MONTREAL - Anti-capitalist groups, unions and community and women's organizations are rallying to support those still being filtered through the justice system following mass arrests during the G-20 summit in Toronto last weekend.
About 1,000 protesters marched peacefully through downtown Montreal on Thursday to condemn the way police handled security at the summit.
Many carried cans around their necks to collect money for the legal representation of those still in police custody in Toronto.
Others called on bystanders to join them and handed out leaflets to store owners, shoppers and diners relaxing on terraces.
Unionist Francis Lagace, one of the few marchers sporting a suit and tie, had been in Toronto for the summit.
"Those people were arrested without knowing why, they were detained in horrendous conditions," he said.
"This is a clear violation of human rights in Canada."
He said the number of arrests were out of proportion to any damage caused by small group of the protesters.
"I only heard of a few store windows damaged and I heard of 900 arrests. I don't understand that. It's not normal, not acceptable in a democratic country."
Montreal's Anti-Capitalist Convergence, who organized the march, also say Quebecers were unfairly targeted at last weekend's summit.
They estimate between 200 and 250 Quebecers were detained in Toronto during the summit protests, which saw about 900 people arrested during the summit and the run-up to it.
Danie Royer, a spokeswoman for the group, said most spent between 24 and 48 hours in jail and were released without charge.
Laurence Olivier, 22, said she was saying at a friend's home in Toronto last weekend. She was relaxing there after a day spent protesting and when the police came knocking.
She was in the shower when she heard someone at the bathroom door yelling: "Police."
"I thought it was a joke it seemed so surreal," she said.
She said she and a friend were arrested and taken to the temporary detention centre where the bulk of detained protesters were held.
She said she was held for eight hours and released without charge.
"It's unbelievable I was arrested in my shower, coming back from a march where I had done nothing wrong."
Alexa Conradi, president of the Quebec Women's Federation, said she's joining the growing call for an independent review of police action during the G-20 summit.
She said she'd heard stories from women claiming they'd heard inappropriate comments from police.
"We need to see if it was a wide spread phenomena," she said.
Amnesty International, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Civil Liberties Association are also calling for a review.
Unlike the security presence in Toronto last weekend, Montreal police were relatively low key during Thursday's march.
The large police presence, which included the riot squad, kept largely out of sight.
Royer called the presence "respectful."
"If we saw this sort of presence in Toronto none of this would have happened," she said.
The three hour march wound through Montreal's trendy Plateau district for three hours before converging in front of the headquarters of the Montreal police union.
Fears of violence proved unfounded when the crowd then dispersed.
Protest organizers had previously described window-smashing Black Bloc tactics as a legitimate form of protest. Organizers had refused to give police an itinerary of the march.
Montreal police confirmed two arrests during the demonstration, one for a breach of probation and another for assaulting a police officer. Both individuals were later released.
Several hundred people took to the streets of downtown Toronto on Thursday evening to show their displeasure with police tactics.
Local media outlets reported the demonstrators called for the resignation of police chief Bill Blair. The demonstrators tried to march from the Ontario legislature to police headquarters, but officers prevented them from getting too close to their headquarters. Reports indicated the Toronto event was largely peaceful.
