PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.12.11
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: D4
COLUMN: Point of View - Security and Rights
BYLINE: Stuart Ryan
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

G20 clashes show the last thing police need is more powers

Ottawa Police Chief Vince Bevan's Nov. 26 testimony before the Police Services Board concerning the protests at the G20 summit proves the danger of giving police expanded authority under Bill C-36, the anti-terrorism bill.
The practices of the police included use of inappropriate force and pre-emptive arrests, powers police will be given under Bill C-36.
On Nov. 17, some 3,000 protesters gathered at three rallying points. They were to join together on Laurier Avenue and march past Parliament Hill to a rally at the Supreme Court building. Organizers of the march had a permit and had informed the police of their route.
At LeBreton Flats, every participant had to walk through a phalanx of police who proudly displayed their batons and tear-gas canisters. Police arrested people before they could start the march. Police dogs were used to attack demonstrators.
Church leaders testified to the Police Services Board that when they approached police to protest these actions, they were punched in the face and pushed in the back with batons.
When the march reached Laurier and Bay, riot police intervened again to make more arrests. The only common thing among those hauled away was that they were wearing black clothes and black hoods. Police admitted as much at a press conference on Nov. 18.
Demonstrators leaving from the University of Ottawa were denied access across the Laurier Bridge unless they submitted to a search.
The 50 people arrested that weekend were denied the opportunity to phone lawyers of their choice. Personal property, such as clothes and jewelry, are still being held "as evidence." Of the 50 arrested, 43 were released in less than 24 hours with no charges.
What does Chief Bevan say in defence of these actions? I quote: "We took pro-active steps necessary to ensure public security and safety. These steps were appropriate and justified.
"Interventions taken by police officers during the protests were based on reliable information we obtained from several sources. Actions taken were not random, and escalated and de-escalated in response to what was happening at the time within the crowds."
In other words, people were being targeted for arrest on suspicion alone, prior to any possible criminal action.
To quote Chief Bevan again: "Another issue involved the seizure of gas masks. When seizures were made, they were not arbitrary. Previous experience shows a strong connection between those who wear gas masks and those seeking to evade detection or avoid apprehension for criminal acts."
The purchase of gas masks is legal in Canada. Protesters have previous experience as well. The 5,500 tear-gas canisters fired in Quebec City weren't aimed just at the rock throwers; they permeated through the 65,000 people who marched in opposition to the FTAA. Bandanas and cider vinegar weren't enough to protect you. Bringing a gas mask to the G20 protests did not mean you were about to commit a criminal act, but it was enough for you to get arrested or have your property seized.
Chief Bevan said: "We were heartened by the fact that the City of Ottawa experienced very little violence during the G20 meetings. But for anyone who may feel that security measures were disproportionate to the potential threat, I would draw to their attention the array of objects displayed on the table behind me. Those potentially dangerous materials remind us that not everyone came to Ottawa to engage in peaceful protest."
At least two-thirds of the potentially dangerous materials were gas masks. Other things were poles to carry banners and sticks to carry signs. While there were some rocks and five Swiss army knives, the number of "dangerous weapons" was pretty small.
The police response to the G20 protests shows the worst potential of Bill C-36. Police will be able to detain people for 72 hours on suspicion alone, not just 24 hours that police use today. People will be targeted for the clothes they wear or the company they keep. They will not only be denied the legal counsel of their choice, they could be forced to testify before a judge. If the judge rules they could be a terrorist, they could be held for up to a year without anyone being informed of the information leading to that decision.
Chief Bevan's testimony Nov. 26 shows that police consider any anti-globalization protesters as potential terrorists. No wonder United Church minister Neil Wallace testified that he was made to feel like a suspect for simply demonstrating.
Stuart Ryan participated in the Nov. 17 march opposing the G20, IMF and World Bank policies during their meetings in Ottawa Nov. 16-18.
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PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2001.12.13
SECTION: News
PAGE: 12
SOURCE: Ottawa Bureau
BYLINE: David Gamble; Greg Weston
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
1. photo by Errol McGihon, Sun Media FINANCE MINISTER PaulMartin gestures to make a point during a post-budget interview in his Parliament Hill office yesterday. 2. photo of BOB CHIARELLI Relaxed mayor

OTTAWA HOSTS WORLD AGAIN; OFFICIALS FEAR REPEAT OF G20 RIOTS DURING WINTERLUDE

Once again Canada's capital will play host to the world's top finance ministers, raising the spectre of clashes between police and violent demonstrators in the middle of Ottawa's February Winterlude festival.
But Finance Minister Paul Martin's invitation to fellow G7 ministers from the world's largest economies has federal, city and police officials insisting the meeting will be trouble free.
One government official billed the gathering as a test run for June's G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Alta. That one is for heads of state and will include the Russians, who don't attend finance ministers' meetings.
Like the Alberta summit -- to be held in a remote park preserve near Calgary -- the G7 finance ministers will meet in Gatineau Park in Quebec outside Ottawa, sources told Sun Media.
Martin has selected the Meech Lake conference centre in an effort to keep disruption of daily life to a minimum, a source said.
Some Ottawa merchants are still upset about the loss of business they suffered when streets were closed as thousands of protesters descended on Ottawa during last month's meeting of G20 finance ministers.
"Merchants in (Ottawa) had to deal with the G20 and were so good about it. We don't want to subject Ottawa to having another of those in the middle of Winterlude," a senior government source said.
"The G7 meeting is not usually a big thing anyway," the source said, adding the meetings haven't tended to attract many protesters.
The exact date for the meeting has not been set, but it will take place over a weekend in one of the first three weeks of February -- during Winterlude.
Martin told Sun Media yesterday that Canada is on deck to host two G7 finance ministers meetings in 2002.
"The G7 finance ministers will meet probably three or four times during the year, twice in Canada and probably once ... or twice in Washington," Martin said.
Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli said he's convinced Winterlude and downtown Ottawa will not be disrupted by the meeting, adding no road closures are planned.
"I anticipate that this will almost be a non-event," Chiarelli said, adding it will be more like October's quiet meeting of 800 NATO parliamentarians than last month's G20 meetings.
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.12.28
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A15
BYLINE: Compiled by Linda Mondoux
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

A summary of what you wrote to us about this year

November
National/World
Hot topics: War on terrorism; Harry Potter; Mideast; the public service; the Koran; G20 protesters; Remembrance Day.
Most letters: The War on Terrorism (138). G20 protesters (37).
City
Hot topics: Future of LeBreton Flats; hospitals; G20 protesters; Remembrance Day; weapons in schools; teen swarming.
Most letters: Weapons in school (16). G20 protesters (15).
December
National/World
Hot topics: War on terrorism; Ramadan/Christmas; reproduction/stem-cell research; Mideast; Southam editorials; homosexuals; John Ralston Saul; health care.
Most letters: War on terrorism is in the lead, followed by John Ralston Saul.
 

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.12.18
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: D3
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Citizens launch review into police actions during G20

Several prominent Ottawa citizens, including former mayor Marion Dewar and Anglican Bishop Peter Coffin, say they will hold an independent review of policing at the G20 summit. Ms. Dewar said she hopes police will participate in the public hearings, but said the review will "go ahead in any case because these stories need to be heard."
The move, announced at yesterday's Ottawa Police Services Board meeting, was in response to the board's decision against holding their own general review of the event.
Acting on the advice of legal counsel and the Ontario Police Board, police chief Vince Bevan said police will review individual complaints filed against officers on a case-by-case basis.

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.12.26
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: D5
SOURCE: Ottawa Citizen

Fair hearing needed

It's important that citizens who feel they've been poorly treated by the police have a forum in which to be heard. But a panel of self-appointed citizens certainly is not such a forum.
Some of the protesters at the fall G20 meetings in Ottawa are upset at how they were dealt with by police. They've made their case to reporters, on the opinion pages of this newspaper, and to the Ottawa Police Services Board. They have very specific complaints about how the weekend of protests was handled: the use of "preventive arrests" and police dogs, and the combative stance of some police officers. City Councillor Jacques Legendre, who is a police board member, says many protesters felt "shafted" when police divided their group as they headed towards the G20 summit site at the Government Conference Centre.
The protesters' group has come forward with two proposed routes to making peace with the police. Councillor Legendre and his colleague, Clive Doucet, proposed to city council that police, business operators and the protesters should sit down together in a "community conflict resolution process," which would mediate the issue, a process that would cost between $15,000 and $20,000.
City council rightly rejected this idea. A mediation suggests almost a civil process between equal parties. This is no such issue; it's a case of citizens questioning the conduct of powerful law-enforcement officials. These issues are properly dealt with by the Police Services Board and the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services.
Having failed to get a mediation process, the protesters have turned to a citizens' panel to be heard. This panel was formed after the police services board declined to hold a general review of the force's conduct. The panel includes former mayor Marion Dewar and Anglican Bishop Peter Coffin.
But this panel isn't the answer either. Since when do we allow self-appointed groups of citizens to conduct major investigations of vital public services? Mr. Doucet says some citizens feel the consideration of elected city officials was "not good enough." But surely enlisting sympathetic unelected officials is not as good as having truly accountable elected officials hear the issue. Mr. Legendre says he has much confidence in Ms. Dewar, but that's not the issue. She is a highly respected community figure, but she's not elected and she's not even a police services board member. She shouldn't be sitting in judgment of the police.
What should take place is a thorough, healthy hearing of the issue at the Police Services Board. So far, the police department and the board have defined the process very narrowly; they've heard five-minute submissions from upset citizens and said that specific complaints will be dealt with through the established procedures. And the police are conducting their own review. But that's not good enough. There are legitimate questions about general tactics of the police, which deserve to be discussed at length in public. Under the force's written complaints procedure, a public meeting can be held. One is definitely warranted here.
As for the substance of the protesters' complaints, our city police, the OPP and the RCMP did a good job. They suited up for the worst, yet only responded with force when necessary. The preventive arrests and use of dogs are worth examining, but overall the police were astute and disciplined.
The protesters misjudged the situation. Many didn't seem to realize that a huge crowd of shouting protesters marching through the streets of the capital might be viewed as a potential threat to public order. They came to within throwing distance of the world's financial leaders and then were surprised by a line of riot police who wouldn't let them go any farther. Perhaps their conduct should be publicly debated as well.
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.12.03
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A13
BYLINE: Cecilia M. Cranston
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Legal system can't build bridges while it violates rights

Re: Program aims to mend G20's bridges: Police, protesters take part in conflict resolution session, Nov. 28.
I attended this meeting, and had the impression that the police officers who spoke were sincere in their dismay about the events of Nov. 17, in their desire to prevent future violent protests, and in their desire to build "trust" with organizers of demonstrations.
However, they did not admit, and maybe did not even recognize, that the actions of police were violent, malicious, and out of all proportion to the threat posed by a number of violent protesters. The examples of violence by police have been well-documented in the media; there can be no doubt in the mind of any reasonable observer that police used methods intended to cause injury, pain, humiliation, and intimidation against protesters who included children and elderly people. Such actions are also known as torture.
In addition, our judicial system was used to deprive detained protesters of their fundamental rights.
Police also beat, gassed, and unlawfully detained peaceful protesters in Quebec City in April and at the APEC summit in Vancouver in 1997. A lengthy inquiry into the violations committed at the APEC summit released its report this year but has been ignored. Canada's aboriginal people are very familiar with injustice, violence and death at the hands of police officers. Last week our federal government used closure to suppress debate about Bill C-36, which gives the police and prosecutors vastly increased powers of detention with no increase in public oversight of their activities.
How can anyone be expected to trust the police, judges, Crown prosecutors, politicians and bureaucrats responsible for these behaviours? No one of us is safe while these people are free to violate basic human rights. If police forces are sincere in their desire to "build trust," they can start by joining in the call for a full public inquiry into the abuses committed on Nov. 17.
Even after an inquiry, such abuses will continue unless we all start to care and demand justice for all of us.
Cecilia M. Cranston,
Ottawa
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PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2001.12.09
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Editorial / Op-ed
PAGE: A17
BYLINE: DAVID SUZUKI
SOURCE: Freelance

Enhancing security: In its post-Sept. 11 quest to make Canadians safer, Ottawa shouldn't forget about energy efficiency and environmental protection

Tomorrow, the federal government will release its budget. Canadians can expect new money for border security and the military, but not much else. There will probably be little importance placed on the environment, which is unfortunate, because taking steps to protect the environment would also improve public health and increase Canadians' security.
Although the horrific Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. have left Canadians understandably shaken, we have to remember that improving national security doesn't end with adding more border guards and airport police, or buying new helicopters and other equipment.
Maintaining public health, safe food and water, and a secure energy supply are also vital to national security.
And that could be bolstered with a budget that looks at issues of security beyond just the defence of our borders.
Federal Finance Minister Paul Martin seems to understand that principle. During the G20 meeting in Ottawa last month, he pushed for international equalization payments and debt relief as underpinnings of a more stable globe - one that could be safer from terrorism. But I'm sure Martin also knows that a mounting threat to global stability is climate change.
At a recent meeting in Morocco, environment and energy ministers from around the world agreed on the fine print of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce global warming, paving the way for ratification of the agreement next year.
Global warming is considered to be one of the greatest threats of the 21st century. Experts say a warming climate could cause tremendous environmental and economic damage, which would greatly increase global insecurity.
To begin to deal with this threat, Martin could include investment in emerging technologies and innovation in the 2002 federal budget, to reshape our energy policies and meet our commitment to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
Taking these steps will increase energy security and improve our quality of life.
For example, the Ontario Medical Association says that health problems caused by poor air quality cost taxpayers $1 billion a year in Ontario alone. Provincial governments have been hard at work lobbying the finance minister for more health-care money in the coming budget, but a focus on prevention, as well as on treatment, would help save money and have other benefits.
In Canada right now, governments and industry are emphasizing huge tar-sands developments, coal-fired electricity projects and natural-gas exploration. Energy efficiency is generally ignored in favour of single-site energy megaprojects that are capital intensive, rather than job intensive.
By encouraging energy efficiency in homes and buildings, jobs can be stimulated in every Canadian town and city.
By reducing our use of polluting fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, Canada could also become less vulnerable to volatile world energy prices.
And the sooner we start making our Kyoto commitments, the greater the benefits will be in terms of job-creation, improved public health and lowered over-all costs of health care and environmental damage.
On the surface, national security might just seem like a matter of policing and military defence, but it is much more than that.
Public safety ultimately depends as much on a healthy environment as on secure borders and airports.
With the right incentives and allocations in tomorrow's budget, we could have both.
- David Suzuki is a broadcaster and scientist. He is chairman of the Vancouver-based David Suzuki Foundation.
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PUBLICATION: La Presse
DATE: 2001.12.11
SECTION: Nouvelles générales
PAGE: A3
BYLINE: Bellavance, Joël-Denis
PHOTO: PC
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
Le gouvernement Chrétien souhaite démontrer tant auxCanadiens qu'aux Américains qu'il fait ses devoirs en matière de lutte contre le terrorisme et qu'il est prèt à y consacrer les sommes nécéssaires.

La part du lion à la sécurité

Conséquence directe des événements tragiques du 11 septembre, le gouvernement Chrétien veut donner davantage de muscle aux Forces armées canadiennes, à la GRC et au Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité (SCRS) pour mieux lutter contre le terrorisme.
Après des années de vaches maigres, les soldats canadiens ont donc obtenu hier la faveur du ministre des Finances Paul Martin, qui prévoit majorer le budget du ministère de la Défense de 1,6 milliard au cours des cinq prochaines années.
La GRC et le SCRS, qui avaient aussi été victimes des compressions budgétaires des libéraux durant la lutte contre le déficit des années 1990, obtiendront aussi 1,6 milliard au cours de cette même période.
Ce faisant, le gouvernement Chrétien souhaite démontrer tant aux Canadiens qu'aux Américains qu'il fait ses devoirs en matière de lutte contre le terrorisme et qu'il est prêt à y consacrer les sommes nécessaires.
"Nous devons mieux connaître notre ennemi, prévoir plus rapidement les menaces et prendre des mesures efficaces pour y faire échec. Le renseignement et le maintien de l'ordre sont primordiaux. Nous devons savoir quels sont ceux qui nous menacent, où ils se trouvent et quels sont leurs objectifs", a déclaré M. Martin aux Communes lors de son discours du budget.
Des trois milliards annoncés par le ministre, près de 210 millions serviront à financer la participation du Canada à l'effort de guerre contre le terrorisme dans la région de l'Afghanistan, où le gouvernement canadien a dépêché 2000 soldats, six navires de guerres, six avions et des hélicoptères Sea King dans le cadre de l'opération Apollo.
Cette hausse du budget militaire permettra aussi aux Forces armées canadiennes de faire passer de 250 à 500 le nombre de soldats faisant partie de la Force opérationnelle interarmées 2 (FOI 2), cette unité d'élite antiterroriste qui est actuellement à l'oeuvre en Afghanistan aux côtés des unités américaines. Le coût de cette expansion est évaluée à 119 millions.
 

Sécurité intérieure
Les soldats seront aussi appelés à jouer un rôle plus important pour assurer la sécurité intérieure. Ainsi, les Forces armées disposeront de 396 millions pour augmenter leurs effectifs afin de protéger les infrastructures jugées essentielles telles que les réseaux d'adduction d'eau et de distribution d'énergie, ainsi que les systèmes de transport et de communications.
Enfin, les Forces armées canadiennes disposeront de 513 millions pour améliorer leurs réseaux de laboratoires et acheter du matériel spécialisé, de sorte que le Canada soit mieux préparer à répondre à des attentats d'origine chimique, biologique ou nucléaire.
Grâce à une hausse de leur budget, la GRC et le SCRS pourront former, équiper et déployer un plus grand nombre de policiers et d'agents du renseignement au pays pour lutter contre les terroristes.
A lui seul, le SCRS verra son budget augmenter de 159 % au cours des cinq prochaines années, passant de 197,5 millions à 531,9 millions. Dans cette lutte à finir contre le terrorisme, Ottawa veut que ces deux organismes et les autres ministères appelés à jouer un rôle coordonnent mieux leurs efforts. A cette fin, le gouvernement dépensera 76 millions au cours des cinq prochaines années.
Le gouvernement fédéral débloquera aussi 60 millions pour accroître la portée et la fréquence des vols de surveillance des points d'entrée au pays par la voie maritime.
Hôte de la dernière réunion du G20 à Ottawa le mois dernier, le ministre des Finances entend donner suite à l'engagement pris durant cette rencontre de lutter contre le financement d'activités terroristes. Le Centre d'analyse des activités et déclarations financières du Canada, mis sur pied il y a quelques mois seulement pour lutter contre le recyclage des produits de la criminalité, obtiendra donc 53 millions de plus sur cinq ans afin de bien s'acquitter de cette tâche.
Ottawa croit que l'ensemble de ces mesures permettra de repérer à temps les terroristes qui oeuvrent au Canada, afin de les empêcher de donner suite à leurs sinistres plans, de les poursuivre, de les punir et de les expulser du pays s'il le faut.
FINANCEMENT POUR LA SÉCURITÉ (Sur cinq ans, en millions de dollars)
RENSEIGNEMENT ET FORCES DE L'ORDRE
Augmentation du nombre d'agents du renseignement et de policiers 1 177
Coordination et échange d'information 76
Sécurité maritime 60
Échec au financement du terrorisme 63
Autres mesures 163
Éventualités 95
CONTROLE DES ARRIVANTS AU CANADA
Contrôle plus rigoureux 395
Détention, expulsion et reconnaissance du statut de réfugié 210
Documents difficiles à contrefaire 287
Éventualités 110
PROTECTION CIVILE ET SOUTIEN AUX FORCES CANADIENNES
Soutien aux Forces canadiennes 510
Capacité accrue de lutte contre le terrorisme 119
Menaces d'origine chimique, biologique, radiologique ou nucléaire 513
Protection civile 396
Éventualités 100
UNE NOUVELLE APPROCHE EN MATIERE DE SÉCURITÉ AÉRIENNE 2 189
INITIATIVES FRONTALIERES
Accélération du passage des voyageurs ayant déjà fait l'objet d'un contrôle 58
Évaluation et détection des risques 67
Détection des expéditions dangereuses 107
Équipes intégrées de la police des frontières 135
Amélioration du service aux petites entreprises 14
Autres mesures 226
Éventualités 40
INFRASTRUCTURE FRONTALIERE 600
Total 7 708
Nota - Les chiffres ayant été arrondis, leur somme peut ne pas correspondre au total indiqué.
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.12.18
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: D4
COLUMN: Charles Gordon
BYLINE: Charles Gordon
SOURCE: Citizen Special

The year we fretted about prosperity

Sizing up Ottawa's year, as of course we're all doing now, instead of figuring out whether it's OK to believe in Santa Claus in a free-market economy, you wonder if the positives outweigh the negatives.
On the positive side, we got the Rough Riders back. On the negative side, they're called the Renegades. On the positive side, the Senators made the playoffs again. On the negative side, they went out in the first round.
On the positive side, there was a bylaw to ban smoking in bars and restaurants. On the negative side, there was a terrible amount of anger about it. City council did a good job of hearing out that anger -- 107 submissions in one day, friendly and not so -- and will have to find a way to defuse it in 2002.
For a council that began its life only this year, Ottawa's has done a good job of staying on the right side of public opinion. The smoking bylaw aside, such controversies as existed were small ones, such as the flurry of argument on whether the slogan "Technically Beautiful" was right for the city, or any city. The city eventually decided that it wasn't.
Also on the positive side, we finally got the O-Train, a spiffy vehicle with a nifty name, even if it doesn't seem to go anywhere in particular. Perhaps some day it will. Perhaps some day, the provincial government -- maybe not this particular one -- will begin showing that it values public transportation again.
Before there came to be more important things to worry about, Ottawans spent some of 2001 worrying about traffic, worrying that, now that we were sort of a big city, we would have big-city congestion, big-city overcrowding of the streets and highways.
The discussion had begun, if you remember it, about how to proceed -- to build ring roads or widen the Queensway or make more bridges, or do all of that. After years of cuts and privatizing, the heart had just about gone out of those who wanted to see money spent on transit, but perhaps the O-Train signals hope.
So does the possibility, after a year-long experiment, that Quebec will begin allowing all drivers to turn right on red, instead of just confused people from Ontario.
One source of the worry over traffic was the big-time prosperity we were having, with new high-tech millionaires seemingly being created every day and, for all we knew, spending all their new riches on big SUVs to clog the streets for the rest of us. As it turned out, that problem, the problem of excessive prosperity, would take care of itself.
On the negative side, the big negative side, there was that whole loss-of-innocence thing -- nervous glances at airplanes overhead, security, police all over the place, restrictions at the airport, streets closed, restricted access to Parliament Hill and a general feeling of fear mixed with sadness, the kind of thing that made you feel a bit petty for being concerned about traffic jams, or even
SUVs.
If there was an up side to that, it was in the way people in the city reacted to Sept. 11 -- donating blood and money and, in some cases their services, dropping of tokens of remembrance outside the U.S. Embassy on Sussex Drive, turning up in the tens of thousands for the commemorative service on Parliament Hill. That event may have been the most memorable one of the year in the city.
The darker side to that mood was the enhanced concern about protest and dissent, which raised tensions higher than they should have been raised when the G20 finance ministers met here in November. That meant barriers and dogs.
On the protesters' side, it meant a chip on the shoulder, from the knowledge that the right to dissent could no longer be taken for granted. What ensued wasn't pretty, but it is a sign of the city's savvy and experience in such matters that it wasn't worse.
All protest wasn't ugly. The National Gallery strike during the summer was great to look at, with artistic posters, clever skits and a sidewalk lined with red shoes. No management could fight that for long.
In looking for important events in the capital's year, a close second was Nelson Mandela at the Museum of Civilization, accepting Canadian citizenship (to balance the loss of Conrad Black, as one Toronto writer noted).
As in every year, something was announced about LeBreton Flats. As in every year, there is no need to remember what it was.
The Citizen's Charles Gordon writes here on Tuesdays.
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PUBLICATION: Le Droit
DATE: 2001.12.18
SECTION: La Région
PAGE: 13
BYLINE: Bertrand, Jean-François

Les services policiers d'Ottawa scrutés par des citoyens

Puisque la Commission de services policiers d'Ottawa ne peut, légalement, instituer une commission d'enquête pour faire le jour sur les manifestations du G20, des citoyens ont mis sur pied leur propre groupe indépendant qui scrutera les procédures et les politiques des policiers d'Ottawa.
Sur ce panel siégeront Marion Dewar, ex-mairesse d'Ottawa, l'évêque anglican Peter Coffin et Kenneth Brinks, ancien député conservateur au fédéral et juge.
"Il est urgent que nous ayons des représentants Canadiens-Français à notre commission, il en va de notre crédibilité", a souligné Mme Dewar.
La semaine dernière, des citoyens ont écrit à la Commission des services policiers, leur faisant savoir que "les liens de confiance entre nos communautés et la police ont été rompus dans notre ville, et nous avons besoin d'une étude publique et transparente des gestes des policiers."
Mais la commission des services policiers ne peut, en vertu de la Loi sur les services policiers, mettre sur pied un organisme qui prendrait la place du processus régulier d'étude des plaintes, qui se veut individuel.
"Mais ce processus ne fait rien pour la communauté", a dit la révérende Sharon Moon.
La commission d'étude indépendante n'a pas l'intention de se livrer à une chasse aux sorcières ou d'identifier les officiers individuellement.
Le chef de police Vince Bevan a dit que son service ne participerait pas aux travaux du groupe s'ils se rapprochent trop du processus officiel. Mais il s'est dit ouvert à plusieurs éléments du cadre de référence présenté par la révérende Moon, qu'il rencontrera sous peu.
jfbertrand@ledroit.com
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PUBLICATION: Le Droit
DATE: 2001.12.18
SECTION: La Région
PAGE: 13
BYLINE: Bertrand, Jean-François

Police: déficit de 2 millions $

Si la police d'Ottawa anticipe un déficit de 2 millions $ cette année, c'est à cause du 11 septembre et de l'organisation des Jeux de la Francophonie.
A ce moment-ci l'année dernière, le Comité organisateur des Jeux n'avait pas assez de détails à fournir au service de police quant au rôle de la police.
"Sans cette information, nous ne pouvons mettre en place des prévisions budgétaires crédibles", a expliqué Deborah Frazer, directrice générale du service de police.
Elle a ajouté hier soir lors de la réunion de la Commission de services policiers que, normalement, le budget de 140 millions $ aurait pu absorber les 961 000 $ d'imprévus des Jeux. Mais, à cause d'Oussama ben Laden, 2001 n'est pas "une année normale."
Les efforts supplémentaires découlant des événements du 11 septembre ont coûté à la ville l'équivalent de un million de dollars en congés à payer.
Quant aux frais reliés au travail des 1100 policiers qui ont porté l'uniforme lors du G20 en novembre, ils seront couverts par le gouvernement fédéral, hôte du sommet.
Le service de police, la ville et le ministère du Solliciteur général négocient pour déterminer où la part de la municipalité s'arrête et où celle du fédéral débute.
Le chef de police Vince Bevan a expliqué au conseiller Jacques Legendre, qui s'interrogeait au sujet des Jeux, qu'en mars dernier, "nous nous attendions à ce qu'il y ait plusieurs bénévoles pour assurer la sécurité, à l'Université d'Ottawa, par exemple. Ils ne se sont jamais matérialisés."
"Nous étions toujours incertains quant à notre rôle", a ajouté le chef Bevan, soulignant qu'il s'est produit de nombreux changements dans la planification des Jeux, jusqu'aux derniers jours.
jfbertrand@ledroit.com
====
 

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.12.27
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A15
BYLINE: Ken Johnson
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Criminalizing dissent is bad news for protesters

On April 9, Ken Johnson wrote wondering what police assigned to keep protesters in check are really thinking. He asked: How many are wondering, along with the demonstrators, why government leaders are deciding what is best in terms of trade for the Americas?
When I took my son to his first demonstration a couple of years ago (against Mike Harris policies), my son, seeing people parading down the street with placards and repeating slogans, asked: "Dad, is this legal?" At the time, the question seemed humorous. At the end of 2001, it's not so funny. Nor is the answer so clear.
It was a watershed year for protest: In Quebec City, there were 60,000 protesters, an illegal fence, 5,000 canisters of tear gas and 450 arrests.
In Genoa, Italy, police shot one protester to death and others were beaten as they slept in a gym.
In Ottawa last month, protesters on a peaceful march during the G20 meeting were accosted by 100 "robocops" and dogs. Dissent was rapidly becoming criminalized.
With passage of the new anti-terrorism/anti-protest bills, the further suppression of legal, democratic dissent is inevitable. Ironically, the protesters' concerns centre on treating the developing world more fairly, making it a more just world, which is the only honest and sustainable way to reduce terrorism.
With no ombudsman included to oversee the anti-terrorism legislation and a refusal of police or the government to review and come clean on their inappropriate actions at these recent legitimate democratic protests. I may have to change the answer to my son's question.
What will be harder to answer, though, will be when he asks someday, "Dad, why did the people let the government and police erode my fundamental democratic right to peacefully protest back in 2001?"
Ken Johnson,
Ottawa
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PUBLICATION: La Presse
DATE: 2001.11.18
SECTION: Nouvelles générales
PAGE: A1
BYLINE: Toupin, Gilles
PHOTO: PC
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
Les quelque 2000 militants anti-mondialisation qui ontmanifesté hier dans le centre-ville d'Ottawa n'ont pas réussi à empêcher les rencontres internationales du G20 et du FMI, mais ils ont gardé les policiers en haleine tout l'après-midi. La police a en effet utilisé des gaz lacrymogènes, des balles de caoutchouc, du gaz poivre et des boyaux d'arrosage pour disperser la foule aux abords du Centre de conférence du gouvernement fédéral. En tout, 14 personnes ont été arrêtées.

