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G8 security to be based in Barrie
Dozens of law-enforcement officials organizing security for next summer’s G8 Summit will be based in Barrie.
Although the summit is a private meeting, the high-profile event is a magnet for protesters and activists hoping to bend the ear of some of the world’s most powerful leaders. G8 membership includes Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
The G8 Summit is scheduled for next June at Deerhurst Resort, but the Integrated Security Unit (ISU) will be based in Barrie, about 140 kilometres north of the summit’s Huntsville location. The ISU’s primary responsibility is ensuring all security for the summit.
“We can say it’s going to be one of the biggest security events in the history of Canada, absolutely,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Leo Monbourquette, media relations co-ordinator for the ISU, said yesterday from Montreal. “It’s a very, very large undertaking.”
Monbourquette added that it’s not just about security in Huntsville, but getting the dignitaries safely to and from the venue.
The ISU is being led by the RCMP, but also includes representation from Ontario Provincial Police, the Canadian Forces, as well as the police departments in North Bay, Toronto and Peel Region.
So why Barrie?
“Basically, it’s not a complicated answer,” Monbourquette said. “When the ISU was created and given the mandate to ensure security for the G8, the first thing that the planners did… was take a look at the Huntsville area. There was nothing that could provide us with what was required, as far as our logistical needs were concerned.”
That includes the number of personnel involved with the ISU — “as we get closer to the event, that number keeps growing and growing,” Monbourquette said — as well as the number of vehicles required. Office and storage space are crucial.
“A lot of these people will have work stations within a building, and Barrie has that type of commercial area available,” said Monbourquette, who expects to be based full-time in Barrie as of January.
The ISU considered OPP headquarters in Orillia as a home base, but Barrie, which is about halfway between Toronto’s Pearson International Airport and Huntsville, turned out to be a better fit.
“Barrie is a very central location, and it gives all the people involved in the ISU ready access to the highways and major thoroughfares,” he said. “These people, as we get closer to the event, will need to be located in the vicinity of the office. Therefore, Barrie is a lot easier, logistically speaking.”
Despite the number of people involved, the ISU’s visual impact on the city could be negligible.
“The people will be travelling up and down the 400, but I don’t see any convenience, whatsoever, to the people in Barrie,” Monbourquette said.
It’s more likely to be an economic boon, he added, with security officials renting several hotel rooms, for example.
Other than that, the ties to Barrie are few and far between.
“It’s strictly a business deal,” Monbourquette said. “We needed to be able to acquire the right type of accommodations and set up that type of unit — Barrie was able to provide that to us.”
Barrie Police Chief Wayne Frechette expects it to be “business as usual,” although traffic delays could be expected on Highway 400 as heavily guarded motorcades go through Barrie.
A number of “internationally protected persons” and their accompanying VIPs and entourages will travel through the area next June as they head to and from the summit.
Without getting into detail, Monbourquette said summit planning is on schedule.
“It’s moving forward,” he said. “We’re right on our timetable.”
Source: http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2204216