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Security unit prepares for G8 travel
Laurie Watt
BARRIE – The G8 Integrated Security Unit is working to not just keep world leaders safe during their Muskoka meeting, but also minimize the impact on residents in the area and those heading into cottage country.
And the security unit’s plans include traffic advisories, Muskoka road closures, and even building relationships with protest groups.
“That’s part of our job,” said OPP Const. Alex Malcolm, who was part of the liaison team that worked at Site 41 this summer.
“I was very impressed. We had our contacts and talked to people. Generally, most people who talk to us (are) very honest,” the OPP officer said of his summer assignment in Simcoe County. “The farmers and the (local) people were absolutely excellent. They were very good to us.”
Protest groups are an expected part of the international summit. Already, the security unit has had contact with four organizations, noted OPP Const. Calum Rankin – who with Malcolm – is part of the RCMP-led team that also includes the Canadian Forces, North Bay Police and Toronto and Peel Region police.
Plans for the June 25-26 summit at Deerhurst Resort include closing a portion of Highway 60 and both Penninsula Lake and Fairy Lake, and the canal that links them, likely June 22 to 28. Closure signs will be posted along Highways 400 and 11 to give motorists advance warning.
“Highways 400 and 11 will be busy, in addition to normal seasonal driving,” said Rankin, during a community consultation in Barrie on Tuesday. “It will be a normal day for people coming up to Huntsville. In Huntsville, you will see an increased level of security.”
Yet there’s a risk that protesters could choose to demonstrate on these routes, especially as the media contingent will travel from Toronto, and also, as the G20’s finance ministers meet in Toronto June 26 and 27.
“The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms says you have the right to lawfully protest. Our job is to facilitate that. We work very hard with protesters to ensure that happens, and 99 per cent of protest groups will work with us to not get tarred with the wrong label,” said Malcolm.
“They will go on a bus, get a coffee at Tims, then go to a protest and get back on the bus. Generally, it works.”
But the Supreme Court has ruled that lawful protests include blocking a road, the officer added – and that could mean a highway between Toronto and Huntsville.
“Our equal duty is to ensure you are safe and secure. We have to balance your safety with the safety of the (summit) delegates with the right to peacefully protest,” Rankin explained.
To ensure media and delegates make it to meetings, whether at the G8 or G20, there could be motorcades on Highway 400 – which Malcolm expects could cause delays of up to two minutes.
“It’s fairly in-your-face, a fairly big production, but they can be different sizes, as little as two cars in the back and front.
“They do a lot of motorcades between (Pearson) airport and downtown Toronto. It’s relatively routine, but here, it’s different.”
Anyone interested in finding out more about G8 security plans should visit www.g8isu.ca.
Source: http://www.barrieadvance.com/barrieadvance/article/154274