Le G20 va couper les vivres aux réseaux terroristes

Les ministres des Finances et les gouverneurs des banques centrales des pays du Groupe des 20 se sont mis d'accord hier dans la capitale fédérale sur un vaste plan d'action commun visant à couper les réseaux terroristes de la planète de toute source de financement.
A l'issue de la réunion présidée par le ministre des Finances du Canada, Paul Martin, le G20 a accouché d'un éventail complet de mesures de coopération multilatérale destinées à interdire aux terroristes et à leurs complices l'accès ou le recours aux systèmes financiers des pays membres. Le plan vise aussi à "mettre fin à l'utilisation abusive des réseaux bancaires informels".
Le poids de ce plan est lourd de conséquences puisque le G20 représente près des deux tiers de la population mondiale et 80 % du PIB de l'économie planétaire. "C'est un pas majeur en avant, a commenté à l'issue de la rencontre le ministre des Finances et président du G20, Paul Martin. Les pays du G20 viennent de chaque région du monde et chaque membre a signé le plan d'action tout en promettant qu'il le mettrait en application très vite. C'est très significatif. En même temps, le G20 demande aux comités du FMI de soumettre ce plan à tous ses membres, de telle sorte que le plan dépassera largement le G20 pour s'étendre au reste du monde."
M. Martin a estimé hier que ce plan d'action allait beaucoup plus loin que la simple ratification des résolutions déjà adoptées par l'ONU pour lutter contre le terrorisme. "Chaque pays, a-t-il expliqué, va mettre sur pied une organisation dont le seul but sera de traquer les financements du terrorisme et le blanchiment d'argent." Le président du G20 a reconnu cependant que certains pays pauvres auront besoin d'argent et d'une assistance technique de la part des membres riches du groupe afin de mettre ce plan à exécution. "Nous les aiderons!" a lancé le ministre.
Par ailleurs, la rencontre d'hier, selon M. Martin, a pleinement atteint les objectifs que s'étaient fixés les 19 pays membres du groupe ainsi que l'Union européenne. Outre celui de la lutte au financement du terrorisme, l'importante question de la pauvreté dans le monde a notamment donné lieu à la détermination du groupe de mettre en place "le plus vite possible" un mécanisme international qui permettra aux pays étouffés par le remboursement de leur dette de suspendre temporairement ses paiements, le temps de reconstruire leur économie.
Cette idée de moratoire sur la dette, a insisté Paul Martin, n'est plus à l'étape de la conceptualisation. "Je peux vous dire, a-t-il affirmé, que pour la première fois nos sous-ministres travaillent non pas sur le concept mais sur les mécanismes pour mettre cela en oeuvre. Cela, c'est très important." Les sous-ministres des Finances des pays du G20 devront en effet rendre compte de leurs travaux sur cette question lors de la prochaine rencontre du groupe à New Delhi l'année prochaine.
M. Martin a de plus réitéré que "les problèmes auxquels font face les marchés émergents doivent être la grande priorité de la communauté internationale" et qu'il fallait de toute urgence trouver de meilleures façons de réduire les coûts sociaux des crises financières et économiques.
Cette préoccupation sociale au sein des discussions du G20, un groupe créé principalement pour trouver des solutions à des problèmes économiques, est relativement récente puisqu'elle a pris naissance lors de la rencontre de Montréal l'année dernière. C'est ce que le G20 appelle le consensus de Montréal. "Il faut s'assurer, a précisé Paul Martin, que les bénéfices de la mondialisation soient largement partagés. La réduction de la pauvreté est notre priorité. Cela est au coeur du consensus auquel nous en sommes venus à Montréal l'an dernier. Nous sommes heureux de constater que le consensus de Montréal s'affermit. Non seulement il faut suspendre les paiements de la dette pour les pays émergents qui ont des difficultés mais aussi pour les pays les plus pauvres."
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PUBLICATION: Le Droit
DATE: 2001.11.15
SECTION: En manchette
PAGE: 2
BYLINE: Larocque, Sylvain
PHOTO: Morin, Étienne
ILLUSTRATION:
Christine Shaikin, propriétaire de la boutique Justine's,sur Sussex, s'attend à perdre de 7000 à 10 000 $, ce week-end, en raison du Sommet du G20.; La militante américaine Miriam Simos, alias "Starhawk", a été arrêtée à Seattle en 1999. Elle ne comprend pas pourquoi les agents d'immigration ont été si suspicieux envers elle.

Les commerçants mécontents

Les commerçants qui tiennent boutique près du Centre de conférences du gouvernement, où se déroulera le Sommet des pays du G20, ce week-end, craignent de perdre des ventes et d'être affectés par les manifestations.
"J'ai dit à mes employés de ne pas rentrer", lance Christine Shaikin, propriétaire de la boutique Justine's, située sur la promenade Sussex, à mi-chemin entre le Centre de conférences et l'ambassade américaine. "Je ne veux pas prendre le risque qu'il leur arrive quelque chose; je tiendrai le fort toute seule, ajoute-t-elle. Si ça va mal, je m'en irai moi aussi."
Au moment où Le Droit lui rendait visite, hier après-midi, Mme Shaikin était en train de relire sa police d'assurances pour être bien sûre qu'elle était protégée dans le cas où des manifestants briseraient ses vitrines, comme c'est arrivé à Québec, en avril, lors du Sommet des Amériques.
"Mais je n'ai pas le sentiment que ça va dégénérer, dit-elle. Il y aura bien quelques manifestations, mais rien de spectaculaire."
Christine Shaikin est toutefois sûre d'une chose: les revenus de son commerce pâtiront de la présence du G20. "Je m'attends à perdre de 7000 à 10 000 $ de ventes, déplore-t-elle. Les petits commerces devraient se regrouper et demander au gouvernement qu'il nous indemnise pour ces inconvénients. On fait semblant de nous consulter pour les mesures de sécurité, mais, au fond, on ne peut pas dire grand chose."
Derek Benitz, gérant du commerce voisin, le resto-bar Social, s'attend également à subir des pertes en raison des événements du week-end. "C'est sûr que ça va nous affecter; on est dans la zone chaude, souligne-t-il. Et, en plus, ça se déroule vendredi, samedi et dimanche - nos meilleures journées. On perdra quelques milliers de dollars."
Selon certains experts, les rencontres du week-end pourraient faire perdre jusqu'à 10 millions $ aux détaillants d'Ottawa.
 
 

Pas de barricades
A l'instar des autres commerçants interrogés, M. Benitz estime que la forte présence policière permettra de contenir tout débordement. A preuve, aucun des marchands que Le Droit a rencontrés ne prévoit barricader les vitrines de son établissement.
"J'ai l'impression que ce sont surtout les médias, en parlant des manifestants de façon quotidienne, qui nous font du tort", croit Yvan Filion, directeur de la galerie Art Mode, également située sur la promenade Sussex.
"J'ai déjà des clients qui ont annulé leur rendez-vous pour ce week-end", confie néanmoins la propriétaire de la Sussex Rug Gallery, Sara Mirzakhani. "Ils ont peur de ne pas trouver de place pour stationner, ils ne connaissent pas les détours, ils ont peur des manifestations", explique-t-elle.
Même s'il se dit "en colère" que le gouvernement n'ait pas organisé le Sommet du G20 à l'extérieur de la ville, le gérant de la boutique Striking, Grant Berry, se fait philosophe. "Je vais faire augmenter mes ventes en annonçant 20 % de rabais à tous les manifestants!" s'exclame-t-il en riant.
DOUANIERS ET AGENTS D'IMMIGRATION SONT "EXTRA-VIGILANTS"
A moins de deux jours des rencontres du G20, de la Banque mondiale et du Fonds monétaire international, qui débutent demain, à Ottawa, les douaniers et les agents d'immigration se font encore plus suspicieux afin d'empêcher des manifestants violents d'entrer au pays.
"Pour tout événement d'envergure comme le G20, les agents sont extra-vigilants", souligne une porte-parole de Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada, Giovanna Gatti. Depuis les attentats terroristes du 11 septembre aux États-Unis, les douanes et les services d'immigration canadiens sont déjà en état d'alerte "maximale", mais il est encore possible d'être plus attentif, explique la porte-parole.
Même son de cloche à l'Agence canadienne des Douanes et du Revenu. "Aussitôt qu'un douanier a des doutes sur quelqu'un, il le réfère à un agent d'immigration, qui doit déterminer son admissibilité à entrer au Canada", affirme un porte-parole, Pierre Marquis. "S'il y a un dossier criminel, c'est sûr que ça va être pris en considération. Mais ce n'est pas notre but d'empêcher des manifestants pacifiques de venir ici."
Militantes détenues
Lundi soir, à l'aéroport d'Ottawa, deux militantes américaines, Lisa Suzanne Fithian et Miriam Simos, ont été interrogées par les agents d'immigration et détenues pendant cinq heures.
"Ils nous soupçonnaient d'avoir été reconnues coupables de quelque chose aux États-Unis", a déclaré au Droit Mme Simos, mieux connue sous le nom de "Starhawk". Elle a été relâchée tard lundi soir, mais son amie est toujours gardée au Centre de détention régional d'Ottawa-Carleton.
On a donné à Mme Fithian le choix de quitter volontairement le Canada ou d'être arrêtée. Elle a choisi la seconde option et doit subir un "examen de motifs de garde" cet après-midi. Le ministère de l'Immigration devra alors faire la preuve qu'il est justifié de garder Mme Fithian. S'il en est incapable, elle devrait être libérée et admise au pays.
"Le Canada devrait être ravi de la recevoir", lance Miriam Simos, un sourire en coin.
Immigration Canada peut garder en détention un étranger dans le cas où il y a des motifs de croire qu'il ne se présentera pas à des procédures d'immigration futures, s'il représente un danger pour le public ou si son identité n'est pas établie, précise Dominique Forget, porte-parole de la Commission de l'immigration et du statut de réfugié.
Désobéissance civile
Mme Simos trouve déplorable qu'un étranger doive faire la preuve qu'il n'a pas été reconnu coupable d'actes criminels pour entrer au Canada. Elle n'en veut toutefois pas aux autorités outre mesure. "Les agents nous ont traitées avec professionnalisme et courtoisie, dit-elle. Ce qui nous est arrivé n'est pas très grave en comparaison avec ce que doivent vivre certains immigrants."
Mme Simos est à Ottawa pour donner des séances de formation sur la désobéissance civile, en vue de la grande manifestation de samedi. La militante prône l'"action directe", qui peut inclure des gestes violents. "L'un des buts des manifestants sera de perturber le Sommet", reconnaît-elle.
Miriam Simos ne croit pas au bien-fondé du G20, qui regroupe les pays développés et ceux dont l'économie est "émergente", comme l'Inde, la Turquie et l'Argentine. "Ce sont encore les pays riches qui mènent la barque", déplore-t-elle.
"Ce que nous voulons, c'est un G20 ouvert, transparent et imputable."
PAS DE MENACE TERRORISTE A OTTAWA
Les policiers ont indiqué, hier, qu'il n'existait aucune menace de terrorisme à Ottawa, à la veille des rencontres des ministres des Finances des pays du G20, de la Banque mondiale et du FMI, qui ont lieu dans la capitale ce week-end.
Le sergent Marc Richer, de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada, a d'abord dit, en conférence de presse, hier, que la menace terroriste était "très faible", avant de préciser, en français, qu'"il n'y en a pas".
Les policiers ont néanmoins répété qu'ils se préparaient à faire face à toute éventualité, même à celle d'attaques "biologiques ou chimiques".
M. Richer a précisé que les dispositions du projet de loi C-36, qui donnera des munitions supplémentaires aux policiers, aux douaniers et aux agents d'immigration, entre autres, ne pourront pas s'appliquer durant le Sommet.
"La loi n'a pas encore été promulguée par le parlement", a-t-il rappelé.
slarocque@ledroit.com
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.10
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: C1 / Front
BYLINE: Vito Pilieci and Judy Trinh
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Rod MacIvor, The Ottawa Citizen / Pavla Novotna, seennear concrete barriers put up on Clarence Street in preparation for the G20 meetings, is worried protesters will damage her shop, Venus Treasures of Europe, which sells glass and crystalware.

Merchants fear worst from G20: Police to secure downtown as flood of protesters expected

In preparation for next week's G20 meeting, police are pulling up parking meters, hauling away benches and welding shut downtown manholes -- anything that could become a projectile.
Police have even visited some stores in the Byward Market and asked merchants to report anybody buying items that could be used as weapons.
"The RCMP came in and told us to report anybody who is looking for things like gas masks," said Dan Ferran, manager of Irving Rivers work clothing shop. "They said to keep an eye out ... because you never know, if those protesters get armed, you don't want to see that."
Mr. Ferran said he would comply with the RCMP, but wondered why no one had alerted him about this conference sooner.
"We just found out about this two days ago when the RCMP came in here," he said. "I don't like it."
Many merchants in the Byward Market said they have been blindsided by a potentially disastrous business weekend.
Pavla Novotna, manager of Venus Treasures of Europe, said she became aware of how the meetings would affect her business only after speaking with police officers who were setting up concrete barriers in front of her store on Clarence Street.
"Is the security going to be on a high enough level for me to be OK with my glass windows and glass merchandise?" she said.
Police are assuring area businesses they will be safe. They have announced a number of street closures including Rideau Street, closed from Nicholas Street to Colonel By Drive; Elgin Street, northbound from Queen; and Daly Street under the Congress Centre.
Ottawa Police Staff Sgt. Leo Janveau said people wishing to access the Rideau Centre or the Congress Centre can do so through the parking garage on Nicholas Street, but parking garages on Daly Avenue and Colonel By Drive will have restricted access. Some streets, including Colonel By Drive, will be completely closed, even to pedestrians.
Ms. Novotna said her customers have become nervous about the possibility of violence next weekend. She says she doesn't blame them.
"If I didn't have to work on the weekend, I wouldn't come down here at all," she said.
Sarah Parmenter, owner and manager of candle store Wix said being in the Rideau Centre should give her store an advantage over those located in the Market because it is indoors and easier to police.
For other shops that stay busy all year long, shutting down because of the G20 meetings is not an option.
"We have brides coming from all over, travelling into Ottawa," said Erin Giakoumelos, manager of the Justina McCaffery Haute Couture bridal boutique on Sussex Drive.
Many of her customers schedule their appointments weeks and months in advance, some coming from as far as Vancouver. It takes between six and seven months to take delivery on a dress.
All of the people who have appointments next weekend have been notified of the G20 meetings. So far, no one has backed out. "It's not affecting our appointments or business at all," she said.
Meanwhile, the City of Ottawa risks blowing its $135-million police services budget this year because of the increased security demands.
Quarterly reports show the department has not yet overstepped its budget, but that it "is facing terrific pressures" said Councillor Herb Kreling, who heads the Police Services Board.
"This year is exceedingly difficult for us post-Sept. 11, as it is with any police force in Canada, but we also have to deal with the additional costs of the G20."
Security planning for such international meetings usually takes more than a year, but this time it's being done in four weeks.
Mr. Kreling said 150-200 OPP officers will be on hand to help out. Ottawa police have cancelled days off for that weekend and all 1,050 officers are expected to report for work. The RCMP is not disclosing its numbers, but said no fence will be erected to keep out protesters.
Overtime pay is the area that's most likely to exceed budget guidelines, agreed Geoff Broadfoot, president of the Ottawa Police Association. Last year, $2.11 million was paid in overtime, exceeding the budgeted amount of $1.56 million by 35 per cent, he said.
This year, the force has had to contend with both terrorism and the G20 meeting, but the overtime budget is lower, at $1.54 million.
Ottawa police Chief Vince Bevan acknowledges that contending with G20 protesters and terrorism fears will result in "heavier" overtime costs, but stresses that the department will try to remain within the guidelines. He is also confident that other levels of government will help.
"I'm looking to claim money for federal accounts."
Last April's Summit of the Americas in Quebec City was plagued by violence. Municipal, federal and provincial paid an estimated $100 million for a security effort that involved 8,200 police and military personnel.
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PUBLICATION
GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: WED NOV.14,2001
PAGE: A20 (ILLUS)
BYLINE: HEATHER SCOFFIELD
CLASS: National News
EDITION: Metro DATELINE: Ottawa ON

Canada campaigns against terror funds
Getting whole Group of 20 to sign on
by Sunday a daunting task, officials agree
HEATHER SCOFFIELD
OTTAWA Canadian officials are pushing hard to have the world's 20 largest economies sign on, by Sunday, to a meaningful plan to block financing for terrorists -- even though they recognize that many of the countries can't afford antiterrorist measures. Finance Minister Paul Martin hopes to make the plan a centrepiece of his meetings this weekend with the Group of 20 countries, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, his officials said yesterday.
But already there are signs the international finance agenda may be eclipsed by protesters, who have become regulars at such meetings.
Yesterday, prominent U.S. activist Lisa Fithian was detained in Ottawa after she refused to leave the country voluntarily, as requested by immigration officials.
"She chose not to leave because that was the only way she had any rights to an attorney" to help her fight to remain in the country during the G20 meeting, said Miriam Simos, a writer and activist known commonly as Starhawk. "I know Lisa feels this is becoming more and more of an issue."
Protest organizers say they expect about 5,000 people to demonstrate in downtown Ottawa on Saturday. They're asking participants to be non-violent but some anarchists are also expected to show up.
Security officials are tightlipped about their arrangements but say they have contingency plans for every scenario. They are blocking off many downtown streets to vehicles but keeping most of them open to pedestrians. The Santa Claus parade, however, was postponed for a week.
So far, police have said they see no need to erect a large fence around the meetings to keep protesters out, but add that they're keeping their options open.
Before protesters take to the streets and finance ministers and central bankers from around the world descend on Ottawa, Canadian government officials will be working the phones and e-mail to persuade countries of the G20 to do something substantial to block terrorist financing.
The best-case scenario would have all the G20 nations agree to abide by the United Nations' antiterrorism resolution, which calls on all countries to freeze any assets associated with Osama bin Laden. The G20 would also agree to fulfill broader antiterrorism measures set out by a task force on money-laundering, a body controlled mainly by the Group of Seven richest countries. And the G20 would agree to do all of this by the end of the year.
But Canadian officials say it would not be realistic to expect all countries to be able to agree to this scenario, since many members of the G20 are already struggling just to regulate their banking sectors and make financial transactions transparent. And some G20 members, such as Argentina, are dealing with major economic upheavals unrelated to terrorism.
Mr. Martin also hopes to use the high-profile meetings to get a better grip on how weak the world economy is.
Mr. Martin is scheduled to hold key bilateral meetings with U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill about border issues and about the direction of the economy.

Argentina's financial crisis is also expected to receive a lot of attention at the meetings, as is the trouble developing countries are experiencing in dealing with the global slowdown.

PUBLICATION: Le Soleil
DATE: 2001.11.14
SECTION: Actualités
PAGE: A3
SOURCE: PC
DATELINE: Ottawa

Sommet du G20; 5000 manifestants attendus à Ottawa

Les groupes antimondialisation attendent environ 5000 manifestants cette fin de semaine à Ottawa, où les pays du G20 se réunissent pour tenter de s'entendre sur un plan d'action pour combattre le financement du terrorisme.
Une grande marche pacifique, regroupant une soixantaine d'organisations, est prévue pour samedi dans les rues de la capitale fédérale.
Les manifestants demandent une meilleure répartition de la richesse avec les pays pauvres et veulent faire entendre leur message aux ministres des Finances du G20, mais également à la Banque mondiale (BM) et au Fonds monétaire international (FMI). Ceux-ci se réuniront également à Ottawa au cours du week-end.
" Nous nous sommes tous entendus pour une marche pacifique, non violente, sans gestes de désobéissance civile ", explique Pamela Foster, membre de l'Initiative d'Halifax, l'un des groupes qui coordonnent l'événement. Mme Foster estime à environ 5000 le nombre de personnes qui participeront à la marche.
Mais d'autres manifestants planifient des activités moins paisibles, notamment vendredi, et font circuler des messages qui rappellent les événements du Sommet de Québec, le printemps dernier. " Nous proposons d'essayer de fermer la réunion du FMI-BM-G20 du mieux que nous le pourrons, en tenant des marches militantes qui serpenteront à travers le centre-ville d'Ottawa ", souligne dans un manifeste sur Internet le groupe torontois The Black Touta. Un autre groupe, Raise the fist (Lève le poing), signale, toujours sur Internet, que les barrières utilisées par les policiers pour contrôler les foules peuvent servir à perturber la circulation et que les voitures sont faciles à incendier.
Arrestations préventives
Déjà, une militante américaine contre la mondialisation qui devait donner une formation sur les méthodes de manifestation non violente en prévision du forum du G-20, cette fin de semaine, était retenue par des agents de l'Immigration, ont fait savoir ses amis, hier.
Lisa Fithian a été arrêtée après avoir refusé de rentrer volontairement aux États-Unis, a dit une autre militante qui voyageait avec elle, Miriam Simos. Elle-même et Mme Fithian avaient été détenues à l'aéroport d'Ottawa pendant quatre heures et demie, lundi soir, ajoutant qu'on les avait fouillées, photographiées et qu'on avait pris leurs empreintes digitales. Mme Simos a ensuite été autorisée à entrer au pays, et sa compagne libérée pour la nuit, pour qu'elle puisse se reposer.
Quand Mme Fithian a été rappelée pour un autre interrogatoire, hier, on lui a donné le choix entre quitter volontairement le Canada ou être arrêtée. Elle a choisi la seconde option. Mmes Fithian et Simos sont affiliées à un collectif californien qui a été impliqué dans les manifestations à Seattle, Québec et Gênes, en Italie.
Financement du terrorisme
Pendant que les militants tenteront de se faire entendre, les ministres des Finances du G-20 discuteront des moyens à prendre pour faire échec au financement du terrorisme.
Le ministre canadien des Finances, Paul Martin, qui préside le forum du G20, espère obtenir un accord entre les pays membres sur un plan d'action " concret et significatif " pour empêcher les groupes terroristes de recueillir des fonds pour leurs activités, ont indiqué hier des hauts fonctionnaires du gouvernement lors d'une séance d'information.
M. Martin veut que le G20 - 19 pays plus l'Union européenne - pose des actions, plutôt que de se contenter d'énoncer des principes généraux, ont souligné ses porte-parole.
La rencontre du G20 se tient samedi avant-midi. Par la suite, d'importants comités du FMI et de la BM se rencontreront.
Ces deux organismes auront également un rôle à jouer dans la lutte au financement du terrorisme, par exemple en offrant de la formation aux pays dont le système bancaire permet difficilement de traquer l'argent du terrorisme. Ils se préoccuperont également de l'impact des événements du 11 septembre sur les pays pauvres.
Malgré les appels des militants antimondialisation, la rencontre d'Ottawa devrait attirer moins de manifestants que le Sommet des Amériques, à Québec, où leur nombre avait été évalué à environ 50 000. Ottawa n'a d'ailleurs pas dressé de clôture ancrée dans le béton, comme Québec, mais utilisera des barrières métalliques de contrôle des foules.
La police d'Ottawa et la GRC n'ont pas donné de détails sur leurs préparatifs en vue de cet événement, soulignant simplement que les mesures de sécurité appropriées ont été prises.
Mais les groupes militants ne prennent pas de chance: leurs sites Web offrent de l'information sur la possible utilisation par la police de gaz lacrymogènes pour les disperser. Cette semaine, des ateliers de formation sur la désobéissance civile sont organisés. Jaggi Singh, leader antimondialisation dont l'arrestation à Québec avait fait couler beaucoup d'encre, est l'un des conférenciers invités.
Avec tout ce branle-bas, la traditionnelle parade du Père Noël au centre-ville d'Ottawa a été reportée au samedi suivant.
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PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2001.11.16
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A9
BYLINE: PHILIP AUTHIER
SOURCE: The Gazette
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: CP / Paul Martin: We won't be silenced.

