2009-01-28
Huntsville mayor Claude Doughty says details about the security to be in place for the 2010 G8 Summit could come as early as the end of next month.
“We were led to believe that that would be a timeframe we could expect at the meeting (we had) before Christmas,” he told the Forester Friday.
Just before the holidays the local area leadership group, which includes all area mayors, met and was briefed on security details for the summit; however, that information was not provided to the public.
Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Tony Clement told the Forester Tuesday that the meeting in December was more of a process briefing.
“(They were saying) here’s how G8s have operated in the past in terms of perimeters and so on and here’s the kind of things that we have to review. It was not as if they reported to us exactly what they have found out about Deerhurst and Muskoka, it was more general than that,” he said.
During the last summit held in Canada in 2002 in Kananaskis, Alberta, more than $100 million was spent on security, and was described at the time as the largest security plan during peacetime in Canadian history.
Asked if Huntsville could expect an even higher level of security, Clement replied, “I wouldn’t make that assumption. Kananaskis was the first (summit) after 9/11 and we’ve learned a lot since then about security and how to make sure the security footprint is bearable.”
Although the eight world leaders are not expected in Huntsville for another 17 months, already some local residents are wondering how the security perimeters are going to affect them.
John Krochak, who lives in the Hidden Valley area near Deerhurst Resort, where the summit will be held, says he’s concerned about access to his house being restricted.
In late November, Krochak received a letter from the Hidden Valley Property Owner’s Association (HVPOA), outlining what area residents could expect during the summit.
“The entire area will be gated. Those staying in the neighbourhood will have to have a security pass to enter,” Krochak read. “Each member of the household will be given a photo (identification) card for entrance and exit of the area, including children.”
Krochak says that, due to a disability, he has two shifts of attendants coming to his house every day.
He’s worried that if his neighbourhood is within the secured area that his attendants won’t be able to get to him.
Geordie Heath, president of the HVPOA, told the Forester that the letter was sent out after the association was inundated with questions from residents about what to expect.
The board did some online research into security measures at past summits and sent out the information in a newsletter in late November or early December.
Heath said the board has not yet been given any information on the government about their plans for the Hidden Valley area, which has about 130 properties.
Krochak’s concerns were raised at the last Huntsville town council meeting by councillor John Davis, who sits with Krochak on the accessibility advisory committee.
Doughty responded that he believed it would not be a problem for the attendants to be issued identification tags or permits to access the area.
Clement told the Forester that the RCMP and OPP are still conducting security reviews of the area and event, and that once details are finalized and the information becomes available, the summit management office in Ottawa will be able to respond to residents’ questions “as accurately and as completely as possible.”