Protesters gathered this morning to demonstrate against the first day of the G8 development ministers' meeting in Halifax.  A picket began in front of the Westin Hotel at around 7 a.m., then proceeded down to the Pier 21, behind the Westin.  As police officers watched,  protesters chanted, waved signs, and handed out flyers.

During the protest, Toni MacAfee, from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, was arrested and later charged.  Jane Kirby, one of the protesters, said MacAfee was "taken down and arrested agressively by three officers, shortly after we were all corraled from the street to the sidewalk by cops. As far as I could tell, her crime was no worse than stepping off the sidewalk or possibly spilling her coffee."

UPDATE: 12:30 p.m.

Tony Tracy, from the Canadian Labour Congress, said that MacAfee "has an arraignment hearing at 1:30pm today. Her lawyer (David Roberts from the labour law firm Pink Larkin) will be in attendance at the arraignment hearing. We expect that Toni will be released shortly after arraignment."