Summit sends message: Martin: G20 meeting deals with economy, but also stands up to terrorists: finance leader

It's important for global financial leaders to meet this weekend in Ottawa to prove the world will not be intimidated by terrorism, federal Finance Minister Paul Martin said yesterday.
If nobody stands up to the terrorists, they will think they have won, Martin said on the eve of meetings of the G20 economic leaders.
Going one step farther, Martin said he hopes leaders agree to the new action plan he is proposing that would freeze the flow of terrorist funds.
"The lesson of Sept. 11 is how small the world is and vulnerable we are," Martin said in an interview. "The most important reason for having the meetings are the substantive discussions we are going to have on the economy.
"But there is no doubt a secondary reason is to demonstrate to the terrorists and anyone who would support the terrorists that they are not going to silence us, that they are not just going to shove us to the side. If somebody does not stand up to them, they basically will think they won."
Martin made the comments as the world's top finance ministers and heads of the central banks gather for a meeting of the economic club Martin heads that is known as the G20. A mixed bag of big and small countries, membership includes Canada, the U.S., Brazil and the European Union. It is an informal extension of the G7 group of industrial countries that was set up to allow wider discussion of economic affairs and avert periods of destabilization.
Close to 1,500 people are expected to attend, including 700 reporters and media representatives. It is one of the first meetings of international economic leaders since the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. and comes as the world continues to slip into an economic slowdown.
Martin offered to hold the meetings after the original host, India, backed out for security reasons. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are meeting the same weekend.
As was the case at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, when economic leaders meet to discuss the economy and globalization, those opposed to their plans can't be far behind.
This meeting is in fact seen as a test of the resolve, certainly the mood, of opponents in the post-Sept. 11 period. Although there has been speculation between 5,000 and 20,000 people will protest against the talks, forcing Ottawa police to seal off parts of the downtown - even the annual Santa Claus parade was postponed - it remains unclear how many will actually show up.
Peaceful protesters are expected to dominate the scene, but there have been reports anarchists will try and shut down the talks. Ottawa police said they are ready to use tear gas, pepper spray or force to deal with any demonstrators who turn violent.
One of the largest protest groups, the 100,000-member Council of Canadians, is urging protesters to refrain from violent actions.
"I don't think people should expect the kind of Quebec City response," council issues campaign co-ordinator Steven Staples said yesterday. "The economy is going into the dumpster. There's a war on. People are feeling vulnerable. But it does not change their feelings about these institutions."
Martin said the meeting will stick to its agenda, noting the advantage of the G20 is that it is flexible enough to respond to the changing world mood. He believes those opposed to the work of agencies like the International Monetary Fund - which opponents blame for sparking a decline in social standards as countries struggle to manage their national debts - will see, in fact, that the IMF contributes to stability in troubled times.
"We are dependent really on stability in the world and when there's instability Canada feels it more than most," he said. "The only way you are going to have stability is if you put in place the structures that are going to give it to you and you have to meet across the table to build those structures."
Besides discussion on the need to stabilize economies and make sure more people benefit from globalization, a process started at the last G20 meeting in Montreal, Martin will propose his counterparts endorse a "draft action plan," to quash the financial networks of terrorists. The plan could include financial assistance to countries so they can keep track of and freeze money from flowing to terrorists.
"What we have got to do is make sure there is no place for them (terrorists) to go. It does not make sense to shut them down in country A and they just go to country B."
There is skepticism. McGill University economist Chris Ragan argues t many of the ideas the G20 tries to apply are in fact domestic issues that it has no jurisdiction over. The rule applies to social issues, it applies to anti-terrorism efforts, too. "If the G20 is about making a kinder, gentler globalization then it's not clear they can do it," Ragan said. "I don't want to suggest it's a waste of time but don't expect the meetings to come out with something you can hang your hat on."
Toronto Dominion Bank economist Don Drummond, an ex-associate deputy minister to Martin, said there are positives. "Any time you can work at smoothing out world economic cycles, all Canadians benefit."
- Philip Authier's E-mail address is pauthier@thegazette.southam.ca .
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PUBLICATION: Le Droit
DATE: 2001.11.16
SECTION: Actualités
PAGE: 2
BYLINE: Bertrand, Jean-François; Barrière, Caroline
PHOTO: Morin, Étienne
ILLUSTRATION:
Empilées devant le centre de conférence où se réunit le G20ce week-end, ces barricades serviront à boucler le secteur.

Des commerçants inquiets rencontrent les autorités

La conseillère Madeleine Meilleur et des représentants des forces policières ont rassuré les commerçants du marché By quant aux manifestations du G20.
Le mot d'ordre semble être "restez calmes et magasinez", tandis que le slogan pourrait être "nous n'avons pas besoin de nous sentir pris en otage."
Le quart des membres de la Zone d'amélioration commerciale du marché By, soit une centaine de gens d'affaires, se sont présentés à la rencontre hier après-midi, avec des questions bien précises en tête: Quelles rues seront fermées? Y aura-t-il des acheteurs au marché? Les manifestants seront-ils pacifiques? Attendez-vous des groupes de radicaux? Qui avertir si nos vitres sont fracassées?
Comme le souligne Mme Meilleur, "avant (la réunion) ils étaient inquiets. Ils ont été rassurés."
Le propriétaire du Clair de Lune, Afel Ayad, a déclaré que la réunion avait "calmé un peu les esprits. Mais on est toujours un peu inquiets".
M. Ayad ajoute qu'aucun commerçant du marché By n'a l'intention de fermer ses portes cette fin de semaine.
C'est ce qui explique l'optimisme de la conseillère. "Le marché est ouvert, les marchands vont être ouverts aussi. Venez les encourager, venez sur le marché, ça va être agréable."
Les commerçants ont appris qu'ils ne devaient pas comparer le sommet du G20 à celui des Amériques, à Québec, en avril. On attend beaucoup moins de manifestants et les participants ne sont pas des chefs d'État.
"Oui, il y a des gens qui protesteront, mais la majorité est vraiment modérée", a dit Mme Meilleur.
Il y aura, toutefois, une très forte présence policière, ce qui soulage les marchands.
Plus de 1000 policiers d'Ottawa, aidés de la GRC et de la police provinciale seront disponibles.
"Pour prévenir, pas pour effrayer les gens. Les forces policières seront là pour réagir s'il arrivait quelque chose", a ajouté la conseillère.
Le sergent d'état major Bob Ralph, de la police d'Ottawa, a souligné que les manifestations pourraient débuter dans trois zones, soit les plaines LeBreton, Hull, à la hauteur du pont des Chaudières et à partir de l'Université d'Ottawa.
La GRC, quant à elle, affectera une trentaine de policiers à la surveillance des alentours de l'ambassade des États-Unis.
Les commerçants ont appris que les murets de béton installés sur la rue Clarence et qui font une chicane disparaîtront après le G20.
"S'ils ne les enlèvent pas, je les enlèverai moi-même", a déclaré un officier de la GRC.
Par contre, la rue Clarence demeurera à sens unique, entre Sussex et Parent. Les murets qui occupent une voie sur Sussex et MacKenzie, le long de l'ambassade américaine, resteront en place jusqu'à nouvel ordre.
Droit de parole
Par ailleurs, le conseiller de la ville d'Ottawa, Clive Doucet, rencontrera demain les citoyens qui veulent se faire entendre pendant les discussions du G20. Des tables seront installées à la place des festivals, aux abords de l'hôtel de ville, pour recevoir des pétitions et commentaires écrits des manifestants. Les personnes qui se présenteront devront tout de même s'identifier afin d'assumer les propos qu'ils soutiennent.
Les documents reçus seront affichés sur le site Internet du conseiller et remis ensuite au ministre des Finances, Paul Martin, qui représente le Canada au G20.
jbertrand@ledroit.com
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PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A8
BYLINE: ELIZABETH THOMPSON
SOURCE: The Gazette
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Finance Minister Paul Martin (left) and his U.S.counterpart, Paul O'Neill, say technology will help cross-border trade continue.

Wage war on terror money: Martin: Common front is needed to choke off flow of cash, he says as G20 meets in Ottawa

Countries around the world must form a common front against terrorist financing and adopt a concrete action plan to choke off the flow of money to terror groups, Finance Minister Paul Martin said yesterday.
In a pre-emptive strike that appeared to be designed to press other members of the G20 into signing on to an action plan by the time they leave Ottawa, Martin said a co-ordinated war on terrorism must include a comprehensive assault on its finances.
"Governments must act on a national level, as Canada has with the introduction of its comprehensive anti-terrorism legislation," Martin said in a luncheon speech.
"But so, too, governments must tailor their measures to international practices. Otherwise, blood money will simply shop jurisdictions until it finds an accommodating home."
First, member countries should implement all relevant United Nations resolutions, allowing them to freeze terrorist assets quickly and track their movement. Second, G20 nations have to rapidly comply with international standards to combat terrorist financing and improve information sharing.
All G20 members should reach out to other countries in their regions to widen the fight against terrorist financing. Those with the means to do so should provide financial assistance and training to help poorer countries implement effective measures.
But while Martin said there is an "overwhelming consensus" on the need to cut off terrorist funding, high-level Canadian officials, who spoke on condition their names not be published, admit the action plan being proposed is far from a done deal.
While they refused to detail the stumbling points, they said they hope at least to get an agreement on an international standard to fight terrorist funding.
The proposed action plan was one of Martin's key objectives yesterday as some of the world's most powerful financial mandarins descended on Ottawa for this weekend's meetings of G20 countries, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The meeting marks one of the few times the world's top financial decision-makers will be at the same table since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The G20 meeting was originally planned for India while the IMF and the World Bank were to meet in Washington. However, security concerns after the attacks in New York and Washington resulted in the meetings being moved to Ottawa.
Yesterday, security was exceptionally tight as downtown Ottawa was turned into an armed camp.
Simple waist-high metal barriers replaced the controversial concrete and wire-fence barricades used by authorities during the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in April. Within the security perimeter, however, lurked a virtual army of police officers, including members of the Toronto police force.
In addition, there were more than 150 officers in full riot gear and gas masks who moved into place yesterday at the first sign of a disturbance.
television monitors
Behind closed doors at the security command centre, officials viewed a row of television monitors, broadcasting live images of several areas around the perimeter.
Within the perimeter, officials and journalists often had to show identification just to cross the deserted streets.
In his speech and throughout the day, security was also on Martin's mind, as he urged repeatedly that security not get in the way of trade - particularly trade between the U.S. and Canada.
"While security of people must be our priority, we must not allow security of borders to become the new non-tariff barrier."
During a meeting yesterday morning with U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, the two men agreed to work together to use technology and innovation to ensure trade across the border is not disrupted.
Later, in his speech, Martin said the economic leaders will also be discussing the economic impact of the Sept. 11 attacks and how to make globalization work for everyone, including poorer countries.
Martin said the economic slowdown has made it all the more necessary to develop a better global economic framework, like a system to allow countries in dire need to suspend their debt payments.
"For the major industrial nations, the slowdown we are experiencing is a matter of real concern. For developing and emerging economies, however, the consequences could well be devastating."
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PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: The Review
PAGE: B1 / BREAK
BYLINE: HUBERT BAUCH
SOURCE: The Gazette
DATELINE: OTTAWA

Canada: where the world comes to a meeting

Canada stands out in today's stormy world as a safe harbour for high-level international conferences.
This weekend's meetings of the G20 group of industrial and developing countries, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were moved to Ottawa in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the U.S. and the outbreak of war in Afghanistan.
The G20 conference was originally scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India, and the World Bank and IMF meetings were to be in Washington, D.C.
The Washington meetings were canceled when the U.S. capital was sent reeling by the successive traumas of the attack on the Pentagon and the anthrax scare.
Too Handy a Target
India bailed out of holding the G20 meeting because of fears its proximity to the hostilities in Afghanistan would make it too handy a target for terrorists.
In both cases, the Canadian offer to substitute as host for the meetings was readily accepted by the participating countries.
"It's one place they all agreed to meet," said a Canadian official with the conference organization.
"I wouldn't want to read too much into it, but under the circumstances it's understandable that people would feel safer and more comfortable here than in some other places in the world today."
But the relative safety of Canada and its international reputation as a peaceable kingdom were not the only reasons Canada was judged the best alternative site for the meetings, officials say.
Canada played a leading role in the formation of the G-20 in 1999 as a forum for discussion among major economic powers and nations with what are called "emerging" economies, such as Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey.
In a Pinch
The organization's chairman since its inception has been Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin, who took the initiative in proposing the relocation of the talks to Ottawa.
Officials also say that Canada was the best equipped of the G20 participants to host the meeting in a pinch.
The group has no permanent secretariat and organization for its annual meetings is the responsibility of the host country.
Since Canada was the last country to host a G20 meeting - held in Montreal last fall - it was best equipped to stage this year's conference on just over a month's notice as opposed to the year-long preparation the exercise normally entails.
"Fortunately, we had the infrastructure in place to deal with this type of meeting," said a conference organizer.
Martin and other officials said it was judged vital that the conferences take place, not only because of the importance of the subjects on the agenda, including a draft action plan to curb terrorist financing, but also to stand tall in the face of the terrorist threat, never mind the mobs of anti-globalization protestors who have seized on such meetings as incitations to street rioting.
"Mr. Martin felt it was really important symbolically that these meetings go ahead to show the terrorists that we won't be intimidated," said a finance department official.
Many Ottawa residents, however, wonder whether the disruption and costs entailed by the conference are worth the often vaguely worded resolutions that they produce.
Vital streets in midtown Ottawa have been closed to traffic for the weekend and merchants in the vicinity of the Government Conference Centre where the talks will be held are worried about losing business on what is generally the first major shopping weekend of the Christmas season and of having their stores vandalized by rampaging anarchists, as happened this year at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. Security officials say they expect between 2,000 and 5,000 demonstrators to lay siege to the meeting.
"I think the loss of business is going to be significant," said marketing analyst Barry Nabatian. He estimated that lost retail sales could run as high as $10 million if shoppers avoid the downtown core en masse.
Merchants say they have been assured by police that they have the capability to keep things under control, but many will be boarding up their windows just in case.
"It's the fear of the unknown," said the nervous owner of a store specializing in delicate glassware. "If I see somebody running around in a ski mask, I don't think I'm going to feel very secure."
Nevertheless, Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli strongly supports the government's decision to offer Ottawa as the host city for the conference.
"We can't give in to terrorism," he said this week.
"We have a democratically elected government that wants to meet with other governments in the free world, and if they are intimidated out of holding a meeting in any of the capital cities of those countries, it will be very sad for democracy."
He said Ottawa benefits greatly from being the national capital, and therefore shouldn't shirk the responsibilities that come with it. "You can't take all the good and not the responsibility."
Conference officials also say that even with today's advanced communications technology, there is no substitute for face-to-face discussions.
"The great advantage of these meetings like the G20 is that you have interaction," said Martin in an interview this week. "Nobody reads a set speech. You usually argue back and forth across the table, and you can't do that very well through video-conferencing."
It might be a lot simpler and less expensive, but not nearly as effective, said the finance minister.
"I'd love to have video-conferencing. It would certainly cut down on the amount of time I've got to be sitting on a plane. Video-conferencing is a useful tool, but I think that ultimately you have to have face-to-face meetings as well."
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PUBLICATION: The Edmonton Sun
DATE: 2001.11.11
SECTION: News
PAGE: 22
SOURCE: Sun Ottawa Bureau
BYLINE: David Gamble
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION: 1. photo from Sun files Starhawk, a pagan witch from San Francisco, plans to bring her peaceful protest form of magic north to Ottawa for the G20 this week. 2. photo by CP A lone protester holds his ground showing the peace sign against riot police during protests at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City earlier this year.

CASTING A SPELL ON THE G20; SAN FRANCISCO WITCH FLIES NORTH TO DEMONSTRATE AT MEETING OF WORLD FINANCE LEADERS

She's a witch and she wants to cast a spell of peace on Ottawa for next weekend's G20 finance ministers' meeting.
Starhawk, San Francisco's best-known witch and "progressive" activist, is coming to Canada to protest globalization, even if she's not getting good vibes.
She senses police will be gunning for a fight with thousands of protesters descending on Ottawa as Finance Minister Paul Martin hosts U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and other luminaries of the financial world.
"There will quite a heavy police presence and it's not exactly going to be a safe, happy and peaceful day in the park," says Starhawk, an author and priestess of the pagan religion.
Already anarchists, those black-masked militants, have pledged to shut down the meeting by "snake marching" through the streets.
It will be the largest international meeting on North American soil since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States and a test-run for next summer's G8 Summit in Kananaskis.
But Starhawk says she's doing her best to promote peace. She will run a local workshop on peaceful protest on Wednesday once she gets to Ottawa.
PROTESTING IN A PEACEFUL WAY
"It's about how to de-escalate violence and learn how to react in a peaceful way," says the veteran protester who was first arrested in the mid-'60s protesting the Vietnam War.
Since that day in December 1966, the San Francisco witch says she's been arrested at least 20 times, but she's always stuck with "peaceful, principled political action."
Her main interest will be meetings of committees of the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the agents of global control by the multinationals.
"The gap between rich and poor continues to grow," she says, adding resistance to "the culture of the shopping mall and McDonald's" has not abated since Sept. 11.
But the veteran of recent protests in Genoa and Seattle doesn't predict numbers like the 50,000 she saw march at Quebec City's Summit of the Americas in April, where tear gas and rubber bullets were the norm.
Time - or the lack of it - may be on Ottawa's side next weekend. Protesters have had little time to prepare since the meeting was moved to Canada just last month.
The G20 had been scheduled for New Delhi, India, but the host pulled the plug because of its proximity to the war in Afghanistan. Also bumped to Ottawa are meetings of committees of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, originally booked for Washington for Sept. 28 and 29.
Jamie Kneen of Global Democracy Ottawa, the unofficial host of the G20 protest, says there's been so little time to organize that all he can say is that he expects "thousands" to cram into downtown Ottawa next weekend.
But he expects them to be good for business downtown and he doesn't think merchants and barkeeps should worry about violence from the protesters.
MERCHANTS WORRY ABOUT TERRORISM
Jeff O'Reilly, general manager of D'Arcy McGee's Pub, agrees. His bar is just a stone's throw from Parliament Hill and looking right out on the plaza that surrounds the National War Memorial - where police expect demonstrators to gather next to the home of the meeting, the Ottawa Conference Centre.
"I'm more worried about terrorists," says O'Reilly, adding he's consulting his insurance company and landlord about whether he'll open for business next weekend.
"We've made downtown Ottawa a target. We've got the bull's-eye, now we're painting the red on it," O'Reilly said.
"What do terrorists hate? Capitalism. Here we're putting 20 finance ministers of the world to talk about making money," he adds.
Ottawa Police Chief Vince Bevan has also downplayed concerns about protesters and suggested the focus will be on preventing terrorism: "Terrorism has come to our home turf," he told reporters last month. One veteran Ottawa cop told a meeting of merchants last week: "There will be more police presence than you can shake a stick at."
The vet added: "We're getting some information now that the crowds are not going to be that big."
Security at the summit will be shared by Ottawa city police, the OPP - on the streets - and the Mounties, guarding the dignitaries inside the conference.
Police are planning for peace, but are prepared for violence, RCMP Sgt. Marc Richer says, balking at suggestions that police will be looking for trouble.
"We're not looking for any violence. We're family people too. We've sons and daughters," Richer says.
"You want to voice your opinion, come on along, but leave the sticks and stones behind."
There will be no "wall of shame" like Quebec City, just barricades blocking off streets near the conference centre, a former railway station across the street from the landmark Chateau Laurier.
Ask Richer about the possibility of terrorist attack, you get the vague re-assurances in security speak, not English.
"This thing is intelligence-led. We're looking at it on a daily basis."
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PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2001.11.11
SECTION: News
PAGE: 24
SOURCE: Ottawa Bureau
BYLINE: David Gamble
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION: 1. photo by San Francisco Chronicle STARHAWK is a San Francisco witch who's made a life out of marching against the establishment. 2. photo by Paul Chiasson, CP She plans to be at the G20 summit in Ottawa next weekend, which is not likely to be as violent as the Quebec summit last April.

ACTIVISTS GEAR UP FOR G20 SUMMIT

She's a witch and she wants to cast a spell of peace on Ottawa for next weekend's G20 finance ministers' meeting.
Starhawk, San Francisco's best-known witch and "progressive" activist, is coming to Canada to protest against globalization even if she's not getting good vibes.
She senses police will be gunning for a fight with thousands of protesters descending on Ottawa as Finance Minister Paul Martin hosts U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and other luminaries of the financial world.
"There will be quite a heavy police presence and it's not exactly going to be a safe, happy and peaceful day in the park," said Starhawk, priestess of the pagan religion.
Anarchists, those black-masked militants, have already pledged to shut down the meeting by "snake marching" through the streets.
It will be the largest international meeting on North American soil since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and it's a dry-run for next summer's G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Alta.
But Starhawk says she's doing her best to promote peace. On Wednesday, once she gets to Ottawa, she will run a local workshop on peaceful protest.
"It's about how to de-escalate violence and learn how to react in a peaceful way," said the longtime activist, who was first arrested in the mid-'60s while protesting the Vietnam War.
Since that day in December 1966, the San Francisco witch said, she's been arrested at least 20 times, but she's always stuck with "peaceful, principled political action."
Her main interest will be meetings of committees of the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which she calls the agents of global control by the multinationals.
"The gap between rich and poor continues to grow," she said, adding resistance to "the culture of the shopping mall and McDonald's" has not abated since Sept. 11.
But the veteran of recent protests in Genoa and Seattle doesn't predict numbers like the 50,000 she saw march at Quebec City's Summit of the Americas in April, when tear gas and rubber bullets were fired.
Time -- or the lack of it -- may be on Ottawa's side next weekend. Protesters have had little time to prepare since the meeting was moved to Canada just last month.
The G20 had been scheduled for New Delhi, but India pulled the plug, citing its proximity to the war in Afghanistan.
Also bumped to Ottawa are meetings of committees of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, originally slated for Washington for Sept. 28 and 29.
Jamie Kneen of Global Democracy Ottawa, the unofficial hosts of the G20 protest, said there has been so little time to organize that all he can say is that he expects "thousands" to cram into downtown Ottawa next weekend.
But he expects them to be good for business downtown and he doesn't think merchants and barkeeps should worry about violence from the protesters.
Jeff O'Reilly, general manager of D'Arcy McGee's Pub, agrees. His bar, just a stone's throw from Parliament Hill, looks right out on the plaza that surrounds the National War Memorial, where police expect demonstrators to gather next to the home of the meeting, the Ottawa Conference Centre.
"I'm more worried about terrorists," O'Reilly said.
He has consulted his insurance company and landlord about whether he'll open for business next weekend.
"We've made downtown Ottawa a target. We've got the bull's-eye, now we're painting the red on it," O'Reilly said.
"What do terrorists hate? Capitalism. Here we're putting 20 finance ministers of the world to talk about making money," he said.
Ottawa Police Chief Vince Bevan has also downplayed concerns about protesters and suggested the focus will be on preventing terrorism.
"Terrorism has come to our home turf," he told reporters last month. One veteran Ottawa cop told a meeting of merchants last week: "There will be more police presence than you can shake a stick at."
Security at the summit will be shared by Ottawa city police, the OPP -- on the streets -- and the Mounties, who'll be guarding the dignitaries inside the conference.
Police are planning for peace but are prepared for violence, RCMP Sgt. Marc Richer said.
"We're not looking for any violence. We're family people, too. We're sons and daughters," Richer said.
"You want to voice your opinion, come on along, but leave the sticks and stones behind."
There will be no "wall of shame" like Quebec City, just barricades blocking off streets near the conference centre.
Ask Richer about the possibility of terrorist attack, you get the vague re-assurances in security speak, not English.
"This thing is intelligence-led. We're looking at it on a daily basis," the Mountie said.
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PUBLICATION: National Post
DATE: 2001.11.15
EDITION: National
SECTION: Politics
PAGE: A6
BYLINE: Robert Fife
SOURCE: National Post
DATELINE: OTTAWA
CORPORATION: Global Democracy Ottawa

Terrorism not expected at G20: RCMP: Tight security to greet anti-globalization protesters in Ottawa

OTTAWA - Heavy security is being put in place for this weekend's summit of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, but the RCMP is confident there is little likelihood of a terrorist attack.
The authorities expect 2,000 to 5,000 anti-globalization protesters to converge on the capital when the three-day summit hosted by Paul Martin, the Minister of Finance, gets underway tomorrow.
Alan Greenspan, the powerful U.S. Federal Reserve chairman, and Paul O'Neill, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, are among the participants, which will also include Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
While the police plan to barricade a key section of Ottawa's downtown core to prevent protesters from storming the convention centre where the finance ministers will meet, they do not expect the serious violence witnessed in Quebec City at the Summit of the Americans in April.
RCMP Sergeant Marc Richer said the police are optimistic a terrorist attack is unlikely at the summit, where the ministers and bank governors plan to discuss measures to combat global terrorists, particularly closing down their financial networks.
"At this particular stage ... the threat with respect to terrorism is very low," Sgt. Richer told a news conference.
"There has been no specific threat with respect to this event."
The G20 represents big and small countries that together make up 88% of the world's economic production and includes 60% of the world's poor.
Members range from the United States and United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia, China, Brazil and the European Union. Representatives from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund will also attend the event.
The G20 had been scheduled for the Indian capital of New Delhi, but was switched to Ottawa after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks because authorities felt Canada could provide better security to protect the participants.
Sgt. Richer said the police welcome peaceful protest, but he underlined they will not countenance violence of the kind that occurred in Quebec City, where demonstrators clashed with police and set buildings on fire.
"Violence will not be tolerated at the G20," he said. "This is not Quebec City. It is a different setting."
Police will not say how many officers will be on duty, but there are already signs security will be extremely tight. Barricades are being set up, manhole covers have been sealed and parking meters removed.
Newspaper boxes are also being chained to the ground to prevent them from being lifted and turned into weapons.
Jamie Kneen of the group Global Democracy Ottawa warned yesterday some anti-capitalist groups intend to bust through the barricades and break into the Government Conference Centre during a major march planned for Saturday.
"I know some groups want to shut the meeting down specifically and we certainly sympathize. We feel the World Bank and the IMF have done enough damage to the world and it is time for them to hand over the money they've stolen and stop doing it," he said.
Immigration officials have also detained a U.S. social activist who arrived on Monday from Los Angeles. Lisa Fithian, who planned to teach peaceful protest techniques, is awaiting deportation.
The demonstrators, including San Francisco witch Starhawk, and Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians president, believe capitalism harms the poorer nations.
Strident demonstrations against globalization have occurred in Seattle, Prague and in Quebec City since 1999. Many of the anti-globalization organizations remain highly committed to their causes, especially those that have criticized the lending policies of the IMF and World Bank.
But the terrorist attacks have forced them to regroup and they say they are not sure how, or if, they can be as effective as before.
"A lot of us are in a retreat-and-reflection mode," Tim Atwater, national organizer for Jubilee USA Network, which advocates the cancelling of debt to developing countries, recently told The New York Times.
"We are having to walk on tiptoes and communicate very, very carefully. Things are coming back slowly. But we will be singing slower, sadder songs."
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.19
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A3
BYLINE: Mark Reid
SOURCE: Citizen Special
DATELINE: CALGARY
ILLUSTRATION:
Colour Photo: After seeing the protests at the G20 summitthis weekend, Banff deputy mayor John Stutz urged the RCMP to refrain from displays of overt force during an upcoming meeting of G8 environment ministers. He said it would be a 'disastrous step backward' as Banff struggles to woo back tourists after Sept. 11.
NOTE:
G20 Summit

Keep riot police out of Banff: mayor: Overt force unwelcome at upcoming G8 meetings

CALGARY -- The town of Banff doesn't want to see baton-wielding, heavily armoured police patrolling its streets during next April's meeting there of G8 environment ministers.
Deputy Mayor John Stutz is urging the RCMP to refrain from overt shows of force during the meeting, which will run from April 11 to 12 -- about two months prior to the G8 Summit meeting in Kananaskis Country.
Mr. Stutz said images of armoured police, wielding shields, batons and gas masks -- such as was seen in Ottawa this past weekend at the meeting of G20 nations -- would damage the mountain resort's reputation as a quaint, quiet tourism destination.
"I don't want to see security forces lining our streets or anything of that nature," Mr. Stutz said yesterday.
"To me that would be a disastrous step backwards. I don't think I would like to see any overt show of security forces where it's unnecessary."
An RCMP spokesman said the force will use a measured response to any protests that occur.
Banff, like many tourism destinations, is struggling to attract visitors in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.
Mr. Stutz said the last thing he wants is for his town's reputation be tarnished by images of violent protests during the upcoming meeting of G8 environment ministers.
Security is expected to be ultra-tight for next June's G8 Summit, with hundreds of RCMP officers brought in from across the country to safeguard the leaders of the G8 nations.
The meeting of G8 environment ministers, however, is expected to attract fewer protesters, and therefore require fewer security measures.
Mr. Stutz said Banff is an environmentally minded town, and as such, will welcome peaceful protest during the meeting of environment ministers next April.
However, he was troubled by images from Ottawa over the weekend, showing armoured police officers clashing with protesters.
G20 protests were less violent than at some other recent meetings of world leaders. However, police did arrest some protesters and use tear gas, bean-bag guns, high-powered water hoses and pepper spray to push back unruly crowds.
Corporal Patrick Webb, the RCMP's spokesman for the G8 Summit, also attended the G20 meetings over the weekend.
He said Mr. Stutz has no reason to worry about "overt shows of force" during the G8 environment ministers meeting.
He said the RCMP does not oppose protesters' right to peaceful public dissent, adding mounties will only escalate their security response if crowds grow violent or break the law.
"We like to measure our reaction to whatever's necessary," Cpl. Webb said. "We certainly don't want to over-react.
"We don't want to bring out a whole lot of members when they're not required
"At the same time if we need members we don't want to show up with too few."
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.19
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: D1 / Front
BYLINE: Melanie Brooks, Kate Jaimet and Paula McCooey, with filesfrom James Baxter
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Colour Photo: Julie Oliver, The Ottawa Citizen / About 200protesters marched along Elgin Street yesterday following a rally over those arrested during skirmishes on the G20 weekend.; Colour Photo: Julie Oliver, The Ottawa Citizen / Sophie Vesque, from Ottawa, wonders where the crowd would march next.; Colour Photo: Tom Hanson, The Canadian Press / Police officers take a break during the quietest day of the summit,

