.

• See also:
  • Protester sit-in shuts down streets in front of Toronto police headquarters

Starting at 2 pm there will be a rally in Nathan Phillips Square with speakers including Beverly Bain, Desmond Cole and Zoe Dodd.

The space will be shared with Afro-Indigenous Rising (AIR) who have been occupying the square since Juneteenth — June 19.

The group has been calling for residents to provide supplies and provisions, as they continue to occupy the space in protest of the police.

 

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#airupdate supplies needed! [Image description: In this info graphic there are 5 slides. Slide 1 has an image with view of city hall being blocked behind blue tents. There is a logo with a blue circle with three yellow waved lines running through the bottom half. The word AIR is yellow and in the middle of the circle, with a blue fist rising through the A. Below it the text reads ‘Support and supplies needed at Nathan Phillips Square’. Slide 2 has a yellow background and blue texts that reads ‘Afro Indigenous Rising needs support and supplies to sustain their occupation of Nathan Phillips Square’. Slide 3 says ‘Supplies currently needed: cold juice or frozen snacks, battery powered lights or flashlights, hand sanatizer and masks, food for tomorrow at lunchtime. Bring Supplies to the White Medic Tent. In slide 4 it says that ‘There is also an ongoing need for folks to show up and occupy space on an ongoing basis. If you have deescalation, marshall, or mental health training please go to the white medic tent and identify yourself. And finally, in slide 5 there is our logo and the words ‘This occupation is organized by Afro Indigenous Rising. Currently we are occupying Nathan Philips Square in protest of the Police. For abolition of the Police Force.] #now #tonight #occupy #airising #aircollective #blm #blacklivesmatter #tkaronto #toronto #nps #kkkanada #abolish #landback #indigenous #collective #activism

A post shared by @ airisingcollective on Jun 20, 2020 at 8:40pm PDT

The NPPC is asking that if anyone is sick or has COVID-19 symptoms that they stay home and stream the event instead.

Participants are also being asked to bring their own masks, practice physical distancing, and to bring water, sunscreen, and snacks.

The cosponsors of the rally include Black Lives Matter Toronto, Blockorama & Blackness YES, Showing Up For Racial Justice Toronto, No More Silence, and Toronto Overdose Prevention Society.

Join No Pride in Policing Coalition this Sunday at 2pm for a rally at Nathan Phillips Square to demand an IMMEDIATE 50% CUT to the Toronto Police Services budget as a step towards our fight for abolition. #DefundThePolice #AllBlackLivesMatter https://t.co/TBCZ2w3uoV

— Black Lives Matter — Toronto (@BLM_TO) June 23, 2020

This rally comes after Black Lives Matter Toronto released their demands to defund the police which includes demilitarizing the police, removing cops from schools, reducing the scope of police, documenting police violence, creating alternatives to policing, and decriminalizing poverty, drugs, and sex work.

The demands were published on June 19, when a sit-in was held outside of police headquarters on College Street.

The words “Defund The Police” were painted in large, pink letters on the road.