When choosing a location for the summit, Prime Minister Chretien deliberately opted for the seclusion of Kananaskis over nearby Calgary. In addition to removing the world leaders from the distracting photo ops, the PM wanted to make sure the Summit agenda wasn’t hijacked by protestors. (He also restricted the numbers of aides each world leader was allowed to bring with him). The strategy paid off. With access to Kananaskis restricted, protestors staged their demonstrations on Calgary streets. And, despite concerns that a pre-Summit eve speech by President Bush would change the focus of the meeting to the Middle East, the leaders stuck to their planned agenda.
In some ways, the Summit’s secluded location probably helped the protestors. First, many of the more violent groups stayed home – it’s estimated less than 3,000 activists marched on Calgary streets at any given time, compared to the thousands who protested in Quebec at the Summit of the Americas. (Many Eastern Canadian activists decided to forego coming to Alberta in favor of staging demonstrations on Parliament Hill). Furthermore, the media may have focused on the protestors simply because there wasn’t anything else to cover. Deprived of access to Summit leaders and their aides, Calgary media were left reporting burning issues such as how leaders reacted to being “white-hatted” when they arrived at the Calgary airport. (“White-hatting” is a Calgary tradition whereby important visitors to the city are given a white Stetson to wear. Several leaders clearly hadn’t been briefed on the custom – while the Japanese President cheerfully wore his hat, French President Jacques Chirac and English Prime Minister Tony Blair pulled theirs off immediately). When your major Summit story consists of the behavior of world leaders at the airport before they are whisked away by chopper, a few staged protests look pretty newsworthy by comparison.
The People’s Summit
One of the more interesting organized protest activities that received a great deal of media attention was the People’s Summit. Claiming to represent the entire population of the earth and not just industrialized nations, the Group of Six Billion (G6B) Summit took place at the University of Calgary on the weekend prior to the G8 Summit. Participants included The Council of Canadians and the Public Service Alliance of Canada, along with delegates from several African nations, including a Ugandan woman who lost a leg due to a landmine. The main priority for delegates at the convention was aid for Africa, including cancellation of debt and funding to help Africa combat HIV and Aids. (According to a recent United Nations report, nearly 30 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are living with HIV or full blown Aids, with 3.5 million new infections occurring in 2001 alone). Other issues of concern included the Kyoto Accord and the International Landmines Treaty, which both Russia and the United States have yet to sign.