G20 weekend nets 50 arrests: Protesters ponder complaints, lawsuits against police actions

The demonstrations are over, but protesters aren't finished yet: with help from a prominent area lawyer, several of those arrested this weekend are considering filing complaints or civil suits against police.
The protesters, at one point numbering 2,000 over the weekend, rallied yesterday morning in front of the courthouse on Elgin Street where bail hearings were being held for those arrested Saturday.
Chanting "justice for all," about 200 people danced and shouted outside the front doors and scribbled chalk messages on the cement saying "free the political prisoners."
In all, police said they arrested 50 people during the course of protests this weekend -- eight on Friday, 41 on Saturday and one yesterday. Most were released after a period of detention that ranged from a few hours to overnight. Seven people were charged with mischief and assaulting police, and one protester is still in custody.
Paul Smith was one of those arrested Saturday afternoon. He said police were excessive in their reaction to the protests. In addition to the arrests, four people were bitten by police dogs and a CBC reporter was hit on the head with a police night stick.
"Four of us went over to try to get into the meetings, to take our message to the meetings," said Mr. Smith, who was released at 4:30 a.m. yesterday. "We went non-violently. When we were arrested, we were brutally taken down by police. I was tasered in the leg for refusing to comply."
Mr. Smith said he and others arrested weren't allowed to call the legal support collective that was set up to help protesters.
Lawrence Greenspon, one of the Ottawa lawyers offering free legal service to the protesters, said those arrested will decide whether to file a civil suit or complaints against the police.
Mr. Greenspon said the police actions over the weekend were a sign that police were doing more to protect organizations such as the G20 than ordinary citizens.
"Sept. 11 has become a licence to the police to violate constitutional rights of peaceful demonstrating Canadians," he said.
"The vast majority of those demonstrators did nothing to prompt the arrest. The proof of that is they were all released within six, 10, 20 hours."
Displaying a counter full of objects seized from protesters -- including gas masks, helmets, goggles, glass bottles, cans of paint, iron bars and sticks -- police justified the arrests as necessary to keep the public peace. About a dozen protesters were arrested early Saturday, without any apparent provocation, but police said yesterday those arrests were to prevent people suspected of violent intent from causing trouble. The rest were arrested later in the afternoon and evening.
Police said the arrests were intended to head off a repeat of the vandalism that occurred Friday, when some protesters smashed windows at a McDonald's restaurant and spray-painted graffiti on the Bank of Canada building.
"We started targeting groups who, we were confident, were not there to do peaceful protest, but who were there for other reasons," said Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Leo Janveau. He said police identified members of the targeted groups based on their clothing, behaviour, and on previous information obtained both internally and from other police forces. They were detained until police determined they were no longer a danger to the public, Staff Sgt. Janveau said.
Police also admitted that some people were bitten by police dogs during protests Saturday, but RCMP Sgt. Marc Richer said the bites were superficial.
Jennifer Breakspear, a street medic for the protesters, said she treated four dog bites, one which was so deep it "almost went down to the bone."
At a press conference yesterday afternoon, police Chief Vince Bevan said the dogs are there to protect police who go into crowds to make arrests, and all dogs are supposed to be leashed.
"We'll certainly be looking to see if there are things to be learned as a result of what has happened here," he said. "But it is accepted practice in a number of police services to have dogs deployed with public workers."
Yesterday's police presence was notably more subdued. Members of the riot squad stood silently behind the barricade in front of the conference centre, then later retreated, leaving a single row of regular police. Most of the violent protesters seen in the Friday and Saturday demonstrations seemed to have left, and the small group that remained were mostly content to sing and dance.
The protesters marched up Elgin Street to the war memorial, where they staged short tableaus of people lying dead in front of the monument.
The protesters' message during the weekend was generally unfocused: people shouted for clean water, better education, world justice, an end to capitalism and globalization, and abolition of debt.
Protesters also invited media to a press conference yesterday morning, but some demonstrators shoved their hands in front of cameras, taunted reporters with jeers of "f--- the corporate media," and tried to keep them away.
Officials at the World Bank and IMF committee meetings paid little attention to the demonstrations, and said dancing in the streets doesn't help to find solutions to the world's problems.
"I don't mind attention and I don't mind the debate. I think it's good, it's healthy," said World Bank President James Wolfensohn. "But I'd prefer to have it as debate rather than people in the streets, because I think that's pointless and it has no affect."
As the protesters dispersed late yesterday afternoon, Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli held a press conference to wrap up what he called a "successful" meeting of the finance ministers for the G20 conference.
"Our city has much to be proud of and proved that Ottawa is more than capable of hosting a major economic summit -- post-Quebec, post-Italy and post-Sept. 11," he said. "That sent a message to the world, especially the terrorist world that a democratically elected government will not be intimidated or thwarted from hosting a event such as the G20."
Mr. Chiarelli thanked residents for their patience in dealing with road closures and traffic disruptions, and praised police for an "admirable" job. Chief Bevan said despite the arrests, the weekend's protests were largely controlled and orderly.
"Our job was made easier because a majority of those who came to Ottawa to protest did so with a peaceful purpose in mind," he said. "Those who came to disrupt public order or carried out criminal acts were dealt with in accordance of the law."
Mr. Chiarelli said the total cost to the city, including policing, emergency services, damage and clean-up, won't be known until later this week.
After the end of the meetings yesterday afternoon, city staff removed all traffic barriers and police barricades and re-opened streets downtown, and OC Transpo resumed normal routes. City Hall also reopened after being closed to the public Friday due to security concerns.
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PUBLICATION: CTV - CTV NEWS
DATE: 2001.11.17

Developments on war against terrorism

SANDIE RINALDO: To Ottawa now, and developments on the political and diplomatic front in the war against terrorism. The Prime Minister discussed the possible deployment of Canadian peace keepers with the head of the United Nations. And leaders at the G20 summit came up with an agreement on how to do their part. More now from CTV's Joy Malbon.
JOY MALBON (Reporter): This week Canadian troops headed off to uncertainty in Afghanistan in the war against terrorism. But once that war is won, how to rebuild? And how to ensure peace.
JEAN CHRETIEN (Canadian Prime Minister): Three possibilities. One could be the peacekeeping traditional UN mission, one could be a multinational force and a third one might be a locally established one.
MALBON: And the Prime Minister says Canada has always responded positively to United Nations requests for peace keepers.
KOFI ANNAN (United Nations Secretary-General): I cannot give you a figure on how much the reconstruction or what rehabilitation will cost what I can tell you, that it's a long term effort.
MALBON: An effort international Finance Ministers at the G20 are committed to. As the battle of wills between protesters and police raged outside, inside the barricades the G20 countries waged a war of their own. Pledging to choke off funds to terrorists.
PAUL MARTIN (G20 Chairman): Every single member of the G20 without exception has signed onto that action plan.
MALBON: The plan is to adopt UN resolutions that would freeze assets, publish names and establish financial intelligence units.
MARTIN: Every country is going to set up an organization with the sole goal to track money laundering and terrorist financing.
MALBON: But it's just a plan with no fixed deadline. And a recognition that unregulated money exchanges like Hawala's with no paper trail will be harder to track. Canada had wanted this plan to have a lot more teeth, but seven countries including Saudi Arabia and China refused sign on until the language was softened. One thing is certain richer countries are going to have to pay for the financial war on terrorism. Joy Malbon, CTV News, Ottawa.
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.21
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Business
PAGE: D1 / Front
BYLINE: Vito Pilieci
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Colour Photo: Bruno Schlumberger, The Ottawa Citizen /Andrea Rojas, manager of Neon Clothing Inc. in the Byward Market, says many stores lost customers due to the G20 meetings and protests. 'Business was down between 60 and 65 per cent,' she said.; Photo: Bruno Schlumberger, Ottawa Citizen / Jessica Faiklay works at International Cheese and Deli where business was down by half.

Downtown businesses to be paid for G20 losses: Finance Ministry to consider 'valid, reasonable requests'

The federal government is willing to pay downtown Ottawa businesses for losses caused by last weekend's G20 meeting of finance ministers, a Ministry of Finance spokesman said yesterday.
The decision to reimburse store owners in Ottawa's downtown core comes the day after more than 950 businesses banded together to launch a class action lawsuit aimed at the Ministry of Finance.
While the ministry would not comment on the businesses' lawsuit, spokesman Jean-Michel Catta said requests for compensation from businesses are now being accepted.
"If there was significant disruption to business as a result of the security measures that were put in place, the government would consider valid, fair and reasonable requests for compensation," Mr. Catta said. "That is where we stand."
Ottawa businesses are hoping to get similar compensation as businesses damaged by the Quebec City Summit of the Americas last April. Those businesses received a $2-million compensation package from the federal government last week.
But Mr. Catta was not specific about how the government would go about reimbursing businesses, or even how much compensation the government would be willing to award.
Downtown business improvement associations in the Byward Market and along Rideau Street have rallied their members and are charging ahead with their lawsuit. Last week, market analyst Barry Nabatian estimated that businesses may have lost as much has $10 million last week because of the G20 disruptions.
However, it is unclear whether those sales are lost forever, or if the merchants will recoup some of the lost sales as Christmas shopping heats up.
"We're sending out a letter to all of our members and asking them to quantify their losses," said executive director of the Byward Market Business Improvement Area Jantine Van Kregten. "That should take a few weeks to collect. At that point we will see if we have a situation to pursue."
Downtown shops argue the ministry should have foreseen a meltdown in downtown business. Numerous road closings and re-routed buses deterred many would-be shoppers from venturing downtown this past weekend.
"You can't close down Sussex Avenue, Colonel By Drive, Rideau Street and Confederation Square for three days without economic fallout," said Joshua Moon, a lawyer with Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall, the law firm representing the businesses. "My clients are saying there is another cost to this, other than the overtime of the police officers, and that is a cost that we shouldn't have to bear."
"It's Christmas time and this was the first real Christmas shopping weekend," said Andrea Rojas, manager of Neon Clothing Inc. in the Market. "I would say that business was down between 60 and 65 per cent."
Ron Warren, assistant manager of Stitches Clothing Store beside the Rideau Centre, said his sales dropped more than 45 per cent.
"Hopefully we will be able to make it up this week," he said.
Even merchants selling staples such as food found the G20 drove customers away. "Business was bad," said Eddie Faiklay, owner of International Cheese and Deli in the market. "There was nobody down here. I would say that business was down 50 per cent."
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.28
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: C7
BYLINE: Bev Wake, with files from Zev Singer
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Chris Mikula, The Ottawa Citizen / Police andprotesters clashed in downtown Ottawa on the first day of the G20 summit held earlier this month.

Program aims to mend G20's bridges: Police, protesters take part in conflict resolution session

Police, activists and a handful of bystanders came together in a small auditorium at Saint Paul University last night for what Vern Neufeld Redekop described as a "debriefing" following the G20 meetings earlier this month.
The topic of the night? Crowd Dynamics and Conflict Resolution.
Mr. Redekop, who is developing a program in conflict studies for Saint Paul, said police and activists may be a few steps apart on the issue, may not yet trust each other, but he hoped at least some of the distance would be bridged by the end of the night.
"I'm not expecting that tonight is going to change everything radically around, but I am expecting and hoping it may bring us a few steps closer together," he said.
Just one night earlier at an Ottawa Police Services Board meeting, G20 protesters expressed their outrage with police conduct during the summit.
During 16 public presentations, police heard from demonstrators who claimed police were brutal to them while they protested peacefully.
Bill Moore-Kilgannon told the board that he and his eight-year-old son were each bitten by police dogs while they participated in a peaceful protest.
Ottawa police Chief Vince Bevan, displaying a large array of items like rocks, knives, sticks and metal poles seized from protesters, said he was proud of the work done by police during the summit.
Last night's meeting, which was to include "dialogue sessions" after Mr. Redekop's initial presentation, was designed to give people a chance to speak to each other and "listen to people they otherwise might not have a chance to listen to."
There were about 65 people, half of whom identified themselves as activists, at the meeting.
An RCMP officer cautioned that activists may not get all the answers they wanted, because police were limited in what they could say for legal reasons.
Mr. Redekop, former head of the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution, said he hoped issues raised during discussions could help "create a context in which police, media, activists, bystanders and politicians can work collaboratively together to create an area for dissent that will also diminish the likelihood of violence."
Last night's meeting had originally been planned as a reunion of people who attended a Nov. 8 meeting less than two weeks before the G20 summit. Only one-third of the people at the meeting had attended the first meeting.
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PUBLICATION: The Winnipeg Sun
DATE: 2001.11.11
SECTION: News
PAGE: 8
SOURCE: Ottawa Bureau
BYLINE: David Gamble
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos Pagan priestess Starhawk, who has been arrested 20
TIME
s since 1966, preaches methods peaceful protest at events such
as April's Summit of the Americas in Quebec City.
HEADLINE: NO DAY IN THE PARK; WITCH PREDICTS VIOLENCE WILL ERUPT OVER G20 SUMMIT
She's a witch and she wants to cast a spell of peace on Ottawa for next weekend's G20 finance ministers' meeting.
Starhawk, San Francisco's best-known witch and "progressive" activist, is coming to Canada to protest globalization even if she's not getting good vibes.
She senses police will be gunning for a fight with thousands of protesters descending on Ottawa as Finance Minister Paul Martin hosts U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and other luminaries of the financial world.
'Snake march'
"There will quite a heavy police presence and it's not exactly going to be a safe, happy and peaceful day in the park," says Starhawk, an author and priestess of the pagan religion.
Already anarchists, those black-masked militants, have pledged to shut down the meeting by "snake marching" through the streets.
It will be the largest international meeting on North American soil since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States and a test-run for next summer's G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Alta.
But Starhawk says she's doing her best to promote peace. She will run a local workshop on peaceful protest on Wednesday once she gets to Ottawa.
"It's about how to de-escalate violence and learn how to react in a peaceful way," says the veteran protester who was first arrested in the mid-'60s protesting the Vietnam War.
Since that day in December 1966, the San Francisco witch says she's been arrested at least 20 times, but she's always stuck with "peaceful, principled political action."
Her main interest will be meetings of committees of the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the agents of global control by the multinationals.
"The gap between rich and poor continues to grow," she says, adding resistance to "the culture of the shopping mall and McDonald's has not abated since Sept. 11.
But the veteran of recent protests in Genoa and Seattle doesn't predict numbers like the 50,000 she saw march at Quebec City's Summit of the Americas in April, where tear gas and rubber bullets were the norm.
Time -- or the lack of it -- may be on Ottawa's side next weekend. Protesters have had little time to prepare since the meeting was moved to Canada just last month.
The G20 had been scheduled for New Delhi, India, but the host pulled the plug because its proximity to the war in Afghanistan. Also bumped to Ottawa are meetings of committees of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, originally booked for Washington for Sept. 28 and 29.
Jamie Kneen of Global Democracy Ottawa, the unofficial hosts of the G20 protest, says there's been so little time to organize that all he can say is that he expects "thousands" to cram into downtown Ottawa next weekend.
But he expects them to be good for business downtown and he doesn't think merchants and barkeeps should worry about violence from the protesters.
Jeff O'Reilly, general manager of D'Arcy McGee's Pub, agrees. His bar is just a stone's throw from Parliament Hill and looking right out on the plaza that surrounds the National War Memorial -- where police expect demonstrators to gather next to the home of the meeting, the Ottawa Conference Centre.
"I'm more worried about terrorists," says O'Reilly, adding he's consulting his insurance company and landlord about whether he'll open for business next weekend.
"We've made downtown Ottawa a target. We've got the bullseye, now we're painting the red on it," O'Reilly said.
"What do terrorists hate? Capitalism. Here we're putting 20 finance ministers of the world to talk about making money," he adds.
Terrorism on home turf
Ottawa Police Chief Vince Bevan has also played down concerns about protesters and suggested the focus will be on preventing terrorism: "Terrorism has come to our home turf," he told reporters last month. One veteran Ottawa cop told a meeting of merchants last week: "There will be more police presence than you can shake a stick at."
The vet added: "We getting some information now that the crowds are not going to be that big."
Security at the summit will be shared by Ottawa city police, the OPP -- on the streets -- and the Mounties, guarding the dignitaries inside the conference.
Police are planning for peace, but are prepared for violence, RCMP Sgt. Marc Richer says, balking at suggestions that police will be looking for trouble.
"We're not looking for any violence. We're family people too. We're sons and daughters," Richer says.
"You want to voice your opinion, come on along, but leave the sticks and stones behind."
There will be no "wall of shame" like Quebec City, just barricades blocking off streets near the conference centre, a former railway station across the street from the landmark Chateau Laurier.
Ask Richer about the possibility of terrorist attack, you get the vague re-assurances in security speak, not English.
"This thing is intelligence-led. We're looking at it on a daily basis."
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.13
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: D4
COLUMN: Charles Gordon
BYLINE: Charles Gordon
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Testing dissent in edgy times

The people of Ottawa, like most people around the world, alternate between abject terror and impatient irritation.
The inconvenience flows from the terror. We see it in little ways, with the closing of lanes beside the American Embassy in downtown Ottawa. We see it in big ways, with the closing of most of Manhattan, after yesterday's plane crash.
In the post 9/11 world, everybody is on edge. In the time of being terrified, we gladly accept any inconvenience if it is imposed in the name of safety and terror prevention. In times of not being terrified, we grumble at delays and mutter questions about whether the authorities have gone too far.
That will abate for awhile, with yesterday's reprisal of flames and smoke in New York. A lot of us aren't going to worry much about losing a lane here or there.
It's a good thing, because we are going to lose a lot more than that as the weekend approaches and with it the G20 finance ministers.
We'll lose access to some parking garages around the Rideau Centre. We'll lose access to parts of Rideau Street, Elgin Street and Queen Street, as well as Colonel By Drive.
As the G20 and various World Bank and International Monetary Fund officials meet, police will be out in force and so will protesters. How and what the protesters do will be interesting, and so will the reaction of police and the public.
Protest has not been easy in these days of edginess. Although there is clearly no relationship between terrorism and opposition to the World Trade Organization and other instruments of globalization, protest has taken on a taint. It is considered less acceptable now than it was before Sept. 11, and this may affect what happens here this weekend.
There is no particular reason for dissent to have suffered this loss of respectability, if that is the word. Perhaps it is because protests against world economic developments tend to be, either directly or by inference, protests against the United States, and many people feel that the United States has suffered enough.
Or perhaps it's because protest, these days, is often associated with violence -- with rock-throwing and tear gas, and the world has seen enough violence lately.
None of this makes the cause any less (or more) valid. It just changes the reception.
Most protest organizations are aware of this new mood and it may well affect their weekend activities. Early indications are that confrontation will be avoided by most organizations. This would be in marked and welcome contrast to Quebec City's Summit of the Americas in April, where fences drawn up to keep protesters out become battle lines.
Here, we see notice of a teach-in Friday at a church in the Glebe, far from the Government Conference Centre where the G20 ministers and central bank governors are meeting. Marches are planned for Friday and Saturday but they will end at Confederation Park and the Supreme Court, respectively, both a safe distance from the G20 action.
Mind you, there are indications of other types of activity, as in the Internet advertisement for a "direct action and civil disobedience training workshops" to be held at Carleton and U of O. An Internet notice of Friday afternoon's march carries the advisory that it "will be based on a respect for a diversity of tactics." That is familiar protest-speak for "those who don't throw rocks won't condemn those who do." The notion was widely criticized after Quebec City and it's sad to see it still hanging around.
Much has been made of the plans of so-called "anarchists" to uglify the Ottawa meetings, and they certainly have to be taken seriously, given the damage that a handful of determined people were able to do in Quebec City. On the other hand, it is easy to make a big noise on the Internet and that doesn't always translate into a large presence on the street.
Particularly in edgy times.
Police in Ottawa, both city and RCMP, usually have a deft touch with protesters, displaying the right blend of patience and toughness, and even a sense of humour when needed. Ordinary people in the city have always shown a tolerance for dissent and an understanding of the role it plays in a democracy. They will be less tolerant if the protest boils over into violence, but they shouldn't condemn all protest out of hand.
This will be a test, for all sides.
The Citizen's Charles Gordon writes here on Tuesdays and on the national editorial page on Thursdays and Saturdays.
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PUBLICATION: Le Devoir
DATE: 2001.11.15
SECTION: Les Actualités
PAGE: A5
BYLINE: Cornellier, Manon
DATELINE: Ottawa

Réunion du G20 à Ottawa: Les forces policières joueront la carte de la discrétion; Il n'y aura ni clôture de trois mètres ni d'escouade antiémeute déployée en permanence

Pas de clôtures de trois mètres de haut ni de troupes en tenue antiémeute déployées en permanence. Ottawa n'est pas Québec, ont conclu les autorités policières qui assureront la sécurité, en fin de semaine à Ottawa, lors des réunions du G20 et des comités du Fonds monétaire international et de la Banque mondiale.
"A Québec, c'était un sommet qui réunissait 34 chefs d'État. Le G20, c'est une réunion de ministres des Finances. [...] On n'est pas du tout à la même échelle", a indiqué le sergent Marc Richer, de la GRC, lors d'une conférence de presse donnée hier par les services de police et d'urgence.
Il a aussi fait comprendre au cours d'une courte conversation que l'érection d'une clôture pouvait avoir l'effet inverse de celui recherché. "Le renversement de la clôture à Québec a été la victoire des manifestants", a-t-il confié. A Ottawa, des barrières de métal et des agents au coude à coude, sans uniforme antiémeute, protégeront donc le périmètre de sécurité, situé entre le centre-ville et la zone touristique du marché. "On n'est pas là pour provoquer. Si on est là en uniforme antiémeute, ça dit quoi aux manifestants?"
Le G20, qui regroupe les ministres des Finances et les gouverneurs des banques centrales de l'Union européenne et de 19 pays industrialisés et en développement, devait se réunir à New Delhi. La rencontre a cependant été annulée à la suite des attentats du 11 septembre. Même chose pour les réunions de deux comités de la Banque mondiale et du Fonds monétaire international qui devaient avoir lieu fin septembre à Washington. A la mi-octobre, on annonçait qu'Ottawa accueillerait ces réunions du 16 au 18 novembre.
Aucune menace terroriste particulière ne pèserait sur Ottawa ce week-end, a répété M. Richer à quelques reprises. La police d'Ottawa, appuyée par la GRC et la police provinciale de l'Ontario, se dit toutefois prête à adopter des mesures supplémentaires si cela s'avérait nécessaire. Pour l'instant, on pense en faire assez, bien qu'on refuse de dévoiler le nombre d'agents qui seront en service.
On attend des manifestants. Des groupes, opposés à la mondialisation ou critiques de l'orientation donnée à la mondialisation par les institutions internationales, ont organisé, pour samedi, une marche pacifique. Certains manifestants pourraient se livrer à de la désobéissance civile non violente. Interrogé sur le type de réaction à attendre en ces circonstances, Léo Janveau, sergent d'état-major de la police d'Ottawa, répond: "Si les manifestants pacifiques ne posent pas de problème pour la population ou de menace à la sécurité de la population, ils pourront manifester."
Ce qu'on ignore, c'est ce que compte faire une poignée de groupes qui privilégient la violence comme moyen d'action. La police refuse de conjecturer sur le sujet, répétant qu'il s'agit toujours d'une petite minorité.
M. Janveau est toutefois catégorique. "La violence ne sera pas tolérée." La police offrira "une réponse mesurée" en fonction de la situation, a ajouté M. Richer. Il a dit que la police n'avait pas l'intention d'utiliser de balles de plastique ou des gaz lacrymogènes à forte puissance comme à Québec, "à moins que ce soit absolument nécessaire".
Certains commerçants envisagent de placarder leurs vitrines. D'autres, au centre commercial situé dans le périmètre, craignent une chute d'achalandage à un mois de Noël.
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PUBLICATION: Le Droit
DATE: 2001.11.15
SECTION: En manchette
PAGE: 3
BYLINE: Saint-Laurent, Sylvain
PHOTO: Morin, Étienne
ILLUSTRATION:
La GRC, la police d'Ottawa et la Police provinciale del'Ontario ont rencontré la presse, hier, pour faire connaître les mesures qu'elles ont adoptées en vue d'assurer la sécurité lors de la rencontre des ministres des Finances du G20, qui se tiendra à Ottawa, à compter de demain.

