Ottawa Witness Group
Background Documents
Agenda for first meeting

Colleagues,
Please come if you can to the meeting tonight on protest Witnesses for the anti-globalization demonstrations June 22, 26 and 27.

Date:     Wed., June 12, 2002
Time:     7:00 p.m.
Place:    91A Fourth Ave. (basement of Friends Meeting House, between Bank & O'Connor)

Carl Stieren
 

June 12, 2002  -  Agenda  -  Witnesses for G8 Demonstrations - Organizing Meeting


7:00 p.m. 1. Introduction - Carl 2 minutes - summary of proposal; Bob 2 minutes - report on reactions from police and Take the Capital; Paul 2 minutes

7:06 p.m. 2. Appointment of Recorder

7:07 p.m. 2. Go-Round of names, where you're from and what experience you've had (1 min each)

7:26 p.m. 3. Tasks of Witnesses: discussion and decision

1) Accompany demonstrators - just be there beside them, which itself can be
a deterrent to violence, especially to attacks on demonstrators
2) Witness what happens - record on still camera, video camera, tape recorder and pen and paper
3) Report to the media - let all of Ottawa (and Canada?) know what really happened at certain incidents

7:46 p.m. 4. Name of Group: discussion and decision (Accompaniers, Witnesses, Observers)

8:00 p.m. 5. Teams and Leaders: each team leader to report how many recruits they have; decision on number of teams to create and how late we can decide to add a team; assignment of teams to locations, dates and times or decision to refer this to a committee, (plus Nancy Lauder's suggestion of drafting of personal information/contact forms to be filled out by each Witness )

8:20 p.m. 6. Training: - report on training organized so far and how each leader might do a third training in their own group

8:30 p.m. 7. Team member tasks (Observation, Liaison, Photography, Recorders, Media Liaison) Most crucial decision: photography: Should we photograph everything, only take pictures at the peaceful start of each event and put away our camers, or not take any cameras at all)

8:45 p.m. 8. Base Station: Is there someone (preferably with two phone lines, ISDN, high speed access or all three) who can stay at home and take phone calls from teams and help co-ordinate?

8:50 p.m. 9. Structure: - Should we have a Co-ordinating Committee - who should be on it?

9:00 p.m. 10. Difficult questions:
 1. What mandate/basis of unity and agreement do we insist upon for witnesses?
 2. What can we do to prevent our photos and notes from being subpoenaed by  the police or the courts?
 3. How can we get the maximum possible agreement and co-operation from  both the Take The Capital group and the Ottawa Police
 4. Because June 26 and June 27, the major Take The Capital demonstration  days, are working days, how do we get enough Witnesses for the daytime  events (nearly all demonstrations are during working hours)
 5. Should cameras be a) banned to gain confidence of demonstrators, b) used only at the peaceful start of each even and then put away, or c) be used constantly to record everything.

9:30 p.m. ADJOURN until _____________ (date, time, place)
 

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