G20 report clears RCMP but raises questions over 'kettling'

CBC News Posted: May 14, 2012 8:26 AM ET
The RCMP's watchdog says an investigation into the conduct of Mounties during the G8 and G20 summits in Ontario in 2010 has found they "on balance" did "a pretty good job" of policing. In an interview with CBC News, Ian McPhail, vice-chair and interim chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC), said despite media reports "which looked a little alarming," the RCMP protected foreign visitors and secured the summit areas. Although the report covers RCMP conduct for both the G8 in Huntsville and the G20 in Toronto, the complaints focused on the G20. "There were no credible threats against any foreign visitor and there was no security breach within their area of jurisdiction," said the watchdog. The commission found the RCMP planning to be "robust and thorough," and found no indication that it was guided by anything other than "legitimate security concerns." The commission also saw no indication that RCMP undercover agents or event monitors acted "inappropriately" or as "agents provocateurs." (more)
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Public Interest Investigation into RCMP Member Conduct Related to the 2010 G8 and G20 Summits
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act
Subsection 45.43(3)

PDF Version, 4.7MB

What can you do with a lot of money?

  Aaron Wherry on Thursday, September 23, 2010 7:32pm - Macleans.ca

For a billion dollars, this country got to host the G8 and G20 summits. It also got the supplies necessary to organize a pretty kick ass rave.

The highlights include $2.8 million for rental cars for the RCMP; $1.4 million on communications “cabling;” and $439,000 on portable toilets. Then there was $14,000 on glow sticks and $85,000 for accommodation and snacks at Toronto’s swank Hyatt Regency hotel.

The expense reports tabled in the House today can be downloaded in three parts: here, here and here.

G8 and G20: $200 million for bug spray, rental cars, lunch, parking and communication

Janice Tibbetts, Postmedia News September 23, 2010

OTTAWA — The federal government spent more than $200 million on hotel bills, rental cars, bug spray, box lunches, communications equipment, parking, and numerous other items, according to a cost breakdown for the G8 and G20 summits. Government records show that hundreds of suppliers secured contracts for services rendered for the June summits, held in Toronto and Huntsville, Ont., including a $334,000 bill for sun screen, bug spray and hand sanitizer. The government has estimated the total summit tab to be about $1 billion and the newly released documents reveal contract spending for about one quarter of the overall bill. The contracts provide an inside view of the spending for the international gatherings, which were dubbed by the political opposition as the most expensive three days in Canadian history. The 27 pages of records show that a hundred dollars here and another million dollars there added up to contract spending of about $203 million for the Public Works Department and the RCMP alone, two of the several entities involved in the two summits.

Foreign Affairs, Canadian Security Intelligence Service and RCMP staffing costs were not included in the documents. The documents show the government paid $4.4 million for a summit security fence, millions of dollars in hotels bills at several locations, millions more for food and rental vehicles, and awarded more than 100 contracts to supply communications equipment. While summit spending was lambasted by the political opposition, Canada's parliamentary budget officer, Kevin Page, concluded in a June report that costs of international leaders gatherings have grown significantly in recent years and there is nothing to show that the tab for the G8 and G20 summits was out of line with other countries. Page cautioned in his report that he was not drawing any conclusions about whether Canadians were getting value for their money. Auditor General Sheila Fraser is also conducting an audit of summit spending.

UBCO student claims rights violated

Wed, 2010-06-30 05:49. David Woodard - Kelowna AM 1150

A UBC-Okanagan student who was arrested at the G-20 Summit is speaking out about his experience there. UBC-Okanagan Student Union rep Grayson Lepp was arrested along with colleague Kirk Chavarie Sunday morning. Lepp says they were treated inhumanely when they were imprisoned. "We were given about 4 oz of water every 4-6 hours...and a cheese sandwich every 6-8 hours, when we got there,, there was no toilet paper in the porta-potty, we asked them for toilet paper and it took them 6 hours to get us toilet paper." Lepp and Chavarie spent 36 hours in the cell with 15-20 other students. They are both facing conspiracy charges, and are due back in an Ontario Court on August 23rd.