Tolérance zéro au G20

"Apportez vos cloches et vos sifflets. Pour ça, il n'y a pas de problème. Mais pour la violence, nous appliquerons la tolérance zéro."
Le sergent Marc Richer, de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada, a lancé un avertissement clair aux gens qui comptent manifester dans les rues d'Ottawa, cette fin de semaine, à l'occasion de la rencontre des ministres des Finances du G20.
Quiconque mettra en danger la sécurité des policiers, de la population d'Ottawa et des autres manifestants sera arrêté. Seules les manifestations pacifiques seront permises dans les rues du centre-ville.
La GRC, la police d'Ottawa et la Police provinciale de l'Ontario viennent de mettre la touche finale à un plan d'action qui vise à ce que la rencontre se déroule dans le calme et la paix.
"On ne peut jamais prédire ce qui va se passer. Mais on s'attend à ce que la plupart des manifestants soient passifs. Nous verrons à ce que ceux qui ne le sont pas ne mettent pas la sécurité des autres en danger", déclare le sergent d'état-major Léo Janveau, de la police d'Ottawa.
"Les manifestants pacifiques seront bien accueillis à Ottawa. Nous reconnaissons le droit à la manifestation pacifique. Mais les gens qui habitent et qui travaillent au centre-ville d'Ottawa ont le droit à la sécurité, au même titre que les manifestants ont le droit de s'exprimer librement", ajoute-t-il.
Moins violent
La GRC et la police d'Ottawa ne s'attendent pas à vivre des épisodes aussi violents que ceux qui ont eu lieu lors du Sommet des Amériques, à Québec, le printemps dernier.
"Les deux villes sont différentes et les deux rencontres n'ont pas exactement la même portée", estime Marc Richer.
On s'attend à ce qu'environ 5000 personnes sortent dans les rues d'Ottawa, cette fin de semaine.
Le rassemblement le plus important de la fin du week-end devrait avoir lieu samedi matin, devant l'immeuble de la Cour suprême du Canada.
Des milliers de manifestants devraient s'y réunir aux environs de 11 h.
"Cette activité devrait durer au moins une heure. Il est difficile de prédire ce qui va se passer après", déclare David Robbins, de l'organisme Council of Canadians.
M. Robbins encourage lui aussi les manifestants à faire preuve de civisme. "Nous encourageons les manifestations pacifiques", dit-il. Pressé de questions par les médias, M. Robbins n'a pourtant pas indiqué qu'il condamnerait d'éventuelles actions violentes.
Les policiers ont reconnu que des mesures extrêmes - comme les balles de plastique et les gaz lacrymogènes - pourraient être prises contre des manifestants violents.
"Nous le ferons seulement si tous les autres outils que nous avons à notre disposition ne fonctionnent pas", dit Marc Richer.
LA GRC UTILISE INTERNET POUR ASSURER LA SÉCURITÉ DES CITOYENS
Les équipes chargées d'assurer la sécurité des citoyens, cette fin de semaine, entendent diffuser des renseignements à l'aide d'Internet.
Une section du site Web de la GRC (www.rcmp.ca) est consacrée à la diffusion de renseignements concernant la rencontre des ministres des Finances des pays les plus industrialisés.
Des renseignements sont disponibles dans les deux langues officielles.
On peut y lire, en quelques lignes, l'objectif de la rencontre et le mandat des différents corps policiers le week-end prochain.
On peut y lire différents communiqués à propos des mesures de sécurité qui seront mises de l'avant. Il y a également des liens vers les sites officiels du G20, de la Ville d'Ottawa, de la police d'Ottawa et de la Police provinciale de l'Ontario.
"Pour l'instant, rien nous permet de croire que la sécurité des gens sera en danger au centre-ville, ce week-end. Les gens peuvent se rendre dans les commerces pour magasiner, comme d'habitude. Mais nous tiendrons les gens au courant de toute modification qui pourrait survenir", dit le sergent d'état-major Léo Janveau, de la police d'Ottawa.
sstlaurent@ledroit.com
====
 

PUBLICATION: La Presse
DATE: 2001.11.16
SECTION: Actualités
PAGE: A6
BYLINE: Côté, Charles
DATELINE: Ottawa

Deux jours de prison pour une manifestante

Les services d'immigration canadiens ont fait preuve d'une vigilance inhabituelle cette semaine, en emprisonnant pendant deux jours Lisa Fithian, une militante américaine des droits de la personne qui était déjà venue plusieurs fois au Canada.
Mme Fithian, spécialiste des techniques de manifestation pacifique, a été relâchée hier sans aucune explication. A l'origine, elle devait comparaître à 13h à huis clos devant la Commission de l'immigration et du statut de réfugié.
Elle est venue à Ottawa pour participer aux manifestations pacifiques prévues à l'occasion de la réunion du G20, du Fonds monétaire international et de la Banque mondiale.
"Ils m'ont dit que je ne pouvais être admise au Canada, a indiqué Mme Fithian au cours d'un point de presse hier à Ottawa. Mais ils n'avaient aucun document ni aucune preuve à cet effet. S'ils en avaient eu, je ne serais pas ici."
Mme Fithian a reconnu avoir commis deux infractions mineures liées à des manifestations: avoir refusé d'obéir à un agent de la paix et avoir flâné sur la voie publique. Mais c'est insuffisant pour lui interdire l'entrée au Canada, dit-elle. "Je n'ai jamais rien fait de mal. Je n'ai jamais été accusée d'aucun crime."
Affirmant qu'elle n'a "jamais été détenue comme ça avant", elle estime que sa détention a un caractère strictement politique. "Ils ne veulent pas avoir ici des gens qui dénoncent ce qui se passe. Il y a une campagne pour criminaliser les gens comme moi qui ne font qu'exercer leurs droits, leur liberté d'expression."
Arrivée lundi soir à l'aéroport d'Ottawa, Mme Fithian a été longuement interrogée puis relâchée. On lui a cependant dit de se présenter à nouveau mardi matin, ce qu'elle a fait. Elle a alors été arrêtée et emmenée au Centre de détention d'Ottawa-Carleton, à Orléans, où elle a été enfermée pendant quatre heures dans une cellule de 3 mètres carrés, puis fouillée à nu et photographiée. Ses empreintes digitales ont été prises. Elle a ensuite passé deux jours en détention dans l'aile C (celle des prisonnières). Elle n'a pu parler à son avocat que mercredi matin.
"Ces tactiques ont pour effet d'effrayer les gens ordinaires qui voudraient exercer leurs droits", estimait-elle hier.
Betty-Anne Davis est du même avis. Résidante d'Ottawa, elle s'était portée volontaire pour accueillir des militants de l'étranger venus protester pacifiquement pendant la réunion du G20. Elle devait accueillir Mme Fithian. "Beaucoup de gens ont fait comme moi et ont adopté un militant, dit-elle. Ils reçoivent des appels d'agents de l'immigration très soupçonneux. Ils se demandent s'ils ont bien fait."
Pour Svend Robinson, député du Nouveau Parti démocratique, le traitement réservé à Mme Fithian est "inacceptable" et illustre ce qui pourrait arriver si le Parlement adopte tel quel le projet de loi C-36 visant à combattre le terrorisme. Ce projet de loi prévoit des détentions de 72 heures pour des personnes soupçonnées de terrorisme. "C'est clair que le gouvernement ne fait pas la différence entre la dissidence et le terrorisme, a-t-il clamé. Cette tactique digne des États policiers n'a pas sa place au Canada."
M. Robinson a indiqué qu'il portera l'affaire à la Chambre des communes. La porte-parole d'Elinor Caplan, ministre de la Citoyenneté et de l'Immigration, n'a pas rappelé La Presse hier soir.
Selon Pam Foster, qui fait partie des organisateurs des manifestations pacifiques, il y aura peu de manifestants à Ottawa, comparativement à Québec en avril, parce que les réunions d'Ottawa ont lieu à quatre semaines d'avis. Elles devait se tenir à New Delhi, dans le cas du G20, et à Washington, dans le cas du FMI et de la Banque mondiale. Elles ont été retardées à cause des attentats du 11 septembre. La dernière réunion du FMI, à Washington, avait attiré 100 000 manifestants.
Une marche pacifique devant prendre fin devant la Cour suprême, loin du lieu de la réunion du G20, est prévue pour demain.
Un autre groupe, beaucoup plus petit et composé d'anarchistes, prévoyait manifester dès aujourd'hui et promettait de défier les forces de l'ordre. Les policiers d'Ottawa, la police provinciale et la GRC ont prévu d'établir un périmètre de sécurité autour du Centre de conférence d'Ottawa, en face du Château Laurier et à deux pas du parlement.
====

PUBLICATION: The Winnipeg Sun
DATE: 2001.11.16
SECTION: News
PAGE: 9
SOURCE: Ottawa Bureau
BYLINE: David Gamble; Maria Mcclintock
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo by Reuters Workers unload barricades in downtownOttawa in preparation for demonstrators at the G20 meeting.

PROTESTERS FEAR TROUBLE; WILL IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS KEEP THEM OUT OF CANADA?

G20 protesters are expecting trouble today at border crossings and airports where they expect Canadian Immigration officials to try to keep them out of the country.
Names of some protesters considered to be high risk have been red-flagged by police, Immigration and customs officers at entry points into Canada, police sources told Sun Media yesterday.
Already a handful have been turned away, two arrested and one jailed for two days this week as they arrived for the G20 finance ministers meeting and committees of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The big event for thousands of protesters comes tomorrow with a march through downtown Ottawa. Most are expected to arrive today.
Protesters who've trickled into Canada this week have faced hours of grilling by Immigration officials but were eventually released, said Jamie Kneen of Global Democracy Ottawa.
"The people who have been coming in have been searched, fingerprinted, all their belongings gone through ... Some of the people have been held for hours and hours," Kneen said.
Police sources told Sun Media the clampdown is justified.
"We have some concerns with certain people coming across because of what they may be bringing with them -- that's just logical especially with what's been happening in the world over the last two or three months," said a police source.
Police have said they expect between 2,000 and 5,000 protesters to descend on downtown Ottawa this weekend but they add they have no firm numbers.
"The police don't know and neither do we. We're currently trying to find housing space for at least a thousand people," Kneen said.
Meanwhile, finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 are digesting a gloomy new forecast by the IMF.
The new IMF report, developed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., has slashed predictions for growth in the giant U.S. economy to just 0.7% next year -- its weakest performance since the last recession in 1991.
That's bad news for host Canada: with 80% of our exports sold to the U.S., a slowdown there means serious trouble here.
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A1 / Front
COLUMN: Randall Denley
BYLINE: Randall Denley
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Colour Photo: Chris Mikula, The Ottawa Citizen / BreakingWindows for Democracy: Police and protesters tangled in downtown Ottawa yesterday on the first day of the G20 Summit. Protesters smashed the windows of a McDonald's restaurant on Bank Street.

Dear protesters: We don't owe you a thing

Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli says our city has an obligation to play host to this weekend's G20 meeting. I can see why we'd feel obligated to accommodate the finance ministers and international banking officials. This is the country's capital, after all. But why in the world do we feel any obligation to the protesters who are coming here to disrupt the meetings?
The people from the protest group Global Democracy Ottawa have their noses out of joint because the city isn't putting up the protesters for free. They wanted sleeping accommodations in community centres or other city buildings for about 600 out-of-town protesters.
This is like some vandal coming to your door and saying, "Hi, I'm here to condemn you and maybe smash up your property. Mind if I crash in your spare bedroom afterward?"
It's strange enough that the protesters are asking for a government handout when they are here to protest the police-state tactics of government and the evil of corporations that feed government with taxes. What's even weirder is Mr. Chiarelli's statement that the request for free digs was "very legitimate" in principle, but it comes too late. Very legitimate? It's not legitimate at all.
The people of Ottawa have already accommodated protesters by cancelling entertainment events, giving up the freedom to use their streets and sidewalks and picking up part of the tax bill for millions of dollars in security costs -- costs that are only necessary because of the violent legacy of other protests against world trade meetings. Merchants downtown will lose an estimated $10 million in sales because of street closings and the public's unwillingness to come downtown.
The executive director of the Byward Market Business Improvement Association suggests that today is going to be a lot like Canada Day, with people still being able to get to the Market. Except that Canada Day is a national holiday and celebration, where people are invited to come downtown. Today, protest day, is just an opportunity for people with a grab-bag of criticisms of capitalism to wander through the streets and maybe throw a few rocks -- not exactly a festive occasion.
Paul Smith is a volunteer with Global Democracy Ottawa who is trying to find housing for the other demonstrators. The way he sees it, government is paying millions of dollars to accommodate world bankers, and protesters are part of the same event. So, logically, they have a right to be accommodated at public expense as well.
"We have a responsibility as citizens of Ottawa. We have invited them (the protesters) here," Mr. Smith said. Maybe he invited them. I didn't.
If all the protesters can't be accommodated indoors, they will sleep on the streets or in public parks, Mr. Smith says. They have a right to use public space.
The federal government is doing its bit to help. It has told employees not to park in a lot between the Supreme Court and the National Archives, so that it can be used as a staging point for the protesters.
Global Democracy Ottawa is also calling on the community to help the protesters by contributing supplies to their field hospital, where they will treat the victims of the expected police violence. They are seeking the donation of pants, shirts, socks and mittens. Are they here to protest or supplement their wardrobes?
I hope all the mittens and shirts are made by unionized workers in Canada. Otherwise, the demonstrators will be offering unwitting support to the evil multinational corporations that exploit Third World workers by giving them jobs. In the world view of people who protest events like the G20 meeting, capitalist corporations are virtually enslaving foreign workers, aided by their puppets, the governments represented at the G20. The meeting in Ottawa is even more vile because it brings together world bankers, who have trapped foreign countries by lending them a great deal of money and then asking for some of it back.
Protesters have argued that they must take to the streets to make their point because they have no other means of of doing so. That's obviously not the case, given the amount of media attention they get for their wooly collection of anti-corporate nonsense. The real problem is that they don't have an argument that makes sense.
If people want to make these arguments, that's their right. There's no minimum intellectual qualification to take part in a street demonstration. It's offensive, though, to suggest that the people of Ottawa haven't done enough to make their protest a comfy experience. People here have put up with expense and disruption that's way out of proportion to anything this weekend's demonstrations will contribute to the debate on globalization.
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: EARLY
SECTION: News
PAGE: A5
BYLINE: Dave Rogers
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
NOTE:
G20 Summit

Barriers a 'provocation,' says protesters' lawyer

An Ottawa lawyer offering free legal defence to demonstrators at this weekend's G20 conference yesterday denounced barriers outside the meeting as a "blatant provocation" that could provoke violence.
Lawrence Greenspon, a lawyer participating in the "Legal Support Collective" said the chain-link fence around Parliament Hill and the barricades and police lines near the conference are a provocation to demonstrators.
A collective of 12 to 14 Ottawa lawyers has offered free legal assistance to G20 demonstrators who get arrested at this weekend's economic conference.
"The fences and barricades presume that there will be some kind of confrontation violent, or otherwise," Mr. Greenspon said.
"That is unfortunate because the vast majority of the people who demonstrate are thinking individuals who have no interest in violence.
"I wouldn't presume to advise people to stay away from the barricades. I think what we are seeing is a blockade to peaceful demonstration."
Mr. Greenspon said people may get arrested as they try to climb the barricades, be held for several hours and released if they promise not to return to the demonstration.
"But if the police start arresting people, some will say they can't promise not to return to the demonstration. The result may be they will get into bail hearings and over-the-weekend custody."
Collective volunteer Sarah Dover said lawyers will inform demonstrators about their rights and provide legal help in criminal and immigration cases. The collective includes prominent Ottawa lawyers Lawrence Greenspon, Matt McGarvey and David Morris.
Ms. Dover said the collective will report to the Canadian public on the number of arrests and immigration problems associated with the G20 meeting.
====

PUBLICATION: Le Droit
DATE: 2001.11.17
SECTION: L'Économie
PAGE: 42
SOURCE: PC
BYLINE: Rodrigue, Isabelle
PHOTO: PC
ILLUSTRATION:
Paul Martin, le ministre canadien des Finances. Enarrière-plan, Paul O'Neill, le Secrétaire du Trésor des États-Unis.

Martin donne le ton à la lutte au financement du terrorisme

Le ministre des Finances, Paul Martin, a donné le ton à la réunion du G20, hier, dressant une liste des actions qui s'imposent pour combattre le terrorisme et, surtout, lutter contre le financement du terrorisme.
Dans un discours reprenant l'essentiel des entrevues qu'il a accordées au cours des deux dernières semaines, M. Martin a brossé un tableau des objectifs de la rencontre qui se déroule ce week-end à Ottawa.
Outre la lutte au financement du terrorisme, les ministres des Finances des pays du G20 se pencheront sur l'importance d'instaurer un climat de croissance économique mondiale, et de "faire en sorte que la mondialisation fonctionne".
Ces objectifs peuvent sembler élaborés, mais "ce qui était normal ne suffit plus", a dit M. Martin pendant un déjeuner-causerie, préparatoire la réunion du G20. Il a fait valoir, d'un ton déterminé, qu'il faut "s'arracher à l'inertie" et "vaincre le désespoir".
L'élément clé demeure néanmoins la lutte au financement du terrorisme. Les ministres des Finances des pays du G20 seront donc appelés à appuyer un plan d'action en ce sens.
A l'intérieur de ce plan, les pays seront invités à mettre en oeuvre sans délai les conventions internationales des Nations unies; à se conformer aux normes internationales; à coopérer avec les autres pays de leur région; et à offrir, s'ils en ont les moyens, une aide financière aux pays manquant de ressources pour lutter contre le terrorisme. Selon des porte-parole du ministère des Finances, ce plan comportera des actions concrètes.
"Il aurait peut-être été envisageable de se contenter de solutions de fortune avant le 11 septembre; ce n'est plus possible aujourd'hui", a souligné M. Martin, mettant l'accent sur l'importance de la coopération internationale.
Mais le ministre n'hésite pas à ajouter que la lutte au terrorisme ne pourra être efficace si les pays pauvres ne reçoivent pas l'aide des pays plus riches. "Sinon, les terroristes se contenteront tout simplement de transférer leurs fonds vers des territoires plus accommodants", a poursuivi M. Martin.
Les pays pauvres ont également besoin d'aide financière pour venir à bout de leurs problèmes récurrents et pour améliorer les conditions de vie des habitants, estime le ministre Martin. Il suggère donc une réforme des infrastructures financières internationales et, par exemple, d'accepter de rayer la dette de certains pays. "La mondialisation n'est pas la source de tous les maux qui affligent la planète (...) La croissance économique est une condition préalable à l'allégement de la pauvreté", a-t-il dit.
Manifestations
Au moment même où M. Martin prononçait son discours, des centaines de manifestants tentaient de faire entendre leurs voix. Les moyens qu'ils ont pris ont cependant fait réagir la police, qui a dû adopter la méthode forte pour les tenir loin du périmètre de sécurité érigé autour du centre de conférences du gouvernement, à proximité du parlement.
L'aide aux pays en développement a déjà fait l'objet de promesses du mi- nistre Martin et du premier ministre, Jean Chrétien. La semaine dernière, les deux hommes déclaraient que les som- mes dédiées à l'aide internationale seraient augmentées, et que le budget de décembre le refléterait. Le Canada doit faire un bon bout de chemin pour attein- dre les objectifs établis par les Nations unies, puisque seulement 0,25 % de son produit intérieur brut est versé à l'aide internationale, alors que la convention de l'ONU fixe la contribution à 0,7 %.
====

PUBLICATION: Le Nouvelliste (Trois-Rivières)
DATE: 2001.11.17
SECTION: L'actualité
PAGE: 1
SOURCE: PC
BYLINE: Ducas, Isabelle
PHOTO: PC
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
Les manifestants arrivés hier à Ottawa dans le cadre de larencontre des pays du G20 ont forcé la mise en place d'un fort contingent de policiers.

Du grabuge au G20 à Ottawa

Des manifestants se sont frottés aux policiers, hier, au centre-ville d'Ottawa, peu avant le début de la rencontre des pays du G20, fracassant quelques vitrines et décorant les édifices fédéraux de graffitis.
La police a arrêté quatre militants et a utilisé les gaz lacrymogènes à une occasion pour disperser la foule d'environ 300 personnes, au moment d'une arrestation.
Mais, en général, les manifestants ont évité les affrontements directs avec les policiers, qui étaient nombreux et bien armés.
Seuls quelques individus, équipés de masques à gaz, portant des cagoules noires et armés de bâtons, ont fait des dégâts. Ils ont brisé les vitrines d'un restaurant McDonald's, qui était fermé pour l'occasion, ont renversé des boîtes de distribution de journaux et ont peint des graffitis disant "Brisez l'État" sur des édifices, notamment celui de la Banque du Canada.
Les plus provocateurs ont également renversé des barricades métalliques et se sont approchés des cordons de policiers, près du Centre de conférences du gouvernement fédéral, où se tient la réunion du G20.
Pendant ce temps, les manifestants plus pacifiques dansaient au son des tam-tams en criant "La rue est à nous!"
Cinq personnes ont été légèrement blessées.
L'escouade antiémeute, équipée de boucliers et de matraques, postée en rangs serrés, tenait à portée de la main des canons à gaz lacrymogènes et des fusils à balles de plastique. Des chiens bergers allemands tenus en laisse aboyaient férocement.
La tension est montée à quelques reprises, notamment lorsque les policiers ont procédé à des arrestations et que les autres manifestants tentaient de venir en aide à leurs confrères.
Des agents ont alors envoyé ce que la police a décrit comme "un artifice de diversion contenant une petite quantité de gaz lacrymogène" pour éloigner la foule. Un peu plus tôt, les policiers avaient menacé de tirer des balles de plastique et ont ensuite fait reculer la foule en avançant, tout en frappant sur leurs boucliers avec leurs matraques.
"Nous nous demandions comment sortir d'ici, et ils ont attaqué. Alors maintenant on veut les affronter", a affirmé un jeune manifestant masqué, qui a dit appartenir au groupe anarchiste torontois The Black Touta.
Les manifestants se sont dispersés en fin d'après-midi et plusieurs groupes se sont retrouvés à l'Université d'Ottawa pour faire la fête. Certains participants ont indiqué qu'ils voulaient conserver leurs forces pour une manifestation plus importante, aujourd'hui.
"Notre objectif, c'est que la réunion n'ait pas lieu", a affirmé Karina Chagnon, une étudiante de l'UQAM, membre de la Convergence des luttes anti-capitalistes (CLAC).
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.18
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A5
BYLINE: Vito Pilieci
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
NOTE:
G20 Summit

Rideau Centre shoppers held captive in lockdown

Rideau Centre security staff locked down the mall yesterday, trapping hundreds of customers inside to protect them from G20 protests, centre officials said.
When hundreds of protesters approached the corner of Sussex Drive and Rideau Street yesterday afternoon, security at the Rideau Centre quickly locked the mall's doors, briefly holding customers captive.
Mall security said a lockdown was needed to allow security officials to protect customers. This included stationing guards at entrances to screen people coming in and turn away protesters.
Nancy Whan, owner and manager of After Dark, located near the Nicholas Street exit, said people were piling up at exits and some started to panic during the 20-minute lockdown.
"I just told them to be patient," she said. "We had throngs of people lined up outside our store because they couldn't get out. Thank God this only lasts three days."
Downtown businesses, meanwhile, continued to suffer losses yesterday as police closed more streets in the city's core.
Protesters congregated at the University of Ottawa yesterday morning and tried to make their way downtown via Laurier Avenue and Nicholas Street.
Their march caused numerous unexpected road closings, causing massive traffic gridlock for anybody who may have tried to get downtown.
"The off ramps at Nicholas Street were barricaded," said Jack Donegani, who came downtown with his wife yesterday morning.
Police shut down Nicholas Street and Laurier Avenue for part of the day, as protesters waved anti-globalization signs and jammed both streets en route to the Rideau Centre and the War Memorial.
Police said previously announced road closings will remain in effect until 6 p.m. today, but the closings can change without notice.
"Temporary road closures happen a lot during demonstrations," said Jacques Corbeil, a spokesman for G20 security issues. "Normally it doesn't take very long, and sometimes we don't have time to announce them."
Others who found themselves confined to the Rideau Centre yesterday said they have had enough of the G20 and the inconvenience it is causing.
"I think this is really extreme," said Eliza Nogrady, referring to the lockdown and the three security guards who stopped patrons from leaving via the Rideau Street exit. "I can't believe they would close down the core of the city for this. What are we suppose to do, hide all weekend?"
News about mall lockdown and more road closings could be another blow to businesses operating downtown, as customers intimidated by the possibility of violent protests are staying away.
"There are no people here and those who are here are scared," said Bill Duncan, an outdoor vendor of handmade furniture in the Market. "Today I haven't sold one piece of furniture. Normally I sell between six and eight."
Mr. Duncan said the Byward Market has quickly become a ghost town. He said most people in the Market yesterday were making a beeline for the safety of indoor locations such as the Rideau Centre.
But Anna Febbraro, assistant manager of Bluenotes in the Rideau Centre, said while it may appear that people are shopping at the Centre, her business was slow.
"Nobody is coming here," she said.
By noon yesterday, Bluenotes had sold some 400 pieces of clothing. On a normal Saturday the store will sell between 7,000 and 8,000 pieces, Ms. Febbraro said.
"I would say our business is down at least 40 per cent," said Steve Larocque, manager of Sports Experts. "It's very slow."
Even the Signatures Christmas Craft show, which normally attracts upwards of 25,000 people annually, is having a hard time drawing customers.
"Yesterday we did about half of the business we normally do," said John Ladouceur, owner of the Signatures Craft Show.
Mr. Ladouceur said many of his vendors make more than half of their profits in the runup to Christmas, and for them to lose an entire weekend of selling is devastating.
"The irony is these protesters are against globalization," he said. "But if anybody is not globalized it's these vendors."
====
 

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.18
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A5
COLUMN: Randall Denley
BYLINE: Randall Denley
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Paul Chiasson, The Canadian Press / Thedemonstration's only real credibility came from police, who treated protesters as if they were truly a threat to Western society.; Photo: Julie Oliver, The Ottawa Citizen / Darth Vader's minions in menacing riot gear appear bemused as a protester flashes a peace sign in front of the Supreme Court on Wellington.
NOTE:
G20 Summit

A lame attack on 'evil capitalism': Protesters use chalk and paint, and other artistic forms of expression, to make their point

Yesterday's protest against the G20 meeting was a remarkably pointless waste of time that in no way justified the cost and inconvenience to more sensible members of the public.
Many downtown businesses were forced to close for most of the day and protect their buildings with security guards, ordinary pedestrians couldn't get around police barricades and the police themselves were out in force, at enormous cost to taxpayers. All this so a rag-tag mob could wander through the streets, chanting, defacing buildings and having a good time.
Rather than saying the demonstration was pointless, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the people in the street demonstration were trying to make dozens of points and, in the end, made no point at all.
The demonstration was supposed to be a protest against the evil of capitalism and the actions of its agents, G20 finance ministers and international bankers. If that cause didn't do it for you, there were people who were pro-Palestine, against date rape, pro-Afghanistan, against free trade, against the G20's little known anti-gay policies, and the faithful standby, against Yankee imperialism. The Marxist-Leninists, the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, Trotskyites and just plain Marxists were offering their antiquated world views. It's almost touching that there are still people who endorse these philosophies when even Russia has long abandoned them.
The Marxists should be aware that their $2 publication L'Humanite is being undercut by the 50-cent Workers Vanguard. The destructive effects of capitalist competition are everywhere.
It's not much of a consolation for the trouble others were put to, but the people in the demonstration seemed to enjoy themselves. With the young crowd, the drums, the marching and the crisp fall weather, it seemed the whole thing should have ended with a darn good university football game.
Some seemed to confuse the event with Halloween. Fairy wings and Jean Chretien masks were popular. Judging by the number of young couples present, it was a prime date event. A few people were arrested, which will boost their status with their friends. Just enough tear gas was set off for demonstrators to claim they had been gassed without actually experiencing the effects of it. It would be fair to say that most demonstrators returned home tired but happy.
The tiredness certainly didn't come from thinking too hard. It's remarkable that people living in Canada can condemn capitalism when its benefits are all around them. Why do they think they can buy their nifty backpacks and the expensive cameras many were using to get souvenir demo pictures? They say that capitalism has brought poverty to the Third World, or the "Two-Thirds World," as they prefer to call it. Actually, poverty is very much a First World concept. People in most countries have never had wealth as we know it. That's not capitalism's fault.
The demonstration's only real credibility came from the police, who treated the protesters as if they were truly a threat to the future of western society. Menacing riot police twice swooped down on the march, once to divide it as it left LeBreton Flats, the second time to arrest a handful of demonstrators. There was no apparent provocation for the arrests.
Despite their numbers, police made no attempt to prevent the defacing of public buildings along Wellington Street. Several were covered with witless slogans. The demonstrators who used chalk at least showed some consideration. Others relied on spray paint. One wit sprayed "F--k Banks" on the door of the Bank of Montreal on Wellington, then stepped back to take a picture of his achievement. Another hooligan, less gifted with words, settled for urinating on the doors of the Bank of Canada.
Even as the demonstration wound tamely down, the police still had all the side streets off Elgin blocked, so people had to walk blocks out of their way just to get to their cars. In their own way, the police were almost as annoying as the demonstrators. They looked like Darth Vader's minions in their menacing riot gear and black uniforms, but like most things in yesterday's event, it was only a show. Once the demonstrators had passed, they took off their helmets and revealed themselves mostly to be balding middle-aged guys, probably more used to handing out speeding tickets than bashing heads. During a brief coffee break at a Sparks Street restaurant, five of them came tromping down the stairs to the washroom. They looked dangerous, but they said excuse me as they squeezed by. This is Canada, after all.
As the demonstration wound down, some shops opened and life on the streets began to return to a semblance of normality. The demonstrators' favourite chant came to mind. "Whose streets? Our streets," they were fond of saying.
Yes, our streets. Not their streets. Goodbye. Don't come back soon.
====

PUBLICATION: Le Soleil
DATE: 2001.11.18
SECTION: Actualités
PAGE: A3
SOURCE: Le Droit
BYLINE: Bolduc-Jacob, Marilaine; Bertrand, Jean-François
PHOTO: PC
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
Les manifestations antimondialisation ont conduit à quelquesarrestations musclées, surtout en avant-midi. En tout, 40 personnes auraient été arrêtées pendant la fin de semaine.

