Compared with a year ago, Wednesday’s assembly at Nathan Phillips Square to mark the anniversary of Jack Layton’s passing seemed almost celebratory, as if the man had never left us. Taking the pulse of the crowd, it quickly became evident why.

Over the course of the last fifteen months, since Layton led the NDP to official-opposition status, events have left some progressives with a sense of how precariously Canadian democracy is balanced. It’s as if the opera in Ottawa lurched into its ugly, dramatic fourth act with Layton’s death, and for those who gathered to honour his memory, there was a palpable sense of moving into action once again—of events so dire and challenging that mourning had given way to resolve.

“[Layton's death] left us stunned and broken,” recalled Jian Ghomeshi, Wednesday’s master of ceremonies, “but also left us with a challenge: to work together to finish the work he started.” There was massive applause. It was tough to stifle a little smile, recalling the last time a concert hall full of progressives rose to their feet in solidarity, turning Stephen Harper’s face very, very red in the process.

That was a year ago, when we heard Stephen Lewis make an exhortation similar to Ghomeshi’s from the pulpit at Layton’s funeral. But when Lewis spoke, events on Parliament Hill had not yet entered the flat, draconian spin of the last twelve months. There had been Copenhagen, but there hadn’t been the rhetoric maligning environmental activists as “enemies of the government and people of Canada,” or the legislative massacre dealt to environmental protection by Bill C-38. There had been the police state of the Toronto G20, but not the national authoritarian dragnet threatened by lawful access, or the aggressive, insulting language used by the state in its defence. And though Parliament had been prorogued multiple times by Harper’s minority government (each time out of Conservative self-interest or self-preservation), the depths of that government’s majority-era corruption and mendacity had yet to be as appallingly demonstrated as it was in February, when the Ottawa Citizen exposed the the Conservatives’ alleged use of robocalls to deflect, mislead, or confuse voters. As of press time, 1,394 “specific occurrences” have been reported by Elections Canada, accounting for 234 of 308 total federal ridings.

This is the backdrop against which citizens continue celebrating the legacy of Jack Layton, whether in Toronto, across the country, or online through the Dear Jack initiative. As jazz musician and Shuffle Demon Richard Underhill remarked at Wednesday’s memorial gathering, right before breaking into the aptly titled “Be Strong,” this legacy—working together for progress, for a more equal, inclusive, positive society, for social justice—has emerged in force, as action among First Nations, by activists against the Northern Gateway pipeline, by students participating in historic demonstrations, and by everyday people. Jack may not have been the only voice rousing a nation from its sleep, but through his example, he became a rallying point for Canada in what would become one of its darkest moments.

To counter the media narrative over the last week or so, that’s what made Jack special. Of course he wasn’t a saint, but he was much, much more than a retail politician (i.e. someone skilled at telling the public what they want to hear in exchange for votes). He was an idealist. As Layton wrote in the foreword to Canadian Idealism and the Philosophy of Freedom, effectively summarizing his political ethos, “Idealists imagine a positive liberty that enables us to build together toward common objectives that fulfill and even surpass our goals.” What he offered to the country remains, immortalizing him a year after his passing: a vision of Canada better than that of our gradually closing society, something Canadians of all political colours—orange, red, green, and yes, blue—have felt coming. Through that idealism, he gave us a way forward, reminding us that it’s okay to believe in something.

Maybe that’s why Wednesday didn’t feel like a collective mourning of a year without Jack Layton, so much as a celebration of the ways he is still alive.

WHERE: Bay Street

WHEN: Wednesday, August 22, 9:30 p.m.

WHAT: Concerned Torontonians first marched in solidarity with Quebec students back in May, taking to the streets with pots and spoons to rally against the Quebec government’s attempt to clamp down on tuition protesters. Those solidarity marches are still going on, though they’ve predictably become smaller over time. Last night, this one marched up Bay Street and then west on College, with 50 or so protesters and a few officers on horseback keeping watch.

