Newsstand: July 8, 2015

Sorry if you were hoping to catch non-Pan Am Games-related news, but we can't help you here. Try again in six weeks? In the news: A local woman alleges excessive force was used against her by Pan Am security officers, the Games are stirring up predictable Olympics chatter, and a Climate Summit protest shuts a downtown intersection.

By Kelli Korducki • Illustration by Matthew Daley

Months worth of concern about an amped-up Pan Am Games security theatre is proving to have been sadly prescient. Farah Mawani, a Regent Park community worker, says she was pushed several times by a police officer while trying to photograph a torch bearer at a neighbourhood torch relay event on Monday. Incidentally, the police officer in charge of Pan Am security said earlier on Monday that he was hoping to use the Games to repair trust in police that had been damaged in the G20 summit.

And, because we love nothing more than indulging the opportunity to put the cart before the horse, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach told the CBC last night that this year’s Pan Am Games could boost Toronto’s chances of hosting the 2024 Olympic Games. Are we excited about that prospect? Flattered? Hopeful? Expect to hear a lot about this.

It’s never too early for a cheerful morning protest! 50 to 100 demonstrators shut down the intersection of Front and York streets (with yarn!) this morning outside of the Fairmont Royal York, where the two-day Climate Summit of the Americas begins today.