Strict security measures to keep protesters away from the G7 summit
By Kevin Dougherty
QUEBEC CITY (Reuters) – Quebec’s forested Charlevoix region is increasingly looking more like a fortress than a resort as organizers of this week’s G7 summit prepare to shield the seven leaders from outside disruption.
The protesters are unlikely to alarm any of the leaders during the June 8-9 meeting. A security force of about 10,000 police and military personnel will ensure that protesters are kept away from the summit at the Manoir Richelieu, a luxury resort with spectacular views of the St. Lawrence River.
The G7 groups Canada, USA, Japan, Great Britain, Italy, France and Germany as well as the EU are also participating.
Authorities called on protesters to gather in an official protest zone in a parking lot in La Malbaie, a town about 5 kilometers from the French-style castle resort.
Tensions at the summit are likely to stem from leaders’ concerns about a looming trade war with the US, rather than outside protests. This dynamic has led some to dub the meeting a “G6 plus Trump” summit.
No protest group has announced plans to gather in La Malbaie. Instead, they are organizing a series of events on global trade, migration, the environment, indigenous rights and other issues in the provincial capital of Quebec City, a two-hour drive from Manoir Richelieu.
“We are prepared for the worst case scenario,” Inspector Christian Roy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said at a recent press conference.
Further tensions could arise in Quebec City, where a group calling itself the Anti-G7 Resistance Network has called on its supporters to hold a “day of disruption.”
The group urged protesters to avoid La Malbaie because it was a “trap.” It announced a rally for Friday but gave no details.
A coalition is organizing “a mass demonstration against the G7, capitalism, patriarchy, colonialism, racism and borders” for Thursday, according to a Facebook invitation.
A second coalition plans to hold an alternative summit in front of the provincial parliament building in Quebec City to discuss the issues expected to be raised at the summit.
In anticipation of possible protests, Quebec’s parliament has cancelled sessions scheduled for Thursday evening and Friday.
Quebec City Police Chief Robert Pigeon said he saw a “moderate” risk that the protests would turn violent, but promised to respect the rights of the demonstrators.
There were also numerous protests in the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec.
In the spring of 2001, Quebec City became a hotbed of crisis when tens of thousands of people gathered to protest against the Third Summit of the Americas and the police used large amounts of tear gas to bring the crowd under control.
One issue that organizers of the G7 summit will not have to deal with this week is complaints about the smell of fertilizers.
Quebec’s Agriculture Ministry last week urged farmers to refrain from spreading manure on their fields in the days leading up to the summit.
(Reporting by Kevin Dougherty in Quebec City; Writing by Anna Mehler Paperny; Editing by Jim Finkle, Dan Grebler and Lisa Shumaker)
