Like many Torontonians, I have been plagued by the media focuses on the upcoming June G8/G20 meeting in our city. However, what we usually find in the media are reports on security threats and preventions, and the threats of rioting and disruptions to take place.
The first issue that usually jumps out is the price tag; the summit is costing a small fortune alone in security. The cost for the G8/G20 already tops $1 billion and has turned our city into what some refer to as “Fortress Toronto”. There is a growing uprising against the summit and it is founded in some deep issues. I am no expert on the mechanics of the global economic system, but I do feel some outrage and (admittedly) fear in the power the G20 holds in deciding how to build economic policy of the world.

All of this is highlighted continuously and much more eloquently in the outrage of our communities, with specific needs and more specific unjust treatment. But I want to reinforce the youth involvement in this movement against the G8/G20 2010 summit as part of a youth community. Some of the opposing and protesting organizations includes youth forces such as the, Students Against Israel Apartheid, Young Onkwehonwe United and the Ryerson Student Association. These are just to name a few, but represent a young population opposing some of the outrages of this summit. I feel that exposure to these issues are vital to TIG and we need to continue to highlight how youth are part of the social movement against global and local issues. The protests of G20 are necessary, we have the right to be heard.