UBCO students caught in G20 sweep

Andrew Bates 2010-06-29 Kelowna Courier:
Two student politicians from UBC Okanagan were held for more than 30 hours before being released Monday night after arrests at the University of Toronto during the G20 summit on the weekend. "All that we know right now is that they are being processed and are about to be released," Spencer Robins of the UBCO students‘ union said. "We still haven‘t heard from them (since Sunday)." UBCO students‘ union chairman Grayson Lepp and services co-ordinator Kirk Chavarie were detained with about 70 others in a gym on the university campus as police investigated Black Bloc protesters blamed for violent clashes. "They were sleeping there and they were literally swept up," said Robins. It was confirmed Lepp had contacted the students‘ union via legal aid Saturday night, but Chavarie had been unaccounted for until a judge signed a release order. The pair were to "march in solidarity" with other student politicians of the Canadian Federation of Students during G20 demonstrations. Robins said the pair were peaceful protesters. "We found photos and video ... of the two being detained, so we know that much, but we‘re still looking for answers," he said. "Other than that, we‘re still concerned." When contacted, a spokesperson for the G8/G20 Integrated Security Unit said some detainees still needed to be processed Monday, but refused to comment on individuals. More than 500 people were arrested in Toronto during the G20 weekend, with many claiming to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The gym, owned by the U of T Graduate Students‘ Union, was raided after discarded black clothing was found outside, according to the CBC, and police say they found stockpiles of "weapons of opportunity," like bricks.

G8 Canadian,USA,French and Italian leaders have Different Focus.

Local police helping with security at Toronto summits

By Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star Published: June 24, 2010 6:00 PM

There’s a North Okanagan presence at the ongoing G8 and G20 summits in and near Toronto, featuring world leaders. A handful of Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP officers are on hand as part of the $1 billion security team assigned to the events. “We have a total of eight officers assigned to the summits,” said Vernon RCMP spokesman Gord Molendyk. Several of the officers are with the Kelowna-based Southeast District’s tactical team, which is trained in riot control and to do searches of areas for security purposes. A couple of officers are with an emergency response team, and a handful are there to cover static positions. The sending of local officers to Toronto is similar to when the detachment shipped out members to help with security at the Vancouver Olympics and Paralympics. “We’re still up to strength, we’re not running short,” said Molendyk.

Funding for Green Projects

Written by Peter McIntyre Wednesday, 23 June 2010 12:33107.5 KISSFM

Two environmental projects in Greater Vernon have got the go ahead with the help of federal funding. Okanagan Shuswap M-P Colin Mayes used a backdrop of the Allan Brooks Nature Centre in Vernon to announce $82, 213 from the EcoAction program. About 16-thousand will go to the Society for the Protection of Kalamalka Lake to restore riparian plantings on Coldstream Creek between Kirkland Drive and McClounie Road. Group president Trina Koch says they will educate residents on the best types of plants to put into areas along the creek. "There are native plants that are roses for example or bushes that are very attractive. We want to work with people so that it will fit into their yards.The plants provide a solid base for the soils so that it doesn't create sediment to go into the creek."

The rest of the funding, about 65 thousand, will be used by the Allan Brooks Nature Centre Society to add interpretive trail signs and hold community events for the BX Creek Wetland Enhancement project. Society member Susan Latimer says the area is from 48th Ave along 20th Street where the high water wetland riparian area is, to Swan Lake. "There will be signs describing the eco-systems and some of the species that are there. I think we're even going to have a sign that points back to the heron rookery which I think is one of only two rookeries in Canada." Latimer says they will also host a series of events with the city of Vernon and regional district. "It will be around Rivers Day, Earth Day and Environment Weeek that we're going to promote the project."

G20: A fake lake and more…for $99.99

Joe O'Connor National Post June 23, 2010 – 9:30 am

Can’t afford $1.9-million for Muskoka chairs, a deck and a chlorinated rendering of an idyllic Ontario lake? Sears offers the perfect alternative: a “decorative”, 13 x 8-foot wall mural.

Imagine, if you will, a mountain lake, blue water, pine trees and jagged peaks. All of it can be yours — and it can be on your basement wall — for $99.99. 
 
The eight-panel mural is “easy to remove” and “washable with damp sponge.” It includes “cellulose paste and detailed instructions in English, Spanish and French.” Not into mountain lakes, are you? How about a “Tuscan Villa” or a “Dolphins Paradise” or a safari motif featuring elephants, tigers, cheetahs and giraffes? There are seven murals in all, and all can be yours for $699.99 plus tax.

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Read more: http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/06/23/g20-spying-on-the-fake-lake/#ixzz0rgVdlRVL

Talking Heads Relax in 'Muskoka' media centre.

Reporters covering this month’s G20 and G8 summits in Ontario will be able to take a break at an artificial lake, without leaving the air conditioned splendour of the media centre in Toronto. It’s part of what summit organizers call the “Canadian corridor,” described as a “powerful exhibit” that will showcase Canadian investment opportunities and local points of interest. Design photos show a lake surrounded by fake canoes and lawn chairs while another exhibit in the corridor shows a mock TSX. According to a document from summit organizers, the rustic northern scene is a way to showcase Ontario’s Muskoka region, where the G8 is being held, to the many reporters who won’t get out of the Toronto media centre. The document estimates the price tag for the project at $1.9 million, jointly funded by the federal and Ontario governments.