Confrontation tranquille; Manifestants et policiers jouent au chat et à la souris dans les rues d'Ottawa

Ottawa, hôtesse du Sommet du G20, n'avait rien de Québec lors du Sommet des Amériques, hier.
Plus de 3000 manifestants ont envahi les rues, hier, et ceux qui cherchaient la confrontation se sont butés à un mur de policiers qui n'ont pas eu à dégainer trop souvent.
Lors de quelques escarmouches, la police a utilisé du poivre de Cayenne, du gaz lacrymogène, des balles de caoutchouc, des bombes fumigènes et des boyaux d'arrosage pour repousser les manifestants. La police avait des camions arroseurs prêts à intervenir, devant les manifestants, mais ils n'ont pas été utilisés.
Trente-deux personnes ont été arrêtées, ce qui porte à 40 le nombre de personnes mises sous arrêt depuis le début du G20. Personne n'a été blessé lors des confrontations. Quelques militants et des journalistes ont cependant affirmé à la Presse canadienne avoir reçu des coups de matraque des policiers et avoir été mordus par leurs chiens, des bergers allemands.
Pendant plus de deux heures, manifestants et policiers se sont regardés dans les yeux, de part et d'autre des barricades encerclant le Centre des conférences, situé à proximité du parlement. Les forces policières, impassibles, n'ont pas répondu aux provocations verbales des plus agressifs.
"Ici, c'est l'une des polices les plus armées et les plus équipées. C'est des Robocop", a dit Jean-Baptiste Koudrine, un Breton de passage au Québec, qui est venu à Ottawa pour protester contre le libéralisme économique.
Les policiers arboraient boucliers, matraques, casques protecteurs à visière et masques à gaz.
Devant l'impasse aux barricades, environ 500 protestataires toujours sur place se sont dirigés rue Elgin, un grand boulevard fermé à la circulation lors du Sommet, où ils essayaient de se rassembler.
Déplacements spontanés
Après quelques séries d'arrestations, les manifestants, toujours à la recherche d'une confrontation, ont fait une grande boucle pour se retrouver de l'autre côté du Centre de conférences, où des policiers de la GRC, de la police provinciale de l'Ontario, de la Ville d'Ottawa et de l'escouade tactique torontoise les attendaient.
Après une vingtaine de minutes, le groupe a parcouru les rues du centre-ville, s'arrêtant brièvement en face de l'ambassade des États-Unis, talonné par les policiers. Les manifestants, des étudiants surtout, se sont dispersés alors qu'il faisait noir.
Plus tôt dans la journée, on retrouvait des parents, des enfants et des vieux hippies parmi les participants. Ils étaient plus de 2000 devant l'édifice de la Cour suprême à écouter des discours dénonçant les méfaits du capitalisme sauvage.
Maude Barlow, présidente du Conseil des Canadiens, a déclaré à la foule que "la Banque mondiale, le Fonds monétaire international, le G8, le G20 et la Zone de libre-échange des Amériques pensent que les affaires continuent comme à l'habitude. Ils pensent que leur politique de libéralisme est la solution à la pauvreté. C'est faux". Mme Barlow a demandé aux manifestants de garder le calme lors de la marche vers le Centre des conférences. Les organisateurs avaient prévu deux zones de manifestation aux barricades, l'une familiale et non violente, l'autre où des actions alternatives pouvaient être envisagées.
Parmi les manifestants, une trentaine d'anarchistes vêtus de noir ont tenté de franchir les barricades. "Je veux traverser les barricades. Je ne veux pas exacerber la violence, mais je dois interrompre le sommet", a affirmé l'un d'entre eux, qui avait fait 20 heures de route à partir de la Nouvelle-Écosse.
Trois autobus en partance de Québec ont amené des étudiants de l'Université Laval et des cégeps de la région. "La guerre et le terrorisme sont causés par les politiques économiques, soutient François, un manifestant de 18 ans de Québec. Je ne sais pas complètement ce qu'ils vont discuter lors du sommet."
Parmi les protestataires, on comptait de nombreux cégépiens et universitaires de Montréal.
Venu de loin
Le Sommet du G20 a également attiré des manifestants américains, tel Jrath Kahl, de l'État de l'Oregon, qui s'occupait des premiers soins. Lui et une cinquantaine de bénévoles s'assuraient de la sécurité des manifestants et des spectateurs.
"Lorsqu'il y a une émeute, cela peut parfois prendre jusqu'à une heure avant de voir arriver une ambulance", a-t-il dit, se fondant sur ses expériences à Seattle, Washington et Québec.
Ottawa n'avait jamais vu un dispositif de sécurité aussi imposant. La possibilité qu'il y ait de la violence a attiré des curieux qui observaient la scène de loin.
====
 

PUBLICATION: Le Soleil
DATE: 2001.11.19
SECTION: Actualités
PAGE: A3
SOURCE: PC
BYLINE: Schmidt, Lisa
PHOTO: PC
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
Déterminées à éviter une répétition des émeutes et desdégâts du Sommet des Amériques de Québec, les autorités avaient déployé 650 policiers pour ces rencontres du G20, du Fonds monétaire international et de la Banque mondiale. Les agents de la paix ont pu prendre un petit repos, hier.

Sommet du G20: Grabuge limité; Finalement, les manifestations auront été plutôt contenues à Ottawa

Deux mille manifestants, un groupe d'anarchistes munis d'armes cachées, des tirs de gaz lacrymogène et de balles de caoutchouc par la police : la situation aurait pu tourner au désastre cette fin de semaine à Ottawa, où étaient réunis les ministres des Finances dans le cadre des rencontres du G20. Mais si on le compare avec des rencontres antérieures, le grabuge aura finalement été limité.
Une fois le calme revenu, hier, on ne rapportait pas de blessures graves, un nombre relativement faible d'arrestations et pas de dommages majeurs à la propriété.
De 2000 qu'ils étaient la veille, il ne restait plus que quelques dizaines de manifestants qui ont flâné pendant environ une heure, hier, derrière les barricades policières dressées autour du centre de conférence.
Les effectifs policiers étaient nettement plus nombreux que les manifestants, qui n'ont fait aucune tentative pour enfoncer les barrières, contrairement à la veille. La police avait alors eu recours au gaz lacrymogène, au poivre de Cayenne, aux jets d'eau et aux balles de caoutchouc pour contenir la foule.
Déterminées à éviter une répétition des émeutes et des dégâts du Sommet des Amériques de Québec, au printemps dernier, les autorités avaient déployé 650 policiers pour ces rencontres du G20, du Fonds monétaire international et de la Banque mondiale.
50 arrestations
La police a arrêté au total 50 personnes. Toutes ont été relâchées, sauf trois, qui devront répondre d'accusations criminelles, dont celle de voies de fait contre des policiers.
Les manifestants dénonçaient la mondialisation, l'exploitation capitaliste des peuples et de l'environnement, et revendiquaient le soulagement de la dette des pays pauvres.
A la fin de la rencontre, les leaders financiers mondiaux ont convenu de réprimer le financement du terrorisme et d'oeuvrer à alléger le fardeau de la dette des pays défavorisés.
La plupart des manifestants étaient pacifiques, mais un petit nombre d'entre eux ont tenté d'enfoncer les barrières et ont joué au chat et à la souris avec les policiers dans les rues du centre-ville d'Ottawa, vendredi et samedi.
Plusieurs étaient costumés de manière fantaisiste. De jeunes hommes à la coiffure punk et aux vestes de cuir cloutées marchaient aux côtés de personnes âgées portant la bannière d'un groupe religieux local.
Des anarchistes étaient venus avec l'intention de semer le trouble, munis d'armes et de masques à gaz. Vendredi, un petit groupe de personnes vêtues de noir ont fait éclater des vitrines de commerces et ont commis des actes de vandalisme. Plusieurs des personnes arrêtées samedi ont été interpellées par des policiers qui semblaient cibler les individus vêtus de noir.
Des protestataires ont reproché à la police d'avoir provoqué les affrontements de samedi en arrêtant des gens qui marchaient pacifiquement.
Mais au cours d'une conférence de presse tenue à l'hôtel de ville, la police a montré aux membres des médias un assortiment de barres de métal, de petits couteaux, de bâtons, de masques à gaz saisis auprès de manifestants.
La manifestation a été essentiellement pacifique, a déclaré le sergent d'état-major Léo Janveau, de la police d'Ottawa. Quelqu'un qui se présentait à la manifestation avec ce type d'objets ne pouvait avoir d'autre intention que celle de commettre un acte criminel, a-t-il dit.
Le maire d'Ottawa, Bob Chiarelli, s'est dit heureux de constater les dommages " minimaux " qui ont été recensés au cours de la fin de semaine.
====

PUBLICATION: Le Droit
DATE: 2001.11.19
SECTION: Actualités
PAGE: 6
BYLINE: Bolduc-Jacob, Marilaine
PHOTO: Roy, Martin; PC
ILLUSTRATION:
Les manifestants ne partageaient pas tous les mêmes visionset ne comptaient pas user des mêmes moyens pour se faire entendre des représentants du G20.; Le chef de police d'Ottawa Vince Bevan et le maire de la ville Bob Chiarelli; Des douzaines de manifestants pacifiques ont fait semblant d'être morts devant le monument du soldat inconnu, hier. Le nombre des manifestants au sommet du G20 a diminué de 2000 par rapport à ceux qui avaient convergé vers le site la veille.

Visions et actions divergentes chez les manifestants

Les manifestants avaient des visions différentes, parfois même divergentes, sur la façon d'arriver à se faire entendre par les représentants du G20.
Un jeune anarchiste, entièrement vêtu de noir et masqué dès le début de la manifestation, s'était préparé pour parvenir à traverser les barricades.
"Je veux traverser le mur pour faire taire le sommet", a-t-il annoncé samedi avant les premières arrestations.
Le jeune homme, qui n'en était pas à sa première manifestation, est préoccupé par la façon dont le Fonds monétaire international et la Banque mondiale traitent la question de la dette des pays pauvres.
Il a fait 20 heures d'autobus à partir de la Nouvelle-Écosse pour participer aux manifestations.
"Je ne veux pas exacerber la violence et je ne cherche pas la confrontation", a-t-il précisé, ajoutant qu'il souhaitait simplement se rendre au Centre de conférences sans qu'on lui barre la route.
Finalement, lui et une trentaine de ses acolytes ne sont pas parvenus à franchir les barricades, se contentant de provoquer les policiers à courte distance avec d'autres manifestants.
La police avait toutefois repéré très tôt le groupe dont il faisait partie, arborant drapeaux noirs et cagoules.
Dès le départ de la marche en direction de la Cour suprême à partir des plaines LeBreton, la police a procédé à deux séries d'arrestations visant spécifiquement le groupe, qui manifestait alors pacifiquement avec les autres protestataires.
"Ce qu'on cherche, c'est la preuve d'une association avec certains groupes. Ces preuves sont le linge qu'ils portent et la manière dont ils se comportent dans la foule. On a ciblé les groupes dont on savait qu'ils n'étaient pas là pour faire des manifestations pacifiques", a expliqué le sergent Léo Janveau, l'un des porte-parole de l'équipe mixte de police mise sur pied pour les événements.
Ces arrestations ont été fortement dénoncées par les autres manifestants.
CONSTATS MITIGÉS DES OPÉRATIONS POLICIERES
Les opérations policières qui ont été menées cette fin de semaine sont perçues différemment selon le côté des barricades où on se situait.
Le maire d'Ottawa, Bob Chiarelli, n'avait que des éloges à faire sur le déroulement du Sommet du G20. "Je pense que la fin de semaine est vraiment un succès parce que la communauté en général et les services de police ont été très coopératifs, et la population dans les rues aussi. Comme toujours, un petit groupe de personnes radicales a tenté de créer beaucoup de problèmes, mais on les a vite restreints", a-t-il exprimé en français.
"Nous avons observé des méthodes joyeuses, positives et créatives utilisées par les manifestants pour s'exprimer", avait souligné plus tôt Léo Janveau, porte-parole de la police d'Ottawa.
Les manifestants ont toutefois vivement dénoncé les arrestations policières et la détention des manifestants qui n'ont pu faire d'appel téléphonique avant d'être relâchés, dimanche matin vers 4 h 30.
Denise Veilleux, de la Coalition anti-ZLEA de l'Outaouais, a décrit les interventions policières comme étant brutales. Elle a rappelé un événement dont elle a été victime lorsqu'un policier bloquant un pont lui a dit: "Si je veux te jeter à l'eau, je peux." D'autres bavures ont été dénoncées par les manifestants.
Ceux-ci ont aussi fortement critiqué la présence de chiens policiers, qui ont mordu non seulement des manifestants, mais aussi des policiers. Les forces policières ont toutefois précisé que l'utilisation de chiens policiers était courante dans toutes les polices dans ce genre de situation.
"Nous avons indiqué que nous allions utiliser des mesures appropriées à la situation. C'est ce que nous estimons avoir fait depuis vendredi", a soutenu Marc Richer, porte-parole de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada.
Les manifestants estiment toutefois que la police a exacerbé la violence en arrêtant des gens qui marchaient pacifiquement samedi matin. Les forces policières ont bloqué certains accès et ont procédé à l'arrestation de quelques individus qui pouvaient jouer les trouble-fête.
"Nous ne voulions pas provoquer, a rétorqué M. Janveau. Il faut faire la part des choses entre le droit de protester et la sécurité."
La police a rempli un camion d'objets appartenant aux manifestants, comme des masques à gaz, des pots remplis de peinture et des bâtons. "Il n y a aucune raison pour que des gens amènent ce type d'objets dans des manifestations pacifiques", soutient M. Janveau.
Des recours en justice pourraient être entrepris par certains manifestants.
mjacob@ledroit.com
====
 

PUBLICATION: Le Nouvelliste (Trois-Rivières)
DATE: 2001.11.19
SECTION: L'actualité
PAGE: 23
SOURCE: PC
BYLINE: Schmidt, Lisa
PHOTO: PC
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
Les policiers assurant la sécurité au G20 étaient pas malmoins sur les dents qu'au Sommet des Amériques. Il y a eu du grabuge, vendredi et samedi, mais les manifestations ont été passablement contenues hier.

Des manifestations contenues au G20

Deux mille manifestants, un groupe d'anarchistes munis d'armes cachées, des tirs de gaz lacrymogènes et de balles de caoutchouc par la police: la situation aurait pu tourner au désastre ce week-end à Ottawa, où étaient réunis les ministres des Finances dans le cadre des rencontres du G20. Mais si on les compare avec des rencontres antérieures, le grabuge aura finalement été limité.
Une fois le calme revenu, hier, on ne rapportait pas de blessures graves, un nombre relativement faible d'arrestations et pas de dommages majeurs à la propriété.
De 2000 qu'ils étaient la veille, il ne restait plus que quelques dizaines de manifestants qui ont flâné pendant environ une heure, hier, derrière les barricades policières dressées autour du centre de conférence.
Les effectifs policiers étaient nettement plus nombreux que les manifestants, qui n'ont fait aucune tentative pour enfoncer les barrières, contrairement à la veille. La police avait alors eu recours aux gaz lacrymogènes, au poivre de Cayenne, aux jets d'eau et aux balles de caoutchouc pour contenir la foule.
Déterminées à éviter une répétition des émeutes et des dégâts du Sommet des Amériques de Québec, au printemps dernier, les autorités avaient déployé 650 policiers pour ces rencontres du G20, du Fonds monétaire international et de la Banque mondiale.
La police a arrêté au total 50 personnes. Toutes ont été relâchées, sauf trois, qui devront répondre d'accusations criminelles, dont celle de voies de fait contre des policiers.
Les manifestants dénonçaient la mondialisation, l'exploitation capitaliste des peuples et de l'environnement, et revendiquaient le soulagement de la dette des pays pauvres.
A la fin de la rencontre, les leaders financiers mondiaux ont convenu de réprimer le financement du terrorisme et d'oeuvrer à alléger le fardeau de la dette des pays défavorisés.
La plupart des manifestants étaient pacifiques, mais un petit nombre d'entre eux ont tenté d'enfoncer les barrières et joué au chat et à la souris avec les policiers dans les rues du centre-ville d'Ottawa, vendredi et samedi.
Des protestataires ont reproché à la police d'avoir provoqué les affrontements de samedi en arrêtant des gens qui marchaient pacifiquement.
Mais au cours d'une conférence de presse tenue à l'hôtel de ville, la police a montré aux membres des médias un assortiment de barres de métal, petits couteaux, bâtons, masques à gaz saisis auprès de manifestants.
La manifestation a été essentiellement pacifique, a déclaré le sergent d'état-major Léo Janveau, de la police d'Ottawa. Quelqu'un qui se présentait à la manifestation avec ce type d'objets ne pouvait avoir d'autre intention que celle de commettre un acte criminel, a-t-il dit.
====

PUBLICATION: CTV - CTV NEWS
DATE: 2001.11.17

G20 meeting in Ottawa

SANDIE RINALDO: As Joy mentioned the G20 gathering attracted thousands of anti-globalization protesters as well as those opposed to the war in Afghanistan. Some of the demonstrators engaged in violent clashes with police and as Ottawa cleans up tonight, questions are being asked about whether authorities overreacted. CTV's Roger Smith reports.
ROGER SMITH (Reporter): It's the usual pattern, a peaceful march turns violent. Police used tear gas to repel the first assault, then turned on the hoses. This man was hit in the face with pepper spray. But for protesters, police weren't the only target. The media also roughed up. Camera equipment damaged. The day took a bad turn hours before when police moved in on the march against the G20 to arrest suspected trouble makers.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Get that dog off him. Get that dog off him.
SMITH: And their dogs attacked several others.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Cops rushed in when there was an open space and started yelling attack to the dogs and the dogs just attacked. I just layed on the ground and a dog attacked me six or seven times.
BILL MOORE-KILGANNIN (Council of Canadians): I said to the policeman, your dog just bit me and he said get the "F" out of here. SMITH: Organizers accused police of overreacting. Suggesting they're to blame for making a peaceful crowd angry.
DAVID LEVY (Mobilization for Global Justice): If they want a peaceful demonstration, they should not provoke the crowd like that. SMITH: But police defended their methods.
SGT. KRISTINE CHOLETTE (Police Spokesperson): Our measured response is the reaction to the actions of the protesters.
SMITH: Whether police tactics were the reason or simply a justification, several hundred protesters engaged in running confrontations around the G20 conference centre. At least 32 people were arrested. Still the nations capital can feel some relief, compared to Quebec City last April, the trouble and the tear gas here was no where near as bad. Roger Smith, CTV News, Ottawa.
====
 

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.20
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: E2
BYLINE: Randy Boswell
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Wayne Cuddington, The Ottawa Citizen / University ofOttawa law professor David Paciocco says it is 'quite a stretch' to justify an arrest based merely on the fact that a protester is dressed the same way as someone else who has already broken the law.; Photo: Lynn Ball, the Ottawa Citizen / A worker uses a powerwasher to remove graffiti on the front of the Bank of Canada building on Wellington Street yesterday after the G20 summit on the weekend, which at one point attracted about 2,000 protesters, 50 of whom were arrested.

Police violated Charter rights at G20 protests, law professor says: Arrests based on clothing a 'questionable use' of police power

Police appeared to blatantly violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at last weekend's G20 demonstrations when they made "preventative arrests" of some protesters based on their clothing, says a University of Ottawa law professor.
David Paciocco says comments made by police about how they singled out individuals for arrest expose a questionable use of the police power -- allowed under Canadian law in certain situations -- to arrest someone who is believed to be about to commit an indictable offence.
Mr. Paciocco called it "quite a stretch" to justify an arrest based merely on the fact that a protester is dressed the same way as someone else who has already broken the law. "You have to use caution or you risk depriving people of their liberties."
He was responding to comments made Sunday by Ottawa police Staff-Sgt. Leo Janveau who explained how officers identified protesters who were deemed at risk of becoming violent and were arrested before breaking any laws.
"We started targeting groups who, we were confident, were not there to do peaceful protest, who were there for other reasons," Staff-Sgt. Janveau said. "We started targeting people who might engage in different behaviour. We looked at what clothes they were wearing, and how they behaved in their groups."
A total of 50 people, eight on Friday, 41 on Saturday and one on Sunday, were arrested during the G20. Most were released without charge, but five people were charged with mischief stemming from vandalism, and two were charged with assaulting a police officer.
Mr. Paciocco says it would be justifiable to arrest someone for picking up a rock when others around him have been throwing them at police officers.
"You wouldn't want a system," says Mr. Paciocco, that forces police to "stand there and wait for someone to throw the rock."
But it isn't the same thing, he argues, to arrest someone because he's dressed in black and appears to have clothing similar to, say, members of an anarchist organization who've been caught breaking the law.
If police acted on that interpretation of the power of preventative arrest, he says, "I suppose you could run out and arrest people for wearing Hell's Angels colours. "To some extent it's a judgment call," he added. "But you have to have reasonable grounds that a person is about to commit an indictable offence."
Police targeting of protesters for pre-emptive arrests prompted earlier criticisms from Ottawa lawyer Lawrence Greenspon. "When police detain people because they look like protesters, or they are protesters, it's a violation of our constitutional rights," he said Sunday. "I'm not talking about the small number of people who broke a phone booth or a McDonald's (window), I'm talking about the 98 per cent of people who were demonstrating peacefully."
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.27
EDITION: EARLY
SECTION: City
PAGE: D2
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

G20 protesters display anger at police meeting

The visitors gallery was full last night at the Ottawa Police Services Board meeting as G20 protesters came out to express their outrage with police conduct at the summit held in Ottawa earlier this month.
During the 16 presentations made by the public, the board heard from demonstrators who claimed police acted brutally to while they protested peacefully.
Bill Moore-Kilgannon told the board that he and his eight-year-old son were bitten by police dogs while they participated in a peaceful protest.
Ottawa police Chief Vince Bevan, on the other hand, told the board that he was proud of the work done by police during the G20.
"I believe that the planning and management of public security for the G20 meeting in Ottawa was exceptional," he said.
"We took proactive steps necessary to ensure public security and safety. These steps were appropriate and justified."Chief Bevan also displayed a large table full of items seized from protesters, including rocks, knives, sticks and metal poles.
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.11
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: A9 / Front
BYLINE: Karina Roman
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Anarchists target G20 meeting in Ottawa

Hard-core anarchists vowing to shut down next weekend's G20 meeting are planning on using militant snake marches and setting cars on fire as well as other tactics in their efforts to breach police lines and disrupt the assembly of the world's finance ministers.
In chat rooms, discussion boards and anarchist Web pages, preparations are hastily being discussed to protest the meeting, which was moved to Ottawa from India just over a month ago.
In addition to the G20, which includes finance ministers from the top 20 economies, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank committees are also converging on the capital.
While many protesters are likely to be non-violent, there are groups with more radical agendas that, by their Internet activity, show no regard for private property or public safety.
"Barricades are a great tool in creating chaos in the streets ... cars can be wonderful barricades and can easily be set on fire," says the raisethefist.com site.
As seen at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in April and, most recently, in Genoa, Italy, where the G8 met in July, a "blac bloc" tactic will likely be used. That's when a group of protesters dressed in black and wearing ski masks are the main instigators. In Quebec City, the blac bloc wreaked some of the greatest physical damage, smashing cars and throwing rocks.
"F--- private property!" says the Black Touta site. "In Ottawa, we have the potential to dictate a message to the masses."
Militant snake marching is also widely discussed. It involves columns of people walking from different directions, in order to divide police resources, before converging at a common site.
Other ideas aired include targeting police gas masks and visors with paint to block the officers' vision, potato launchers that "leave nice dents in vehicals (sic)" and lubricant to make the pavement slippery.
Even protesters from abroad are studying the lay of the land in Ottawa to figure out the best mode of attack.
"I've lately been studying the maps of Ottawa," said one posting. "The first thing I must say is, shut down the transit bridges ... the second thing is shut down the power."
Illustrating their distrust of authority, the anarchists are also discussing what to do about a fence that might be erected to form a security perimeter.
Police have announced that there will be no such fence.
====

PUBLICATION: Edmonton Journal
DATE: 2001.11.11
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A16
SOURCE: Southam Newspapers; Ottawa Citizen
DATELINE: Ottawa

Hard-core anarchists vow to stop G20 meet in Ottawa: Plan to use violent tactics, including setting cars afire

Hard-core anarchists vowing to shut down next weekend's G20 meeting are planning on using militant snake marches and setting cars on fire as well as other violent tactics in their efforts to breach police lines and disrupt the assembly of the world's finance ministers.
In chat rooms, discussion boards and anarchist Web pages, preparations are hastily being discussed to disrupt the meeting, which was moved to Ottawa from India just over a month ago.
In addition to the G20, which includes finance ministers from the top 20 economies, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank committees are also converging on the capital.
Groups with radical agendas show, by their Internet activity, no regard for private property or public safety.
"Barricades are a great tool in creating chaos in the streets ... cars can be wonderful barricades and can easily be set on fire," says the raisethefist.com site.
As seen at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in April and, most recently, in Genoa, Italy, where the G8 met in July, a "blac bloc" tactic will likely be used. That's when a group of troublemakers dressed in black and wearing ski masks are the main instigators. In Quebec City, the blac bloc wreaked some of the greatest physical damage, smashing cars and throwing rocks.
"F-- private property!" says the Black Touta site. "In Ottawa, we have the potential to dictate a message to the masses."
Militant snake marching is also widely discussed. It involves columns of people walking from different directions, in order to divide police resources, before converging at a common site.
Other tactics aired include smearing police gas masks and visors with paint to block the officers' vision, potato launchers that "leave nice dents in vehicals (sic)" and lubricant to make the pavement slippery.
====

PUBLICATION: The Edmonton Sun
DATE: 2001.11.11
SECTION: News
PAGE: 7
SOURCE: Sun Ottawa Bureau
BYLINE: David Gamble
DATELINE: Ottawa

MARTIN SEES SMOOTH G20 MEETING IN OTTAWA

Finance Minister Paul Martin says next weekend's G20 conference is good business for Canada and Ottawa and predicts protests and terrorism won't be a big problem.
"The fact is that Ottawa is really going to be the centre of a lot, of an awful lot of international press attention. I think that's good for Ottawa," Martin told Sun Media.
He said downtown merchants need not worry about lost business during a time they consider to be the first big Christmas shopping weekend. "I think it's good for those merchants in the long run," Martin said.
"There are an awful lot of tourists who go to places like Ottawa and Washington because these places are in the news. So in the long run, I think it's probably good for Ottawa."
Security concerns are real, but under control, Martin said.
"I rely on what the police say. As far as the police are concerned, they have it under control," he said.
Martin, chairman of the G20 group of finance ministers from the world's largest economies, offered up Ottawa to host two important international meetings originally planned for New Delhi, India, and Washington, D.C., but cancelled after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. The Indian government pulled the plug on the meeting over security concerns, admitted Martin.
Committees of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, originally booked for Washington for Sept. 28 and 29, were also moved to Ottawa.
The major items on the meeting's agenda are the post-Sept. 11 economic meltdown, the worldwide effort to clamp down on terrorist financing and how to make the market work for the world's poor, Martin said.
"You can't let the terrorists win. If the terrorists are able to paralyse the way in which the world is coming together, if the terrorists are able to divide us, they'll win. I think in the end, the terrorists will not win and Canadians don't want them to win."
Martin said he doesn't expect protesters to cause major disruptions next weekend.
"I think that Sept. 11 did bring a shift in perspective that, yes, there will be peaceful demonstration. The massive protests that we have seen, I don't think we're going to see, certainly for the foreseeable future," Martin said.
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.15
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A18
COLUMN: Charles Gordon
BYLINE: Charles Gordon
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Crafting useful solutions for both capitalists and protesters

If you ever doubted that Ottawa is a world capital, events of the past week prove it, and we will see more of it in the days ahead.
We are deeply affected by international events. Just to give you an example, on Tuesday residents of Kabul celebrated the departure of the Taliban. Some women were photographed uncovering part of their faces to mark the occasion.
In a gesture of solidarity, one of our most prominent local citizens, Marlen Cowpland, was photographed uncovering part of her bum.
World events will also have a big local impact on the weekend, as leaders of the G20, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund converge on the city, accompanied by demonstrators who have gathered from all over.
Local residents, looking at maps published in this paper, realize that their freedom of movement, both in cars and on foot, will be severely restricted.
This has to do with security, a concept with which we are becoming all too familiar these days. While the great majority of protesters have made it clear that they have no intention of seeking confrontation, there are some who make no such guarantees. The authorities are, to put it mildly, erring on the side of caution, as at least one foreign protester can attest, from her space at the Regional Detention Centre.
Blocking streets to pedestrians, taking away garbage cans and benches, holding protesters before they've protested -- this is big-league stuff, which may be one reason why the affected downtown merchants are trying to be good sports about the whole thing.
They must know many people are going to avoid downtown like the plague, if you can forgive a metaphor that seems less archaic these days than it used to. But some of them are thinking about security too, so their objections are muted.
No one could have more objections than the organizers of a craft sale that is being held at the Ottawa Congress Centre, a location that, if you read the maps, is about as inaccessible as it is possible to be without actually building a moat around it.
(Now that you mention moats, has anybody thought of that: police crocodiles in the Rideau Canal?)
The Christmas craft show usually does a ton of pre-Christmas business, attracting as many as 25,000 visitors. What can save it now? Only unprecedented co-operation between the authorities, the protesters and the proprietors.
Think of this: A craft show designed to meet the Christmas shopping needs of both G20 officials and anti-globalization protesters. It could work, but the craftspeople will have to get to work.
Knitting ski masks for protesters, for example.
Or making needlepoint samplers with floral patterns and heartwarming slogans, such as BLESS THIS INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND or,
alternatively, CAPITALISM SUCKS.
The craftspeople could be fashioning gas masks out of old sailcloth and parts of discarded vacuum cleaners.
Or they could be catering to the discerning foreign official, with clay coffee mugs carrying such slogans as I THE WORLD BANK or bumper stickers saying HONK IF YOU LOVE STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT.
Dolls of anti-globalization heroes, such as Jaggi Singh, would be sought-after by some, dolls of the G20 finance ministers would be sought-after by others, either as souvenirs or effigies. Our own Paul Martin might be valuable to collectors, in case he amounts to anything.
Police might like a crocheted tear-gas warmer.
Or they might not. But they would certainly welcome the opportunity to compensate in some way for the inconvenience caused to the craft show. Were one available, they would be happy to purchase a hand-crafted fire hose.
Posters are an important feature of all protests. This year, they could be woven into blankets, keeping protesters warm, conveying their message and providing much-needed revenue to Canadian artisans.
Stained glass is another important medium, with the ability to convey powerful images, such as the subjugation of Third World workers by multinational corporations or the creation of prosperity by enlightened international agreements arrived at in Ottawa.
It's all just in time for Christmas. Be sure not to miss the tree ornaments featuring the three wise bankers.
The Citizen's Charles Gordon writes here on Thursdays and Saturdays and on the City Editorial Page on Tuesdays.
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.16
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: F1 / Front
BYLINE: Kelly Egan
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Jim Young, Reuters / A worker puts up a chain-linkfence around Parliament Hill yesterday in preparation for the G20 meeting beginning today. Thousands are expected to demonstrate against the meeting of finance ministers, as well as meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.; Colour Photo: Kelly Egan, The Ottawa Citizen / Lisa Fithian, 40, emerged from the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre on Innes Road yesterday morning after spending two nights in a dorm-like prison with about 20 other women.

