A few years ago Theresa and I celebrated Canada Day in Ottawa and freely walked the crowded streets without a thought of security. On the street in front of the parliament buildings throngs of people were waiting for the walk about of our Governor General and the Prime Minister. As we mingled with the crowd I came face to face with our prime minister. As I shook his hand Theresa took pictures and he continued on his way. His security was there but his candor was so apparent he continued to out walk them and he felt safe and secure in his home town, Ottawa.
We are entertaining leaders of the world in Canada's largest city. In a few days the downtown will be an armed camp with 15,000 security people protecting a few dozen leaders. High security fences will be constructed, man holes will be welded, crowd control vehicles in place, tear and pepper spray canisters will be available and helicopters will cover the downtown. In addition every building will have security people on rooftops, residents will vacate their condos and people who wish to demonstrate will be herded into special areas. Does this sound like Canada, the safest country in the world or like the USSR in bygone days?
The decision to host the G8 and G20 was a decision by the Prime Minister to place Canada in the limelight. We make good hosts and were prepared to meet our responsibility as a member of the G8. The choice of venues was a mistake of because of the costs and difficulty in providing security. The 1.1 billion dollar price tag is out of all common sense as other countries were able to host this charade for much less money. With the government asking Canadians to tighten their belts and federal spending causing a 50 billion deficit makes the taxpayer a little concerned when they look at what they get for the 1.1 billion.
Huntsville and area are happy to get pork barrel projects as far away from the meetings as a hundred kms. Parry Sound received new sidewalks, other villages had parks and facilities upgraded even though the G8 will be nowhere near. The last straw was the media center at a cost of over a million including a fake lake has nearly everyone upset and a recent poll shows that over 60% of the people were upset at the reckless spending.
Again I wonder why these meetings could be not be held in secure facilities at the UN or isolated venues where security is not such a great problem. I would suggest Nunavut or the Yukon or anywhere but in Toronto and Huntsville. The 250 km distance makes it expensive and difficult to manage. If we wished this to be a advertisement for Canada and its freedom and beauty, consider it a failure. It will be a reminder of the past regimes who built fences and walls to keep their people from escaping. We are not this kind of country and this is not the image we wish to show the world. We just hope that we are not judged too harshly by the media and it is a great success. It should be at this cost.
I agree wholeheartedly Pops. I hate how Canada is being wired and barracaded and paraded as such. How sad and how expensive.
ReplyDeleteIt's a prestigious conference; the eyes of the world will be on Canada. Commerce and tourism will thrive years and years after these events. What you are investing in cannot be measured. Sure, it costs money in preparations, in security, in sprucing things up. In effect, The Olympics did the same thing.
ReplyDeleteFor me, seeing your native tribes in full regalia dominating the rituals and the welcoming acts was a major revelation. Here in the U.S. our native people have been forgotten and given little or no notice in our Opening Ceremonies. What a great way for you to show the world how to integrate all people and all history!