Summits have become anachronisms

James Travers National Affairs Columnist. Star.com Sat May 29 2010

Next month’s G8 and G20 summits are a self-fulfilling prophecy. World leaders make themselves a beckoning target and then shake down taxpayers for $1 billion in protection. Even if meeting face-to-face has merit, gathering presidents and prime ministers in public places no longer makes sense. It isn’t justified by the photo opportunity, the final communiqué drafted before meetings begin or commitments often abandoned before the last press conference ends. Summits are being changed by the changing nature of the threat. Back in those madcap Cold War days of mutual assured destruction, enemies were few, well known and cheap to neuter. In a new millennium of metastasized terrorism, danger is cellular, difficult to detect and exorbitant to counter. So the surprise isn’t that three days in Huntsville and Toronto will cost much just when every penny needs to be pinched. No, the shocker is that it’s taken so long to spot an anachronism that surely can’t be sustained much longer. Common sense says there are better ways. If face time is the guiding purpose then military bases everywhere offer security plus room and board, even if they are short on the luxurious perquisites of power. If deconstructing complex problems is the goal, then its time to re-noodle the curious notion that global governance is a travelling road show.

Sometime between their 1975 founding and current floundering, world summits morphed from potentially sublime to patently ridiculous. The sound idea of getting leaders together informally was lost in the racket created by hundreds of hangers-on, the sherpas, sous-sherpas and sous-sous-sherpas who between meetings trek messages between capitals and by the horde of journalists who fly in mostly to watch the spectacle on television. How crazy is it now? A fleet of Boeing 747s will airlift delegations. Entourages will come and go seeing little of leaders. Journalists will interview each other before reaching the consensus that becomes the news.

Apologists still run sticky fingers down the short list of summit accomplishments. They murmur that Africa benefitted from the last summit Canada hosted. They point to how often serendipitous circumstance brings leaders together just as another international crisis – this year’s hot prospects are a sovereign equity catastrophe or a Korean conflict—tests world resolve. True enough. But was the Kananaskis bun-toss the best or only way to confront the problems of a continent that has no permanent seat at the G8 table? Or is even the broader spectrum G20 an effective forum for defusing specific risk? A new model is urgently needed. Problems without borders – climate change to nuclear proliferation and terrorism – are making reform of international institutions essential. Moving from helter-skelter, break-the-bank summits to something with more utility and less cost will demand the most modest of political sacrifices. Summit hosts will have to muster the inner strength to forego playing to the home audience once every eight years.

Reform is made more certain by the shocked reaction to this week’s news that security costs have spiked from $179 million in March to some $930 million today. Remember, that’s only for protection; the events cost extra. In the shaky aftermath of recession, at a time of belt-tightening, the price of summits is way over the top. As certainly as voters here won’t let politicians hide their expenses from the auditor general, taxpayers everywhere will soon say no to leaders blowing billions turning city centers into security zones. Summits have now reached their peak; the only place left to go is back down to reality.

Blogreader's Comment May Cause G28 to Move to less costly location. (South Pole)

Fraser to audit summit expenses

CBC News Friday, May 28, 2010 | 6:04 PM ET

Auditor General Sheila Fraser says her office will examine the federal government's hefty security bill at the upcoming G8 and G20 international summits in Ontario after the events are completed. Auditor General Sheila Fraser says a review of security spending for next month's G8 and G20 summits in Ontario should be relatively easy to perform. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)The Opposition Liberals called on Fraser to conduct an audit after Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government disclosed this week that the estimated cost for security could top $933 million.

What is a Billion Dollars? Here is a million: $1,000,000.00 Here is how many million it takes to equal $1 Billion:
Total= 1,000,000,000
Ah! $1 Billion... one-thousand million is a billion.

Huntsville has the recipe for G8 success: Add garlic

HUNTSVILLE, Ont. – Canada is counting on garlic, known for repelling vampires, to make this town attractive to the world's most powerful people. Hardly amused that next year's G8 meeting at nearby Deerhurst Resort has already been dubbed the Black Fly Summit, organizers are determined to ensure their international guests, including U.S. President Barack Obama, aren't meals for the tiny, ravenous insects.