Detention 'about politics, not law'

A seasoned American activist was released from jail yesterday morning, convinced her detention for 48 hours was a politically charged overreaction to this weekend's G20 meetings.
Lisa Fithian, 40, a resident of Los Angeles, emerged from the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre on Innes Road at about 10:30 a.m., after spending two nights in a dorm-like prison with about 20 other women.
"I think they never had a case," Ms. Fithian said of the concerns raised by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. "I think this was politically motivated. This is about politics, not law."
By releasing her just hours before a scheduled detention review before the Immigration and Refugee Board, the Immigration Department avoided having to publicly explain why Ms. Fithian was jailed in the first place.
A longtime labour activist who has has been to Canada several times during the last five years, she was initially let into the country Monday at the Ottawa Airport, but then detained as she waited at the luggage carousel.
She and a fellow traveller, Miriam Simos, also known as Starhawk, were held for several hours then released.
Ms. Fithian was told to report to Immigration officials the next day, was judged "inadmissible to Canada" and asked to leave.
When she insisted on a hearing and seeing some evidence, the department placed her into custody.
During the ordeal, she was fingerprinted, photographed, strip-searched and given prison garb.
"What I would say to the Canadian authorities and to my own government is that we need to think more carefully about this wave of anti-terrorism, and we have to stop criminalizing people who are just exercising their democratic rights.
"Peaceful protesters, protesters in general, are not criminals or terrorists. We are out here trying to change policies."
Later in the day, Ms. Fithian was joined at a news conference by NDP MP Svend Robinson, no stranger himself to protests, arrests and civil disobedience.
"I want to voice my sense of anger and shame that the Canadian government has subjected you to this kind of treatment. I think it's shabby and unacceptable."
He called the detention of Ms. Fithian "a very, very dangerous abuse of power by the Canadian immigration authorities," in line with the raucous APEC meetings in Vancouver and the violent confrontations in Quebec City.
"These are the tactics of police states."
Ms. Fithian said the governments of Canada and the U.S. are currently involved in an "anti-terrorism feeding frenzy" that is targeting ordinary people trying to exercise their legal rights.
"The G20 is trying to write a global constitution that favours corporate rights over human rights, undermining state and national rights," said Ms. Fithian, who is being sponsored by an Ottawa group.
"The only thing that has made any difference is people getting out in the streets and saying enough is enough."
Ms. Fithian, who has two minor convictions for protest-related activities in the U.S., said she was never told why she might be considered an undesirable guest in Canada.
The Immigration Department can detain those attempting to enter Canada for a maximum of 48 hours before a hearing must be held. Among the grounds for detention are: past criminality, uncertainty over identity, and unlikelihood to appear at future proceedings.
Department spokesman Doug Kellam said he could not discuss the particulars of the case without the signed consent of Ms. Fithian.
When asked if she intended to engage in violent acts or train others to be violent, Ms. Fithian responded: "I'm insulted by the question. There is an effort to criminalize all of us and to portray us in this dichotomy of violence and non-violence. That's not what this is about."
Ms. Fithian said she intends to conduct workshops on how protesters can better get their message across, lower tensions, ensure their own safety, and engage in what she called "direct democracy."
She went out of her way to pay tribute to the women she met in prison.
"They are great women. A lot of these women should not be in there but they are caught in a system that is unfair and unjust and does not respect their rights."
Derik Hodgson, spokesman for Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan, denied there has been any kind of political directive to crack down on incoming protesters.
"It's all done case by case. There's no political involvement in this."
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.16
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: F5
BYLINE: Bob O'Connor
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
NOTE:
Protests at the G20 meetings

Act of terror

The anarchists, in threatening to shut down our city during this weekend's G20 meeting, are committing an act of terror. Since all forms of terrorism must be dealt with strongly, I hope the government takes all necessary action to protect this city and the members of the G20.
The honest protesters should assist by reporting troublemakers to the police, who then can take action to prevent the anarchists from getting near the meetings or causing damage to the city.
Bob O'Connor,
Ottawa
====

PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2001.11.16
SECTION: News
PAGE: 34
SOURCE: Ottawa Bureau
BYLINE: David Gamble; Maria Mcclintock
DATELINE: Ottawa

CUSTOMS RED-FLAGS AGITATORS; G20 PROTESTERS HIT BORDERS TODAY

G20 protesters are expecting trouble today at border crossings and airports where they expect Canadian immigration officials to try to keep them out of the country.
Names of some protesters considered to be high risk have been red-flagged by police, immigration and customs officers at entry points into Canada, police sources told Sun Media yesterday.
Already a handful have been turned away, two arrested and one jailed for two days this week as they arrived for the G20 finance ministers meeting and committees of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
MARCH TOMORROW
The big event for thousands of protesters comes tomorrow with a march through downtown Ottawa. Most are expected to arrive today.
Protesters who've trickled into Canada this week have faced hours of grilling by immigration officials but were eventually released, said Jamie Kneen of Global Democracy Ottawa.
HELD FOR HOURS
"The people who have been coming in have been searched, fingerprinted, all their belongings gone through ... Some of the people have been held for hours and hours," Kneen said.
Police sources told Sun Media the clampdown is justified.
"We have some concerns with certain people coming across because of what they may be bringing with them -- that's just logical especially with what's been happening in the world over the last two or three months," a police source said.
Police have said they expect between 2,000 and 5,000 protesters, but they quickly add they have no firm numbers.
====

PROGRAM: THE NATIONAL
NETWORK: CBC-TV
DATE: 2001.11.15
TIME: 22:00:00 ET
END: 22:30:00 ET
HOST: PETER MANSBRIDGE

Downtown Ottawa hosting G20 meeting tomorrow

PETER MANSBRIDGE: Downtown Ottawa is now being transformed into a security zone. The city is hosting an important summit that begins tomorrow, a meeting of Finance Ministers from the G20 countries. It's a last-minute arrangement set up after the original host, India, bailed out over security concerns. But as Paul Hunter reports, police in the nation's capital say they've got things under control.
PAUL HUNTER (Reporter): It was a day of barricading the sidewalks. Measuring for plywood to protect shop windows.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN (1): We're just playing it safe. It's as simple as that.
HUNTER: And glum predictions from retailers that this weekend shoppers will steer clear of downtown Ottawa.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN (2): We're expecting to lose close to twenty thousand dollars.
HUNTER: This, as final preparations went on at the government convention centre for financial leaders of the so- called G20. Nineteen countries and the European Union. Some wealthy, some not. They'll meet here starting tomorrow to talk about world debt, the global economy, and terrorism. In fact, the conference chair, Canada's Paul Martin, says one goal is to find ways to block funding for terrorist groups around the world.
PAUL MARTIN (Finance Minister): If you can cut off the flow of funds to that, then you'll go a long way to bringing their activities to a halt.
HUNTER: But lately, meetings of financial leaders like this have sparked demonstrations like this, hence the nervousness in Ottawa. This is Seattle, 1999. Quebec City in April. Protestors against economic globalization then, and now in Ottawa. Here, they say, for peaceful demonstrations.
JAMIE KNEEN (Global Democracy Ottawa): We want to make it clear that we are here to protest but also to put forward concrete proposals to make the world a better place for all of us.
HUNTER: With estimates that thousands of activists will be in Ottawa, police warn they have tear gas at the ready.
LEO JANVEAU (Ottawa Police): But if they don't protest peacefully, decisions will be made to use the appropriate measures, whatever legal means we have at our disposal.
HUNTER: Some say they've been targeted already. This woman was jailed in Ottawa for two days this week after flying in from the US, she says to teach peaceful protest.
LISA FITHIAN (Activist): I think both my government of the United States and your government has been involved in an anti-terrorism feeding frenzy.
HUNTER: Martin says the finance leaders and the activists aren't really that far apart.
MARTIN: The fact is what they're protesting is what we're actually discussing, how do we make it better for the poorest of the poor?
HUNTER: Whatever goes on outside the meeting, inside there will be some difficult work to do as those attending talk about the state of their economies and try to find a collective way to not only combat terrorism, but stare down a looming global recession. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Ottawa.
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A4
BYLINE: Kelly Egan, with files from Karina Roman
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Julie Oliver, The Ottawa Citizen / Hundreds ofprotesters make their way to the University of Ottawa yesterday, blocking roads and snarling traffic in the downtown after their protests outside the G20 summit.
NOTE:
G20 Summit

'This is what democracy looks like': 4 arrested, 5 injured as protesters skirmish with police at G20 summit

Hundreds of protesters formed a chaotic procession through downtown Ottawa yesterday, snarling traffic, hurling rocks at a McDonald's restaurant, and leaving a trail of angry graffiti for finance ministers gathered from around the world.
Police arrested four demonstrators for vandalism in connection with the damage at McDonald's and for graffiti on a number of buildings. Charges are pending an ongoing investigation, police said.
Five people received minor injuries, including a television journalist injured in a melee.
While the demonstration was mostly sound and fury, it could be an ominous preamble to a much bigger, more destructive display today, as the capital plays host to the world's financial leaders.
However, despite the possibility of escalated violence, Ottawa police say they still have no plans to erect a semi-permanent wall and will continue to rely on the metal barricades.
Yesterday's rag-tag collection of grievances -- from racism to pollution to warfare to capitalism -- erupted violently at 2:40 p.m. when a pair of balaclava-clad protesters began kicking a glass-enclosed kiosk with an anti-abortion message on Bank Street near Sparks Street.
Moments later, a half-dozen rocks were tossed at the front windows of the McDonald's, just behind the sign. Some demonstrators begged the rock-throwers to stop.
Two other McDonald's outlets reacted by covering their golden arches tarps and boarding up their entire storefronts.
The police, meanwhile, were ever-present but restrained. Though dressed in riot gear, and armed with shields, they mostly blocked streets, doing their best to resist the taunts.
"The majority of protesters were very peaceful today and I think everybody saw that the police were not provocative," Staff Sgt. Leo Janveau told reporters last night. "We've said from the beginning that we're not looking for a confrontation ... there's a balance that we have to strike between the right to peaceful protest and peoples' safety and security and that's what we're striking."
The crowd, which numbered about 500, meandered throughout downtown for three hours, stopping in front of the National Arts Centre, the Bank of Canada and the Supreme Court building.
Screaming "This is what democracy looks like" or "Whose streets? Our streets?" the protesters constantly changed
direction, sometimes cutting through parking lots, as they radioed information back and forth.
At each stop, it looked as though tensions might explode as protesters wearing gas masks lifted and tossed barricades out of the way and chucked newspaper boxes onto the street.
As the protesters mustered one last time in front of the Human Rights Monument on Elgin Street, blocking traffic, police fired a "blast dispersion" device at 4:20 p.m., creating a cloud of smoke and scattering demonstrators. Staff Sgt. Janveau said the canister, which contains a small amount of tear gas, was used to push back the crowd, which had refused to back away, in order to arrest a person who had been part of the vandalism.
For some passersby, it was too much.
Marco Escalante, 20, watched a man spray-paint the graceful Bank of Canada building with the words "What better place than here, What better place than now."
Skateboard in hand, he bounced onto the sidewalk screaming at the word-scrawler: "What does that accomplish? You guys are vandalizing my city and it's disgusting."
A young man wearing a balaclava said smashing a window was one way of showing dissent against a large corporation like McDonald's.
"Everybody has their way of expressing themselves, some choose dancing, some choose other forms. Smashing a window gives you a very powerful image. It's called diversity of tactics. Everyone here is playing a role," said the 22-year-old Maritimer.
Like many of the die-hard protesters, he would not identify himself.
"If you're angry about people making decisions for you, then you can empathize with what they're feeling. They're really mad," said Carleton University student Melanie Ferris, 22.
Asked about the rock-throwing at McDonald's, she said: "I think a lot of them are young and they don't know any other way to get the message out. The only way they know is to do something that has immediate, obvious effects."
Many of the protesters were from outside the province, even outside the country.
Pierre Vienneau, 24, an Ottawa resident, had a white shirt profanely condemning the International Monetary Fund, which is also meeting in Ottawa this weekend.
"This is an alphabet soup of world domination. They have all these fancy abbreviations but they're all in the same boat. And while they may be on the mast, when the boat goes down, they're coming down with it."
Mr. Vienneau said he thought the protest graffiti was an acceptable form of free speech. "Graffiti is the one thing you can clean up the next day, but for at least a day, it's there for people to read."
Police said they have no specific expectations for today's protesters other than that they are prepared to continue using a "measured response."
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A5
COLUMN: Randy Boswell
BYLINE: Randy Boswell
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Chris Mikula, The Ottawa Citizen / Riot police clashwith protesters on the streets of downtown Ottawa yesterday on the first day of the G20 summit. Undoubtedly, some of today's protesters -- whether they know it or not -- are tomorrow's stockbrokers, Liberal party fund-raisers and minivan enthusiasts.
NOTE:
G20 Summit

Once idealistic, now I drive a minivan: But I found it difficult to fit my visions into my briefcase

Iam turning 35 this afternoon, hitting the midway point of my allotted three score and ten at about the same time that hundreds of protesters -- mostly hot-blooded youths with visions of changing the world -- are expected to give the titans of global capitalism another little scare in downtown Ottawa.
These two happenings combine to produce more than the usual wistfulness I'd feel upon reaching the metaphorical, if not necessarily the mathematical, crest of the human life span.
I'm not over the hill yet, but unfolding now before my eyes is a gentle slope leading down to a distant horizon and a quiet room in a supervised care facility. Discarded on the gradual incline behind me are anti-war placards, a snipped ponytail and a pink slip or two from certain environmental groups that flirted with their own extinction in the early 1990s.
Scattered among those artifacts of my twenties are some of the illusions -- and to be honest, some of the convictions -- that had been stuffed into my old backpack but didn't seem to fit into the briefcase nor the diaper bag I subsequently acquired at points along the way.
I was a hopeless radical anyway, too filled with hope about the state of the world and crippled by a chronic respect for authority. I never could shake the belief that even world banking bigwigs are probably acting in good faith and don't really mean any harm.
My days as an activist were marked by long periods of inactivity punctuated by trips to used bookstores.
There was a supporting role as a Burmese tribesman in a bit of political street theatre that, as I recall, trashed Pepsi and Thailand and the killing of tribesmen like me.
When I did wave a sign on Parliament Hill to object to Canada's participation in the Gulf War, it read: "Too Sick For a Slogan."
I still like the line, what with that self-referential twist so fashionable in 1991. But it reminds me that while I was opposed to the attack on Iraq as it was being waged I was also tired of hearing the chant "No War for Oil" from fellow protesters.
What little commitment I had to ardent social activism ten years ago dwindled further when I landed a full-time job in journalism and a little moonlighting gig as a father of three.
These were the thoughts that came to mind yesterday as I witnessed a younger generation of activists -- some of whom, whether they know it or not, are tomorrow's stockbrokers and Liberal party fund-raisers and minivan enthusiasts -- skipping classes in a bid to shake up the G20 conference. They gathered just after noon for a peaceful rally in a Centretown park, across from that beer store on Somerset I got to know pretty well in my own student days, heading home from used book stores.
There were perhaps 200 people crowded into the southeast corner of the Dundonald Park. A series of speakers decried the theory of trickle-down economics as "bullshit," condemned multinational corporations as a threat to "the life support systems of the planet" and insisted that the "snake march" following the rally needed to be "loud" enough to get the protest's messages across.
I could hear all of this from my parking spot on MacLaren Street, well within earshot of the speeches. There was just enough room for me to squeeze my Ford Windstar into a spot and roll down the window. I work at night, so I'm in charge of childcare during the day. The baby, strapped in her car seat in the second row of the van, slept through the event.
Protesting, as we all know, has changed dramatically in the post-Seattle era. Surrounding this innocuous-looking gaggle of demonstrators was a startling array of law enforcement. Two very undisguised police officers armed with long-lens cameras were photographing the participants.
At least six more officers on motorcycles, each equipped with head-set microphones, were parked at the four corners of the Somerset-Lyon-MacLaren-Bay block.
And five or six vanloads of police in riot gear were stationed on Bay Street north of Somerset, keeping an eye on things from behind shaded windshields but also stepping out occasionally on the sidewalk to openly adjust their helmets and visors and other accessories.
This, I believe, is what they mean by a show of force.
Predictably, the peaceful rally transformed into something newsworthy when a vandal or two among the marchers hauled out sticks and bricks and smashed the windows of a McDonald's on Bank Street.
I used to sympathize more with complaints about the restaurant's rainforest-razing beef farms before they started putting Playland jungle gyms in their outlets along the 401.
"Any man who is not something of a socialist before he is forty has no heart," goes the famous saying, usually attributed to George Bernard Shaw. "Any man who still is a socialist after he is forty has no head."
It's an observation I once saw as blindly arrogant but increasingly see as cruelly astute.
I guess I've still got five years to find out for sure.
====
 

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A5
BYLINE: Dave Rogers
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
NOTE:
G20 Summit

Barriers provoke violence: lawyer

An Ottawa lawyer offering free legal defence to demonstrators at this weekend's G20 conference yesterday denounced barriers outside the meeting as a "blatant provocation" that could provoke violence.
Lawrence Greenspon, a lawyer participating in the "Legal Support Collective" said the chain-link fence around Parliament Hill and the barricades and police lines near the conference are a provocation to demonstrators.
A collective of 12 to 14 Ottawa lawyers has offered free legal assistance to G20 demonstrators who get arrested at this weekend's economic conference.
"The fences and barricades presume that there will be some kind of confrontation violent, or otherwise," Mr. Greenspon said. "That is unfortunate because the vast majority of the people who demonstrate are thinking individuals who have no interest in violence.
"I wouldn't presume to advise people to stay away from the barricades. I think what we are seeing is a blockade to peaceful demonstration."
Mr. Greenspon said people may get arrested as they try to climb the barricades, be held for several hours and released if they promise not to return to the demonstration.
"But if the police start arresting people, some will say they can't promise not to return to the demonstration. The result may be they will get into bail hearings and over-the-weekend custody."
Collective volunteer Sarah Dover said lawyers will inform demonstrators about their rights and provide legal help in criminal and immigration cases. The collective includes prominent Ottawa lawyers Lawrence Greenspon, Matt McGarvey and David Morris.
====
 

PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A10
BYLINE: ALLISON HANES
SOURCE: The Gazette
DATELINE: OTTAWA
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: JONATHAN HAYWARD, CP / Riot police subdue a maskedand helmeted protester during anti-G20 demonstrations in downtown Ottawa yesterday.

300 fill Ottawa streets for anti-G20 protests

Adam Taylor stood with a clutch of friends on the sidewalk, their arms raised, their fingers making the peace sign.
While black-clad riot police with helmets, shields, truncheons and guns to fire plastic bullets surrounded the friends, their message of peace was at that moment intended for a handful of masked protesters who had just smashed the window of a McDonald's.
"We don't want this destruction to happen," said Taylor, 19, a University of Ottawa student. "Having violent protesters is as bad as having the violent World Bank."
That was the prevailing attitude among about 300 anti-globalization activists who snaked their way through the streets of Ottawa yesterday.
They were protesting against the policies of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the industrialized or industrializing countries of the G20, delegates of which are in the nation's capital for meetings that were rescheduled after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Each time a few troublemakers inflicted minor property damage by ripping down traffic signs, throwing newspaper boxes into the street or smashing billboards and windows, the rest of the crowd voiced disapproval.
"The point of this whole protest is to get the people who are up in the those office buildings watching us down here so we can educate them," said Fennel, 20, an activist who came down from the University of Guelph. Fennel is her protest name.
"Violent acts just alienate us from the community."
four arrested
Police arrested four protesters for vandalism but commended the crowd for the otherwise peaceful demonstration. The four had not been charged last night, Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Leo Janveau said.
To make one arrest, during a rally at the Human Rights Monument on Elgin St., police used a small device that puts out a cloud of smoke with a small amount of tear gas, Janveau explained.
Otherwise, no tear gas was lobbed and no rubber bullets were fired - although police stress they are ready for anything in the coming days.
The crowd was much smaller - and calmer - than in Quebec City last April during the Summit of the Americas. Instead of protesters ripping down part of the security barrier and police retaliating with volleys of tear gas, as in Quebec, yesterday's demonstration in Ottawa was more a game of cat and mouse. Following the protesters where they roamed was the police's strategy.
"There's a balance we have to strike between the right to protest and the protection and security of the public," Janveau said.
Protesters beat drums and chanted: "This is what democracy looks like." Their haphazard route brought rush-hour traffic to a standstill.
The Bachand-Newman family joined up with the march before it ended on a university campus.
Madeleine Bachand, a resident of the Outaouais, said she marched in the afternoon, then went home to collect her two sons after school got out.
"The world we are building is what we are going to leave to our children so I think they have as much right to protest as anyone else," she said.
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PUBLICATION
GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: SAT NOV.17,2001
PAGE: A2 (ILLUS)
BYLINE: ALLAN FOTHERINGHAM
CLASS: Column
EDITION: Metro DATELINE: Ottawa ON

THE WAY OF THE WORLD
G20 meeting can't risk Santa on site

ALLAN FOTHERINGHAM
OTTAWA Is it worth a vicious Liberal leadership battle to kill off Santa?
It is a beautiful sunlit Friday morning and the centre of the city is empty. There are more cops in the lobby of the Chateau Laurier than there are customers. There are snipers on the roof of the Conference Centre. Do we need snipers to ward off Maude Barlow? The tear gas has been stacked. You can put it all down to Paul Martin. After Seattle, after Quebec City, after Genoa, after Sept. 11, New Delhi as the designated host of the meeting of the G20 finance ministers decided no thanks. Paul offered his hearth, his city. He's a big man among the gaggle of world finance ministers who actually know what the Uruquay Round was about.
You cannot get into a hotel without a plastic badge with your police mug on it. Ottawa's trendy Market district, expecting its first lucrative pre-Christmas weekend, is dead, shut off by street barriers. The city's Santa Claus Parade had to be cancelled.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank-scheduled for their annual meetings in Washington-suddenly post-Sept. 11-thought better of it. Come to Ottawa, said new best host Paul. No probs. This a dull, safe city.
And so, black-clad cops are the only bodies on the empty streets, some of them with TORONTO emblazed on their backs. All 700 of them had to receive training on how to use gas masks. Plain-clothes officers called in had been out of uniform so long they had to be fitted with new clothing. Happiest people in town are the plywood manufacturers, with Market restaurants boarding up their windows.
And so, you see, this brilliant new p.r. attempt by the man who wants to be Liberal leader seems a somewhat dubious effort by the appalled denizens of Ottawa, which is basically a small town masquerading as a capital. At the Westin, the other large hotel in town across the street from the Chateau, at noon the restaurant is practically deserted. Six underworked waiters stand around gossiping, pointing out the snipers on the roof opposite.
And who noticed this possible embarrassment to the prospects of P. Martin? One J. Chretien, who with great coincidence arranged an appointment in Mexico for the weekend, removing himself from any traces of tear gas and irate merchants. The some 500 foreign journalists who follow these arcane meetings around the globe, experiencing the naked centre of the city, try to imitate the British scribes at the World Track and Field Games in Edmonton this summer who dubbed it Deadmonton.
Alas, the Chretien-Martin feud fell flat. The PM came down with the flu (catching Montezuma's Revenge before he even got to Montezuma) and had to cancel Mexico. At the Tear Gas Summit in Quebec City, they had the massive fence. Ottawa, being Ottawa, has protected its core with three-foot steel barriers that any teen-ager could hurdle. In all, the main victim-Santa-would not be amused.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK From the obituaries page in Conrad Black's London Daily Telegraph: "Joe 'Spud' Murphy, the Irish entrepreneur who has died aged 78, earned a small place in social history by producing the world's first cheese and onion flavoured crisp."
New book on Day evidence of bid to succeed himself
Need further proof that Stockwell Day is planning to run to succeed himself in the strange Alliance leadership race? Bruce Fuller, a Vancouver consultant, is producing in the spring-before the leadership vote-a book. It is called Taking Stock: A Grassroots Primer to the Canadian Alliance.
Fuller, who has previously worked as vice-president, corporate affairs, for Vancouver billionaire Jimmy Pattison, says that it will be no "puff piece" but will show the leader "warts and all." It is to be published with the plan to be turned into a television documentary.
Stockwell says he is "co-operating" in the project. Fuller says he will reveal the "conspiracy" inside the party to unhorse Day after the lad in the wetsuit upset the incumbent. Watch out, Preston Manning. You will have some interesting spring reading.
Toronto police running wild
Is there any other city in the country that lets it police run wild? That would be Toronto, with its screwball mayor who actually thinks Africans boil people in pots (and probably ruined forever his city's chances of getting an Olympic Games) and can't control his own police force.
The bully Craig Bromell, president of the Toronto Police Association, has pronounced in his magnificent arrogance that he is mailing ballots to all his 7,000 members asking for a vote of "no-confidence" in Police Chief Julian Fantino. And expects "an overwhelming expression" of no-confidence in their boss. This is the same bully who in Toronto elections has targetted specific city politicians that he wants his flock to defeat.
And fully approved when hundreds of Toronto police-hired hands of the taxpayers-in a dispute with Queen's Park gathered on the legislature lawn fully armed in their uniforms. The city needs a leader to explain to the bully who is boss. Alas, alack, it has a screwball.
AND ANOTHER THING Canada's Media Handbook for the world sophisticates from Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, Brazil and the other 16 nations of the G20 sternly carries this motherly warning: "Smoking is not permitted in public places in Ottawa-including bars and restaurants." We can't take any chances in the nation's capital.
AND A SECOND THING It is only understandable that on this the 25th anniversary of Rene Levesque's supposedly separatist Parti Quebecois victory in Quebec, the support for separation has never been lower. Quebec now has the second-lowest birth rate on the globe next to Spain. Immigrants, naturally, with their large and growing families want their kids to learn English, the world's language of business. The true believers are shrinking in numbers.
Toronto Police Association
====
 

PUBLICATION: La Presse
DATE: 2001.11.17
SECTION: Actualités
PAGE: A9
BYLINE: Côté, Charles
PHOTO: Brault, Bernard
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
Deux policiers procèdent à l'arrestation d'un manifestantdans la rue Wellington, à Ottawa.

