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Huntsville: Security zone for G8 will include residences
Planning for the security of the 2010 G8 Summit is still in the conceptual stage, but Tim Charlebois, planning and operations coordinator for the OPP for both the 2010 Olympics and G8 Summit, says the second ring of the security zone will include local residences.
Charlebois spoke Friday to an audience of about 340 people at the Muskoka Futures Symposium at Deerhurst Resort.
“The G8 is . . . the largest annual security event in the world. It’s about getting eight people in a room,” he said.
Although Charlebois couldn’t say exactly where the security perimeters would be, he did say that the security zones would be split up into concentric rings around the summit site.
The first ring will be under the purview of the RCMP, since they have jurisdiction over the security of international guests and dignitaries, said Charlebois.
“The second zone that will be established will be the interdiction zone, which will be under the management of the OPP. We have not established exactly where that will be, but I can tell you that it does not go into the built-up area of Huntsville. . . . Will people be living inside that zone? Yes.”
Charlebois said that a liaison team has been established to work with residents, businesses and protesters coming to the summit, and that they would sit down with all households who may be in the security zone to meet the residents and explain what living in the zone will entail.
“Everything is going to be done to minimize the impact of the people who live inside the security zone, (but) if it was me, I would leave town,” he said. “There’s an accreditation process that will be put in place for people who live inside those zones . . . . They will be free to come and go on a daily basis as much as you would any other time.”
Charlebois also commented on the fact that many who live in the area are considering renting their residences out as accommodations during the summit.
“For those that may be in the interdiction zone, you may want to wait awhile before you go far down that road,” he said. “If there was somebody that we deem to be a security risk and you rent your house out to that person . . . we will not let them in.”
In addition to the two primary zones, there will also be a surveillance zone, as well as traffic control throughout the region and a co-ordinated effort with Canadian Border Services, said Charlebois.
Also a focus of the security team will be the protesters coming to get their message splashed across the international media.
“They’re coming. All you have to do . . . is go on the internet right now because everything’s there (about their plans for G8),” he said. “How many people are coming to Huntsville? That is anybody’s guess.”
When discussing the downtown core of Huntsville, Charlebois said traffic would be a considerable problem.
“When you look at 3,000 RCMP officers, 3,000 media, 3,000 OPP and a couple thousand military, there’s no room for protesters,” he said.
He also noted that, while no definite perimeters have been set, there will be traffic restrictions on waterways in the Deerhurst area.
“There will be strict controls put on the waterways in this area,” he said.
When asked by an audience member about whether the Parry Sound airport would be used for the summit, Charlebois said he couldn’t comment on that until the RCMP and Norad decide on where the secured, or no-fly zones, will be.
Source: http://www.huntsvilleforester.com/article/130090