About 200 people marched through the rainy streets of downtown Montreal on Saturday demanding extensive cuts to police budgets and increased spending on social services. It was one of several demonstrations held across Canada organized by a coalition of Black and Indigenous activists. "Making this march happen is one step forward instead of staying home and doing nothing," said Sénam Messie, who helped organize the Montreal demonstration. Calls to halve police budgetsThe protest comes amid unrest in Kenosha, Wis., following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, on Aug. 23. But protesters say that police shootings of Black and Indigenous people in Canada also must not be ignored.

Source: CBC News August 29, 2020 22:29 UTC