A police cyclist keeps a close eye on a pair of protesters dressed as clowns. When the protest procession stopped at the College and Bathurst streets intersection, the clowns danced, sang improvised ditties and joked with the officers who surrounded the protest line. (Timothy Neesam/CBC)

By Amber Hildebrandt, CBC News

With only two days until back-to-back summits descend on Canada's largest city and nearby cottage country, Toronto streets are rife with demonstrations. Every day, activists pound the pavement in the bustling city's downtown as they take part in protests and other activities. On Wednesday, the theme was the environment, with a so-called "Toxic Tour of Toronto" taking demonstrators down Bathurst Street. Here's a photographic look at the colourful and largely peaceful event.


(Timothy Neesam/CBC)

Protesters carrying a banner calling for "Environmental Justice Now!" lead the march down Bathurst Street, from its starting point at Alexandra Park, near the corner of Bathurst and Dundas Street West. One protester held up a fake $1 billion bill, representing the cost of holding the summits, and offered to pay the government to cancel the events.


(Timothy Neesam/CBC)

Five members of the Toronto chapter of the Raging Grannies, including this woman, joined the demonstration. The chapter, with 12 members, is part of a larger network of Raging Grannies from around the world.


(Timothy Neesam/CBC)

More than 200 protesters participated in the Wednesday march.


(Timothy Neesam/CBC)

Outside a Royal Bank of Canada branch on College Street, east of Bathurst, police quickly moved in to keep protesters away from the locked-down building. A few protesters playfully hit the doors with fake foam hammers with the words Smashy! Smashy! written across them.


(Timothy Neesam/CBC)

Participants, covered in a mixture of cocoa, flour and oil to represent an oil slick, protest the oilsands and their effect on the environment.


(Timothy Neesam/CBC)

A dragon winds its way above the protesters as they walk under streetcar cables on Bathurst Street. There was at least one heated encounter between protesters and a police cyclist.


(Prasanna Rajagopalan/CBC)

A protester makes her point with a megaphone. "No one is illegal" is a group with a chapter in Toronto that advocates for immigrants and refugees.

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