In 2003, Toronto—along with much of Ontario and the northeastern United States—experienced a blackout that brought most regularly scheduled activities to a halt. Shops started handing out free ice cream before it melted, neighbours checked on each other by candlelight, and downtown residents saw stars that were usually blotted out by the light. Every August since, the city’s seen one kind of blackout anniversary party or another, marking what turned out, for most people, to be an impromptu night of fun.

In that tradition on Tuesday night, some Torontonians gathered at Bloor and Spadina, summoned by the Lemon Bucket Orkestra for a street party. After a ride on the subway down to Union Station, the crowd stopped for another song (and a crowdsurfing kayaker), before walking down Front Street and meeting up with a Critical Mass bike ride en route to the Flatiron Building, where there were more songs, fire jugglers, and assorted forms of revelry.

Video of the adventure after the jump…

Snoop Lion
The Hoxton (69 Bathurst Street)
Friday, August 3, 9 p.m.

The artist-formerly-known-as Snoop Dogg’s first performance under his new persona, reggae singer Snoop Lion, took place at The Hoxton on Friday night. Your response to the show, had you been there, would have depended largely on what you came to see.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, Snoop recently returned from a month-long trip to Jamaica and announced that he was “tired of rap,” and that he was going to start making reggae under the name Snoop Lion. His first reggae record, Reincarnated, will come out later this year, and his musical transformation is the subject of a Vice-backed documentary of the same name, which will debut at this year’s TIFF. Snoop opted to flex his new reggae muscles for the first time in Toronto over the weekend, to coincide with the Caribbean Carnival (formerly known as Caribana).

It’s hard for anyone in their right mind to complain about seeing a legend like Snoop Dogg, who usually plays massive outdoor festivals, in a small-capacity club like the Hoxton. It was fairly exciting to see performances of Doggystyle-era classics like “What’s My Name” with roughly 400 fellow Snoop enthusiasts. The crowd was treated to a reasonable number of Snoop’s hits in a very intimate setting, and Snoop himself was as affable and entertaining as ever. In that sense, Snoop Dogg’s performance on Friday was pretty satisfying.

That said, as the debut performance of Snoop Lion, the show was pretty disappointing. The hour-and-change long set had roughly four reggae tracks, only two of which were actual Snoop Lion songs. (“La La La,” his first single under the Lion moniker, and “No Guns Allowed.”) The other two reggae tunes were just old Snoop songs over a reggae beat, including a version of “Gin and Juice” that felt like it was about eight minutes long. The bulk of the show’s reggae content came in the form of Snoop getting high while listening to Peter Tosh and Bob Marley, which is kind of entertaining, but certainly not worth the price of a ticket.

The other problem with Snoop as a reggae artist is fairly basic. He can’t really sing. His patented sing-song-y rap style isn’t quite strong enough to carry a melody. If he was making a dancehall record, his style of rapping could probably be converted into a singjay-type reggae delivery, but Snoop Lion seems to see himself as more Gregory Isaacs, less Eek-A-Mouse. That’s a problem.

Even so, Friday night’s performance proved two things: that Snoop Dogg is still an entertaining perfomer, and that Snoop Lion is less a work in progress than a barely-fleshed-out idea.

Officers at College and Yonge on June 24, 2010.

Today was the first day of tribunals for a selection of officers charged under the Police Services Act with offences committed during the 2010 G20 summit.

None of the officers (Constables Ryan Simpson, Donald Stratton, Jason Crawford, Michael Kirpoff, Michael Martinez, and Alan Li) were present for proceedings, which turned out to be simple adjournments, as the Toronto Police Service is currently in the process of securing outside counsel for these and other G20-related cases. The officers, all charged with unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority, are due back before the tribunal on September 18. The tribunal session was overseen by Superintendent Robin Breen, after Police Chief Bill Blair excused himself from the hearings last month.

Kevin Masterman, a spokesperson for the police, assured us that this wasn’t an instance of kicking the can down the road but a routine development: “We’re still early in the process, much like a court. They’re getting the prosecution ready, getting the defence ready—that’s typical of this process.”

He added: “At this point the Service is in the process of identifying a judge and prosecutors to preside over these prosecutions, likely in the fall.”

