Protesters at Toronto's Trump Tower rally against misogyny, sexual violence
A group of about 40 people rallied outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto Monday evening to denounce the Republican presidential candidate's sexually aggressive language.
The event was inspired by a meme-turned-movement in the United States called "P---y Grabs Back." It's in response to a 2005 video in which Donald Trump brags about kissing women and grabbing their genitals without their permission.
Last week, a group of people staged a protest outside New York City's Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.
"They had formed a human chain around the Trump Tower to protest some of the misogynist things that he's been saying recently, and his validation of rape culture through those statements," said Kelsy Vivash, who attended Monday's protest near Bay Street and Adelaide Street West.
"We decided to stand in solidarity with them and also give Canadian women space to talk about the American election."
Trump issued a video apology after the video was released, saying: "I've said and done things I regret, and the words that were released today in this more than decade-old video are one of them."
The event was hosted by Rhythms of Resistance Toronto, a political band that plays at rallies, demos and events for environmental and social justice.
"I think there's a lot of disempowerment that comes from the idea that the U.S. is having an election that is going to directly impact Canadian women, but that we don't have a voice because we don't have a vote," Vivash said. "We just want to give Canadian women a voice."
The protest is just the latest in a string of controversies concerning the 65-storey condo and hotel complex that bears Trump's name. Last December, Coun. Josh Matlow called for the name of the building to be changed after Trump — who was then running for the Republican presidential nomination — called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States.
And just last week, an Ontario appeal court judge ruled Trump and associates can be pursued for some claims made by investors who said they were misled into investing in the development.