"What we are doing in Muskoka these days is spreading garlic and it keeps all the bugs away. No, Edward Cullen (of Twilight tales) is nowhere near here," Industry Minister Tony Clement, MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka, told a visitor as he sipped tea in nearby Bracebridge. Clement said the trick is to spray the liquid garlic a couple of weeks before the event "so the whole place doesn't smell" when participants start arriving. "Hey, you are in Muskoka and there are going to be a few bugs, but it is going to be manageable." It's not the bugs – or even the garlic – that are troubling some local residents. Rather, it's the thought of their quaint town of about 20,000 being sealed up like a drum when some 8,000 police and members of the military converge on cottage country for the summit from June 25 to 27.

G8/G20 security costs could reach $900-million

Colin Freeze Globe and Mail Update Tuesday, May. 25, 2010

Security for the G8-G20 summits will cost taxpayers close to $1-billion. Supplementary estimates released by Parliament Tuesday indicate federal government will spend $654-million on security on top of the $179-million announced in March, for a total of $833-million. The total figure greatly exceeds some published media estimates of the overall costs. In fact, the government anticipates the final cost could exceed $900-million, meaning that the cost of providing security to world leaders meeting for a few days of meetings near Huntsville, and then Toronto, will cost as about as much as was believed to be spent for security during the two-week-long Vancouver Olympic Games.

The RCMP, which is deploying thousands of officers to the events, is to get the lion's share of the funding, followed by the Public Safety Department, followed by the Department of National Defence. "The scope and magnitude of the security operations associated with hosting the two summits back to back is unprecedented -- representing the largest deployment of security personnel for a major event in Canadian history," said Chris McCluskey, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, in an email.

Anti-establishment group claims it firebombed Ottawa Royal Bank branch

By Tony Spears , The Ottawa Citizen May 18, 2010 4:13 PMPhotograph by: Mike Carroccetto, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — An anti-establishment group claimed responsibility for the firebombing of a Glebe bank early Tuesday morning. The group also vowed to “be there” at the upcoming G8 and G20 summits in an online video that shows a massive fireball exploding from the front window of a Royal Bank of Canada branch on Bank Street and First Avenue. In the short clip, one person emerges from the branch’s side door and is then silhouetted against a vivid orange flash. Another person follows him out the door and the pair begin to head west across First. The video abruptly cuts to scrolling text. “The Vancouver Olympic games are over, but a torch is still burning,” the text reads. Firefighters responded to the blaze at about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, and had it under control just after 4 a.m. No one was injured.

The video was posted on an anti-establishment website at 11:59 a.m. Tuesday. It appears to have been shot on a handheld camera from the northeast corner of the intersection. “Resistance continues,” the text reads. “An RBC branch can be found in every corner of Kanada (sic).” In the next paragraph, it mentions the G8 and G20 conferences that are to take place at the end of June in Huntsville and Toronto, where “‘leaders’ and bankers (will) make decisions that will further their policies of exploitation of people and the environment. “We will be there.”

When informed by The Citizen of the video’s existence, lead investigator Sgt. David Christie said the attack was “one of many theories put out there (as to) what the motive would be.” RBC has been a favourite target for self-styled anarchists protesting the Vancouver Winter Olympics. In 2008 the firebombed branch had had its windows smashed by brick-throwers. An online posting signed “Riot 2010!!! ~Ottawa Anarchists” claimed credit for two such incidents Jan. 27 and Feb. 12, 2008, as well as a March 11, 2008, incident at the Elgin and Lisgar streets branch that “was again the target of our rage against the evils they sponsor. “The trashcan we hurled through their window shows what we think of their Corporate Circus.” A letter sent to The Citizen in February 2008 said the vandalism was an act of “solidarity” with those who were fighting the 2010 Olympic games “and its corporate sponsors.” Anarchists also took credit for “paint-bombing” the Olympic countdown clock opposite Parliament Hill.

But RBC itself came under fire in the video’s text, taking aim at the bank’s claim to be one of Canada’s greenest employers (which stems from a competition organized by editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, according to an RBC release). “RBC is now the major financier of Alberta’s tar sands, one of the largest industrial rojects in human history and perhaps the most destructive,” the text says. The website on which the video is posted has “Montebello” written across the top, bringing to mind violent clashes in Quebec between riot police and protestors outside the Château Montebello in August 2007. Five police officers were injured in the confrontation, which saw more than 1,000 protestors face down tear gas, pepper spray and plastic bullets, replying with rocks, tomatoes and stone-filled bottles. They had been protesting North American integration at a two-day summit involving Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and then-U.S. President George W. Bush.

Anyone with information is asked to call Ottawa police at 613-236-122 ext. 2199 or Crime Stoppers at 613-233-8477 (TIPS)