In addition to the six constables listed above, four other officers are so far charged with offences under the Police Services Act: Blair Begbie, Vincent Wong, Glenn Weddell, and Babak Andalib-Goortani. Begbie and Wong, charged with unlawful or unnecessary arrest, are scheduled to appear before the tribunal on July 24; they are also likely to have their cases adjourned to September 18. Weddell and Andalib-Goortani, both charged with using unnecessary force in incidents that took place near Queen’s Park, are having their appearances held pending the outcome of criminal prosecutions.

A total of 28 officers and four senior officers will eventually face charges under the Police Services Act; a complete list of names and charges has yet to be released.

About half an hour ago, news of a possible shooting at Eaton Centre began flooding Twitter (it all started, oddly, with reports from Toronto Blue Jays player Brett Lawrie, who appears to have been on the scene). The Toronto Police Service hasn’t released any details yet, but TTC service between Bloor and Union stations has been suspended [UPDATE: June 3, 2012 Service is back to normal.] while emergency responders deal with the incident. We’ll post more details as we get them.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 7 PM The TTC has announced that it is now diverting the 501 Queen streetcar around the Eaton Centre.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 7:01 PM Police-scanner chatter indicates multiple victims, one of whom may be a pregnant woman whose water has broken.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 7:05 PM Scanner chatter indicates the suspect is male, black, 27 years old, muscular, and possibly wearing a black hat.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 7:10 PM Scanner description of a second suspect: Male, white, 30 to 40 years old, muscular build, short hair, wearing a black jacket and pants, and carrying a black handgun.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 7:14 PM The TTC has announced that it is diverting the 505 Dundas streetcar around the Eaton Centre. The police appear to be evacuating employees from the mall.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 7:18 PM CBC reports that a shooting has been confirmed by police.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 7:23 PM Bystanders on the scene report a massive police presence.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 7:23 PM Video from Twitvid user TJ shows a man being wheeled out of the Eaton Centre on a stretcher:

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 7:45 PM The Toronto Star is reporting two injuries, one to a 13-year-old. The pregnant woman believed to have gone into labour, the Star says, was not injured.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 7:48 PM CP24 reports that the shooting happened in the Eaton Centre’s food court.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 8:11 PM Brian Tien Trinh, a Huffington Post intern who is tweeting from the scene, reports that “Yonge Street is slowly returning to normal.” Police tape is coming down, he writes, and traffic is moving on Yonge, past Dundas Street.

The scanner now says police are looking for five young men, all believed to be between 18 and 23 years old. Four of them are being described as black, and one is being described as white. The one police think might have been the shooter is said to have cornrows, and to be wearing a black zip-up hoodie with white lettering on it.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 8:45 PM From an interview conducted by Torontoist‘s Ryan Walker with John, an employee of The Source at the Eaton Centre, which is near the food court where the shootings reportedly happened:

“I was speaking with one of my employees when I heard two gunshots, followed by about eight to 10 more. I saw lots of people running up from downstairs, so I immediately got all the people in my store—customers and employees—to the back room. We were able to get our front gate closed, and then I directed all the customers through the back emergency hallways and up to the street-level exit. Once we had the customers out, I got my employees to grab their belongings…and also evacuate through the same route.”

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 9:11 PM 680 News is reporting that police have confirmed one death and seven injuries.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 9:17 PM CP24 reports that the shooter is still at large, and that police aren’t sure how many injuries are directly related to the shooting, and how many occurred during the subsequent rush for the exits.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 9:19 PM According to the scanner, Queen Street south of the Eaton Centre is now open for pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 9:37 PM The Star reports that one of the surviving victims is in life-threatening condition, while two others are in critical condition.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 9:52 PM We’ve just added a few more pictures to the photo gallery at the top of the post. All were taken in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Things have calmed down considerably since then.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 9:58 PM And CBC has a list of the victims’ ages and conditions. A 13-year-old boy is in critical condition.

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 10:07 PM The CBC also reports that Mayor Rob Ford was at the scene. They quote him as saying: “This incident tonight is absolutely terrible. We want to make sure these people are apprehended and arrested.”

UPDATE: June 2, 2012, 11:17 PM Here’s a final update before we call it a night.

