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The 2002 G8 Summit in Kananaskis
The 2002 G8 Summit will be held June 26-27 in Kananaskis, Alberta, a small resort community outside Calgary. The three previous G8 Summits in Canada were all held, at least partly, in major urban centres (Ottawa-Montebello, Toronto and Halifax). According to the Chrétien government, Kananaskis was chosen as the site for this summit to encourage a smaller, more intimate meeting with a focus on three major issues: strengthening global economic growth, building a new partnership for Africa's development and fighting terrorism. The focus on Africa is being promoted extensively by Chrétien, who is trying to position Canada as a leader in humanitarian aid to the impoverished continent, while at the same time securing lucrative contracts and guaranteeing access to markets for Canadian capitalists.
The G8, formerly the G7, is an informal group (meaning it is not governed by any statues or constitutions) of eight countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, England and the United States. The European Union also participates and is represented by the President of the European Commission. The official website of the Kananaskis summit states the G8's main objectives are to "support economic growth reduce global poverty, strengthen good governance, work together toward sustainable development, promote peace and security and improve global public health and public safety." However, in the close to two decades that the G8 has been meeting, these problems have only worsened.
Activists have argued that Kananaskis was chosen to try and limit the ability of protesters to get anywhere near the summit. Extensive security planning has been underway since the summit location was announced last year, and sections of highway into Kananaskis, as well as surrounding forested areas, will be shut down beginning June 17 to ensure limited access. This has not deterred anti-globalization activists, who are planning to hold mass activities, including demonstrations, teach-ins and forums in Calgary, Ottawa and the highway leading into Kananaskis.
The security operation at the Summit, while not as large as the presence during the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in April 2001, will be the largest of its kind ever undertaken in Western Canada. A special Summit Security team has been set up, a joint operation of the Calgary Police Service and the RCMP, with the RCMP responsible for all security operations outside of Calgary. Officers from both forces have been undergoing specialized training for close to six months, and several thousand are expected to participate in the operation, although exact numbers have not been released. "The G8 Summit Security team will ... uphold the fundamental freedoms of thought, belief, opinion, expression and of peaceful assembly, as outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms", the Security Summit web page reads, without pointing out that the police forces in Quebec City, who tear-gassed and shot thousands of peaceful protesters with water cannons and plastic bullets, were also bound by the Charter.
The Security website also states: "While police recognize and respect the rights of all citizens to participate in peaceful protest, the security planning team wants to inform everyone about the reality of large-scale crowd dynamics. Young people and their parents should know that what may seem like a harmless invitation to express freedom of speech in a spirit of cooperation and solidarity with like-minded individuals has the potential to escalate into violence, creating a situation in which the vast majority of participants had no intention of becoming involved." These statements are reason for concern, particularly given the ongoing fight between the province of Alberta and the Canadian government over who should have to pay to imprison arrested protesters.