The TTC has announced a return to normal service on the 505 Dundas streetcar line, meaning traffic on that street is flowing normally once again. Police Chief Bill Blair has weighed in on the situation. He suspects the man who died was the one targeted by the killer (or killers), and that the other injuries weren’t premeditated. Several police officers have told Torontoist that the mall will likely be closed tomorrow, and possibly on Monday. One police source says the body of the deceased is still inside the food court, as police continue to examine the crime scene. Subway trains are still bypassing Queen and Dundas stations. The New York Times has an article up.

We’ll have a more concise roundup of information for you tomorrow.

WHERE: High Park

WHEN: Tuesday afternoon

WHAT: For a few hours on an unseasonably warm Tuesday, smoke rose from High Park. Nothing to be alarmed at though—it came from a planned, prescribed burn conducted by City officials. They routinely conduct one in the spring to clear the park of dead leaves and debris, and promote new plant growth. The operation ran very smoothly, and while the smelly fog made its way at least as far as Jane and Annette, things returned to normal in the park in fairly short order.

Protesters gather on University Avenue, across from the U.S. Consulate.

“It’s a beautiful day for a demonstration,” Amnesty International Toronto Chair Shanaaz Gokool said to an RCMP officer as a group of protesters gathered, Wednesday morning, across the street from the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue.

The protest, which was organized as part of an international solidarity movement by Amnesty International, marked a decade since the first prisoners were brought to Guantanamo Bay back in 2002. In addition to raising awareness of the anniversary, the protesters were there to demand that President Obama make good on his claim that he would close the detention centre.

“In 2009, Obama committed to closing Guantanamo Bay no later than January 22, 2010,” Gokool said. “We’re now in 2012, and we’re here to remind him of that promise.” The facility currently houses 171 prisoners, 11 of whom have been there for 10 years without charges.

Fifty-odd protesters stood with signs denouncing the centre and demanding that Prime Minister Harper put pressure on the U.S. government to release the remaining detainees. A group of women with signs calling for the release of Canadian citizen Omar Khadr included Khadr’s older sister Zaynab. “He should have been transferred [to Canada] at the end of October, but the U.S. says they need to make sure that Canada has enough security measures. We’ve been waiting for so long,” she said. The end of October, she added, was the last time she’d been able to speak to her brother. “The Canadian government has been pretty silent. Every other Western citizen [at Guantanamo] has been repatriated. He’s the first child soldier to be tried in a military tribunal since the war.”

Protesters nearby signed a poster that will be sent to the White House, while a handful of York University students put on orange detainee jumpsuits provided by Amnesty International’s head office. “We’re from the Middle East—from Lebanon,” said two students that were getting into the suits. “We wanted to come here today to represent the Middle Eastern people, as well as the detainees from the other 48 countries, that weren’t given a fair trial or the right to speak.”

Wednesday’s protest coincided with Amnesty International demonstrations in Ottawa, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C. A day-long event is being held in Montreal today, and will be broadcast live on Goodness TV.

While Toronto’s protest was small, Gokool attributed the modest turnout to timing. “It’s 11 a.m. on a weekday, so it’s kind of tough,” she said, adding that Amnesty International was banking on students being the main attendees. Several seniors and a few parents with small children filled out the group.

What the protesters lacked in numbers, though, they made up in determination. “We’re making the point that human rights must be respected,” said Andy, a demonstrator who waved an Amnesty International banner in the direction of the Consulate. “I think Obama got a free pass for the first year, but that’s ending. We’re a small group, but we’re a brave group.”

WHERE: University Avenue, starting outside the U.S. Consulate and proceeding north to Queen’s Park

WHEN: 2–3 p.m. today

WHAT: Outraged over the ongoing state of crisis, and in anticipation of election results expected later tonight, approximately 150 protesters marched today to ask for international assistance for the Congo. They began at Queen’s Park, marched down to the U.S. Consulate, and after protesting outside there for an hour or so marched back to Queen’s Park. There were some small conflicts with police (three arrests, some throwing of dirt) but tensions soon died down. A simultaneous protest in Ottawa is continuing into the evening.