Des manifestants pacifiques mais impuissants; 300 jeunes jouent à cache-cache avec l'escouade antiémeute à Ottawa

Les manifestants n'ont pas réussi à perturber hier les travaux d'ouverture de la réunion du G20. Un groupe d'environ 300 jeunes, la plupart dans la vingtaine, ont circulé dans la ville entre 13 h30 et 18 h environ, jouant à cache-cache avec l'escouade antiémeute. Mais ils n'ont jamais pu s'approcher à moins de 300 mètres du Centre de conférence, où a lieu la réunion des ministres et gouverneurs des banques centrales des pays membre du G20.
Quatre personnes ont été arrêtées pour des infractions mineures. Cependant, la police a reconnu que "la majorité des manifestants ont fait connaître leur point de vue au public de façon pacifique".
Un des manifestants a été la cible d'un raid des policiers. Ils se sont précipités sur lui et, pendant que deux d'entre eux se chargeaient de le menotter, une demi-douzaine d'autres tenaient la foule en respect en les mettant en joue avec leurs fusils à balles de caoutchouc.
Balles en caoutchouc
C'est la deuxième fois que ces armes sont utilisées au Canada dans le cadre d'une opération de contrôle des foules. La première fois, c'était au Sommet des Amériques à Québec, en avril. Elles peuvent être mortelles, surtout à courte distance. A Québec, un jeune homme a été blessé gravement à la gorge, une blessure qui aurait pu entraîner sa mort et qui a nécessité une trachéotomie.
En Irlande, les balles en caoutchouc sont utilisées depuis 30 ans et une quinzaine de décès leur sont attribués. En 1995, à Montréal, Philippe Ferraro est mort après avoir été atteint d'une balle en caoutchouc alors qu'il s'était barricadé chez lui.
Le manufacturier des balles recommande de les utiliser à une distance d'au moins 20 mètres. Hier, les policiers visaient les manifestants à quatre ou cinq mètres de distance.
Il y a environ 2000 policiers dans la capitale, mais ils n'ont rien pu faire pour sauver la vitrine d'un restaurant McDonald's de la rue Bank, à trois coins de rue du Parlement. Trois ou quatre jeunes pris de rage devant une publicité antiavortement l'ont arrachée pour ensuite s'attaquer à la vitrine du restaurant à coups de bâtons. Il n'y avait personne à l'intérieur: l'établissement était fermé, les McDo étant des cibles de choix du mouvement antimondialisation. A un autre McDo, rue Elgin, des ouvriers s'empressaient de masquer l'affiche et de placarder les fenêtres au passage du groupe et de son cortège de journalistes.
La marche a commencé dans un parc à l'écart du centre-ville. Les manifestants, certains masqués, d'autres arborant des slogans anarchistes ou tiers-mondistes, ont pu entendre les discours de quatre activistes.
C'est Jaggi Singh qui été applaudi le plus chaleureusement. Le militant montréalais, emprisonné pendant le Sommet de Québec et accusé d'avoir participé à une émeute à la suite d'une manifestation à Montréal en octobre 2000, n'a plus le droit de se servir d'un mégaphone. Qu'à cela ne tienne, les organisateurs ont loué un micro et des haut-parleurs!
Il a clamé que, contrairement à ce qu'affirme la police, "la violence est tolérée au G20". En effet, dit-il, les projets financés par la Banque mondiale et les politiques imposées par le Fonds monétaire international sont à la source de violences contre les populations locales. Il cite l'exemple du massacre de 440 personnes au Guatemala au début des années 1980, dans des villages qui s'opposaient à la construction d'un barrage sur la rivière Chixoi. "Ça, c'est de la violence, ça, c'est du terrorisme", dit-il.
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PUBLICATION: Le Droit
DATE: 2001.11.17
SECTION: Actualités
PAGE: 3
BYLINE: Saint-Laurent, Sylvain; Bolduc-Jacob, Marilaine
PHOTO: Marier, Sylvain
ILLUSTRATION:
Le "Chicken McGrill meal" en a pris pour son rhume, toutcomme la vitrine du McDonald's de la rue Bank hier. Des manifestants ont attaqué ce symbole de la mondialisation alors que les ministres des Finances de plusieurs pays industrialisés étaient réunis au centre des conférences, à quelques rues de là.; Les manifestants n'ont jamais réussi à s'approcher des membres du G20. Les policiers les attendaient de pied ferme comme a pu le constater ce jeune homme. On a procédé à quatre arrestations hier.

Un peu de grabuge, quatre arrestations

Les policiers attendaient les manifestants de pied ferme, hier, lors de la première journée de la rencontre des pays du G20 à Ottawa.
Les agents des forces anti-émeutes semblaient plus nombreux que les militants antimondialisation dans les rues du centre-ville.
La foule des manifestants, qui n'excédait pas 300 personnes, n'a pas causé beaucoup de grabuge.
Les contestataires ont détruit la vitrine d'un restaurant McDonald's et peint des graffitis sur certains immeubles. Ils n'ont cependant pas été en mesure de s'approcher des lieux où se rencontraient les ministres des Finances.
Quatre arrestations
La journée s'est soldée par quatre arrestations, dont une à l'aide d'un nuage de fumée contenant une petite quantité de gaz lacrymogène pour éloigner la foule.
Les quatre manifestants, arrêtés pour vandalisme, sont actuellement détenus. Ils connaîtront sous peu les accusations qui pèseront contre eux.
Malgré ces incidents, les policiers semblaient satisfaits du déroulement de cette première journée du Sommet du G20 dans les rues d'Ottawa.
"La police est heureuse d'annoncer que la majorité des manifestants étaient pacifiques. Nous voudrions les remercier au nom des citoyens d'Ottawa", a souligné le sergent Léo Janveau, porte-parole de l'équipe mixte de police.
"La journée a été plutôt calme. Il n'y a pas eu beaucoup d'arrestations. Peut-être parce que nous ne nous sommes pas placés dans des situations pour nous faire arrêter", reconnaît la porte-parole de la Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes (CLAC) de Montréal, Karina Chagnon.
"Nous sommes un peu soulagés. Une rumeur qui circulait voulait que la police nous embarque tous aujourd'hui. Mais très peu d'entre nous ont été arrêtés. C'est tant mieux. Nous pourrons continuer demain (samedi), alors que nous serons plus nombreux", a-t-elle ajouté.
"On respecte le droit des gens de manifester pacifiquement. Tant que ça ne nuit pas à la sécurité du monde, on n'a pas de problème avec ça", soutient le sergent Janveau.
A l'intérieur du périmètre
Un groupe de contestataires s'est infiltré temporairement à l'intérieur du périmètre de sécurité, vers 15 h, après avoir arraché des barrières métalliques.
Un peu plus tard, certains manifestants ont fracassé les vitrines du restaurant McDonald's situé au coin des rues Bank et Sparks.
"Le McDo était vide. Ce n'était pas dangereux pour personne", a déclaré un militant de l'Ottawa Coalition Against the Torries (OCAT), Roger Clément.
Par mesure de précaution, les autres restaurants McDonald's du centre-ville ont fermé leurs portes pour le week-end et barricadé leurs vitrines.
Les manifestants ont démoli une cabine téléphonique, peint des graffitis sur des immeubles et renversé quelques boîtes à journaux. Cinq personnes ont subi des blessures légères pendant les manifestations et deux d'entre elles ont été transportées à l'hôpital par mesure de précaution. Aucun policier ni manifestant arrêté n'a été blessé.
Midi à 17 heures
Les manifestants se sont réunis dans un parc municipal, au coin des rues O'Connor et Lyon, vers midi.
Après avoir écouté les discours de leurs leaders pendant environ une heure, le groupe de contestataires ont joué au chat et à la souris dans les rues avec les agents de l'escouade anti-émeutes jusqu'à 17 h.
La soirée s'est terminée par une vigile pacifique, sur le terrain de l'Université d'Ottawa.
Les manifestants étaient pour la plupart âgés de moins de 30 ans. Plusieurs s'étaient procuré des masques à gaz.
Suivant une bannière sur laquelle il était inscrit "Smash the State, end the hate", les militants ont arpenté les rues en criant différents slogans.
Très peu, cependant, ont osé braver les policiers.
Les manifestants promettent de revenir à la charge ce matin. Un grand rassemblement est prévue, sur le coup de midi, devant la Cour Suprême du Canada, rue Wellington.
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.18
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A4
BYLINE: Mohammed Adam and Kate Jaimet, with files from PaulaMcCooey
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Brigitte Bouvier, The Ottawa Citizen / A protester isarrested in Ottawa yesterday. All told, 40 people have been arrested in the first two days of the summit, which ends today.; Photo: Chris Mikula, The Ottawa Citizen / Laurier Avenue: Marches began from three locations -- in Hull, at the University of Ottawa and at LeBreton Flats -- yesterday morning, and met at the Supreme Court at noon.
NOTE:
G20 Summit

Protests short, mostly peaceful: Self-restraint -- by demonstrators and the police -- made for a relatively quiet day. Mohammed Adam and Kate Jaimet report.

Anti-globalization demonstrators clashed sporadically with police in Ottawa yesterday, as thousands marched in protest against the G20 financial summit, but cold weather and self-restraint -- by police and demonstrators -- kept the protests short and mainly peaceful.
Thirty-two protesters were arrested as some 2,000 people took to the streets to protest against the World Bank and IMF, which they accused of being undemocratic and oppressive to the world's poor. Those arrests came in addition to eight men who were arrested in demonstrations Friday.
As well, police said they discovered a small cache of suspicious items, including glass bottles and wicks suitable for making Molotov cocktails, buried on the Supreme Court grounds, which they cleared in a routine security sweep yesterday morning.
Protest marches began from three locations -- in Hull, at the University of Ottawa and at LeBreton Flats -- yesterday morning, and converged on the lawn of the Supreme Court at noon. There were some tense moments, but no physical confrontations, between police and protesters on the march from the university. On the march from LeBreton Flats, about a dozen people were arrested.
On that march, about four people were bitten by police dogs, one seriously. CBC reporter Evan Dyer was attacked by a dog and whacked on the head with a night stick, but he was unhurt, escaping with torn pants. "I got hit by a metal night stick and I turned round and said to the police officer, 'I am a reporter.' He said, 'I know,' and hit me again," Mr. Dyer said.
A protester from Toronto who only gave his first name as Rob, was bitten on the leg and had a finger punctured by a dog bite. "They were grabbing people and I was yelling at them to stop, and they let a dog at me," said Rob, as he bled from his leg and hand.
As well, snatch squads charged into the demonstrators picking up individuals from among the anarchist Black Bloc, setting off a melee and infuriating rally organizers. One woman was dragged kicking and screaming from the crowd and pinned to a lamp post for a search of her backpack. Nothing was found and she was let go.
Eventually, the three marches met at the Supreme Court Building, where assorted speakers condemned globalization and meetings like the G20.
Maude Barlow, head of the Canada Council, was also critical of police tactics. "I was in front of the grannies, for heaven's sake, and these dogs were set on people. There were children beside me. There was a young girl in a wheelchair beside me, and they were howling. They were so frightened."
From the Supreme Court, the crowd split in two, with the main body heading to Elgin Street, en route to the Byward Market for another pep rally. But about 1,000 protesters continued on a march down Wellington Street, arriving in front of the police roadblock, set up some 100 metres away from the Government Conference Centre, site of the meetings. Ottawa Police Chief Vince Bevan surveyed the scene from behind the barricade but made no comment.
Protesters danced, drummed and shouted such slogans as "We're not violent, how about you?" and "La police au service des riches et des facistes." (Police at the service of the rich and fascists.)
They threw toilet paper and balloons over the barricades, but any protesters throwing projectiles such as sticks and beer bottles were quickly shouted down by other demonstrators, intent on keeping the protest peaceful.
Police remained mostly impassive behind their waist-high metal barriers, only occasionally using small amounts of pepper spray, tear gas, cold water and about a dozen rubber bullets to warn off protesters who came too close to breaching the metal fence. The water cannons were never used.
Throughout the day, police took photos and videos of protesters. One officer with a camera said the photos would be used for police intelligence, for the purpose of cataloguing people who routinely show up at protests, and identifying instigators of violence.
Several protesters tried to engage the police across the barricade, urging them to put down their weapons, not to shoot, to join the anti-capitalist revolution, and occasionally taunting them as "sheep." Two protesters crossed the barricades in peaceful acts of civil disobedience, and were arrested.
Aaron Hoffer, the first to cross, said he objected to police calling the demonstration an unlawful assembly.
"We have a right to congregate and make our voices heard. I don't see what's unlawful about our assembly," the 32-year-old demonstrator said.
Liam Husk, the second to cross, said he wanted to get his anti-corporate message across to IMF and World Bank delegates. "We're not here to hurt people. We want to get over to those people and talk to them."
By 3:30 p.m., most demonstrators had wandered away from the scene, driven by a combination of cold weather, boredom and the sense of having made their point.
As night fell, there were some confrontations, with small amounts of pepper spray and rubber bullets. But by 6 p.m. darkness had fallen and all but a handful of demonstrators had left the streets and gone home. But about an hour later, 50 protesters, sandwiched between two groups of riot police, set up shop in front of the courthouse on Elgin Street for a sit-in to protest the arrests of the past two days.
The eight people arrested Friday appeared in court yesterday. Seven were released on condition that they stay away from the protests.
One, 20-year-old Guillaume Barnabe of Gatineau was remanded in custody until Monday. Assistant Crown attorney George Dzioba said Mr. Barnabe faced other outstanding charges, unrelated to the protests.
Four of the people who appeared in court were charged with mischief in relation to the vandalism of a McDonald's restaurant and the Bank of Canada building Friday.
The other four were not charged with any crime, but were held in prison overnight on allegations that they breached the peace during Friday's protests.
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PROGRAM: THE HOUSE
NETWORK: CBC-R
DATE: 2001.11.17
TIME: 09:10:00 ET
END: 10:00:00 ET
GUEST:
JENNIFER FRY, Reporter; JAGY SINGH, Protester; UNIDENTIFIED, Protesters; JOHN BENNETT, The Sierra Club; UNIDENTIFIED, Police Officer; UNIDENTIFIED, Witnesses
HOST: ANTHONY GERMAIN

WILL CURRENT SECURITY ISSUES AFFECT PROTESTS?

ANTHONY GERMAIN: You're listening to The House on CBC Radio One. I'm Anthony Germain. Well, Michael Colton just mentioned some of the challenges facing protesters since September the eleventh. Police and riot squads didn't exactly treat protests lightly in Quebec City or any other international gatherings before the war on terrorism; imagine how they could behave now. Just how is this new pervasive emphasis on security affecting the protest movement? Here's The House's Jennifer Fry.
JENNIFER FRY: The lecture theatre at Carleton University is filling up. About 100 people are here to listen to one of Canada's most famous anti-globalization activists.
UNIDENTIFIED: Today we have Jagy Singh here. He's an activist and a writer...
FRY: Jagy Singh, arrested at the APEC meeting in Vancouver, arrested in Quebec City at the Summit of the Americas and held in jail for weeks, a highly visible and charismatic spokesperson for the movement.
JAGY SINGH: The world scene's kind of overwhelming these days. So it can seem overwhelming, right? I mean, we've had this movement against capitalist globalization, or corporate globalization, and then September eleventh rolls around, and we're confronting realities like war, like racism. We're also dealing with attacks on civil liberties in this country...
FRY: Singh tells his audience the G20 is meeting in a climate of fear.
SINGH: Protesters or people who might take a critical attitude towards capitalism, towards the IMF, towards the World Bank, we're made out to be a little bit crazy, a little bit disrespectful, some... in some eyes, even pro-terrorist.
FRY: After his talk is over, Singh tells me now is not the time to back off protest, especially when Canada is close to implementing tough new anti-terrorism legislation.
SINGH: Bill C-36 and Bill C-35 are very worrying because they're potentially going to make what are otherwise legitimate activities almost qualify as terroristic. It's the chill effect it's creating. There's that new kind of McCarthyism that's out there. The best way to confront that is to not surrender the public terrain, the streets, to the people who are the McCarthyists, who are making those links, to really provide an alternative point of view. It's not going to be easy the first couple of times around, but it never has been easy.
UNIDENTIFIED: We're from Alberta, so we drove 48 hours without a single break.
FRY: There are hundreds of people like these two Alberta women who are coming to Ottawa to protest the meeting of the G20, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. They're both veterans of the Quebec City protests, and expect police to hold an even tighter rein here.
UNIDENTIFIED: They're only using September eleventh as an excuse. But at the same time, after September eleventh it kind of reinforces the fact that you don't want to step down because of that kind of intimidation. Oh, the police are going to be worse, or...
UNIDENTIFIED: The public is more angry towards (inaudible)... and so actually that worries me a little bit more, that the... there's more public support for the police. Now it seems like even disagreeing a little bit is like you're...
UNIDENTIFIED: ...or it seems that you're belittling the deaths of the 6000 Americans who died. I feel horrible, and my heart stopped when I saw the buildings fall, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop saying what I want to say just because some people are going to get offended by it.
UNIDENTIFIED: I think it's even more important to be saying it now.
FRY: But this protest isn't as straightforward as those in the past. This seasoned protester is more worried about police than he's ever been.
JOHN BENNETT: Well, I think they're going to be very... very, very frightened because they won't... the police won't know who in the crowd could be someone representing one of the forces of September the eleventh.
FRY: John Bennett of the Sierra Club. He's been demonstrating for decades, from street marches to the occupation of a nuclear power plant. He feels there's a definite chill on raising voices like his.
BENNETT: There may be a chill. There may be a mood in society that things have gone too far. But that'll change because, once we get over the initial shock and the anger and the grief about September the eleventh, you're going to have to start thinking about why did it happen. How did someone get so angry that they would do something like that? And that's where we're going to see the protests, and see the average North American people saying I don't want to be hated. I've got to understand why.
FRY: In the meantime, Bennett and the Sierra Club will only participate in a very peaceful protest this weekend. Bennett says others who believe in rougher tactics hurt the cause.
BENNETT: If you go to a demonstration in which some people say well, I'm going to not... I'm going to be non-violent, other people say well, I may be violent, or other people say I may be something else, then we're supposed to say look, you know, there's room for all these opinions. Well, there isn't, because what happens is that the smallest groups, the most outside the mainstream groups, they steal the... they steal the activity, and that's what goes out, that's what the press reports. They don't report that 16,000 people marched quietly around the outskirts of Quebec City to oppose the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. They report that a couple of hundred stormed a fence.
FRY: And of course the dozen or so who break the windows of a McDonald's in Ottawa make the news too. The protest very quickly becomes angry as police start to haul away protesters.
UNIDENTIFIED: Sucks! Police! (inaudible)...
FRY: Row upon row of riot police march out to block off the streets to protesters. They're dressed in full black riot gear, helmets, gas masks, some holding tear gas guns, others straining to hold the leashes of German shepherds. The police block everyone, regular folks trying to get home along with taunting protesters.
UNIDENTIFIED: No, you can't get back here. OK?
UNIDENTIFIED: (inaudible)...
UNIDENTIFIED: (inaudible)...
UNIDENTIFIED: It's a big party for the police today, eh? You get (inaudible)...
UNIDENTIFIED: (inaudible)...
UNIDENTIFIED: Lots of overtime, yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED: Keepers of the... keepers of the peace. (Laughs)
FRY: The police action doesn't go over well with these onlookers.
UNIDENTIFIED: I'm offended by the police walking down the street banging on their shields. You know, I thought I lived in a... I guess a calm democracy, and that seems overreaction to what I've seen so far. And... and I think it's provocative.
UNIDENTIFIED: Yeah. Yeah, the noise of the banging on the shields is so provocative. I'm 58 years old, and I find my blood boiling when I hear those shields banging. It's like I'm 20 again and I want to riot.
FRY: The afternoon's demonstrations result in a handful of arrests. As night falls the protesters and police disperse. The most lasting image they leave behind, once again, is a handful of violent demonstrators being controlled by intimidating police. It's hardly a whisper of why they were there. Jennifer Fry, CBC News, Ottawa.
GERMAIN: All these protests that Jennifer was talking about, as well as these meetings here in the nation's capital, have only just begun. Listen to CBC Radio throughout the weekend for coverage of the G20, IMF and World Bank meetings, and join my colleague Michael Enright tomorrow morning. He and the entire Sunday Edition crew are here in town to offer you the best coverage of what's going on inside and outside these meetings.
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.19
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A16
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Well done, Ottawa: We show others how meetings and protests can co-exist.

Canadians, and Ottawans in particular, can be justifiably proud of this weekend's international financial meetings held at the government conference centre in downtown Ottawa. Not only did Canada refuse to bow to the threat of international terrorism by inviting the G20, International Monetary Fund and World Bank delegates to our capital, we also showed the rest of the world that anti-globalization protests don't have to decline into widespread violence and vandalism.
Finance Minister Paul Martin, the G20's current chairman, deserves particular praise for offering Canada as the host for the group's latest meeting, which originally was to be held in New Delhi until the Indian government backed out citing post-Sept. 11 security concerns. Since most of the G20 countries are also members of two important IMF and World Bank committees that had postponed their previously scheduled meetings in Washington, D.C., Mr. Martin wisely offered to host those, too.
Mayor Bob Chiarelli should also be commended for recognizing Ottawa's obligation as Canada's capital to help the federal government host such meetings, despite the threat of international terrorism or violent protests. As he told the Citizen's editorial board earlier this month, it would be "a sad day for democracy" if governments were unable to carry out their normal business because they were afraid.
With a few small exceptions, the 2,000 or so protesters who demonstrated their opposition to the meetings also deserve recognition for the largely peaceful manner in which their protests were held. Some vandalism did take place, notably the smashing of windows at a McDonald's restaurant and the spray painting of the Bank of Canada building and parts of the National War Memorial, but that was a far cry from the violence that has accompanied other international meetings such as the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. Some of those allegedly responsible for this weekend's vandalism have been arrested, and should be prosecuted as would any other person who breaks the law. The right to protest in a democracy does not exonerate people from having to respect the laws of the land.
The police showed admirable restraint throughout the weekend, allowing demonstrators to get close enough to the conference centre so their protests could be heard by the delegates inside, but not so close that they posed a security threat. There was no repeat of the perimetre barricades of Quebec City's Summit of the Americas nor indiscriminate use of pepper spray that marred the 1997 APEC meetings in Vancouver.
Finally, the people of Ottawa deserve praise for taking the disruptions of this past weekend in their stride, particularly those who went downtown to shop or to eat and drink in the Byward Market. Those who did were rewarded with uncrowded stores and plenty of parking, but that also means downtown establishments suffered a significant drop in business through no fault of their own. People who stayed away this weekend might consider helping those businesses next weekend by shopping downtown.
Canada will host many international meetings over the next year, including the summit of G7 leaders. This weekend's Ottawa meetings should be the model to which everyone aspires.
====

PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2001.11.19
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A12
BYLINE: HUBERT BAUCH
SOURCE: The Gazette
DATELINE: OTTAWA

Good weekend for world: finance minister

It was a good weekend for the world, as Finance Minister Paul Martin put it yesterday at the close of three high-level international meetings in the national capital.
Representatives of the G20 group of industrialized and developing countries, as well as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, unanimously approved a plan to shut down international terrorist-financing networks, and committed themselves to get it up and running by the beginning of February.
But despite splendid late-fall weather, it was less than a great weekend for Ottawa residents whose routines - including the annual Santa Claus parade - were disrupted by street closings in the city's core and an invasion of anti-capitalist, anti-globalization protesters and riot police deployed to keep them from trashing the conference site.
The Santa Claus parade has been rescheduled for this Saturday, but downtown merchants reported a sharp drop - up to 75 per cent in some cases - in their usual volume of business on what is normally the first major shopping weekend of the Christmas season.
Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli said yesterday he was proud of his city for hosting the meetings, which were moved to Ottawa after post-Sept. 11 terrorism jitters caused the cities for which they were originally scheduled - New Delhi and Washington - to back out.
"I think we sent a clear message to the world, especially the terrorist world, that democratic governments won't be thwarted from holding such meetings," he said.
But he also hinted that next time it would be just as well if some other town had a turn.
"Such conferences have been held in the past in other communities, such as Halifax, Windsor and Quebec City," he said. "I think the government of Canada should continue to have these conferences in all parts of the country."
Martin stressed the importance of the meetings, which also discussed ways to aid problem-plagued economies and the post-war reconstruction of Afghanistan.
"These meetings have been very, very significant," he said. "I think we made enormous progress."
In particular, he cited yesterday's IMF decision to set a deadline to implement the terrorist-financing plan, saying it was prompted by negative media reaction to the failure to set a date at the G 20 meeting the day before.
"It was a major step forward to set that February date," he said.
On the protest side, the weekend's demonstrations were smaller and more genteel than at previous such meetings, notably last spring's tear-gas-drenched Summit of the Americas in Quebec City.
There were scattered clashes between police and protesters, but no mass charges at the barricades. The worst violence came on the first day of the talks last Friday, when a handful of protesters smashed a Macdonald's franchise's front window and vented their anti-capitalist fury on a few phone booths.
About 50 people were arrested over the weekend; most were released after being charged with public mischief.
The biggest demonstration, on Saturday, drew fewer than 3,000 protesters, as opposed to the tens of thousands who descended on the Quebec City summit. "It's nothing like Quebec," was the consensus among police officers who worked both conferences.
By yesterday, the demonstration ranks were down to fewer than 300 at the conference site, accompanied by a roughly equal number of people who appeared to be merely gawking.
At times it seemed there were more police on hand than protesters. The 1,000-member Ottawa police force was augmented by about an equal number of RCMP and Ontario Provincial Police officers, though Ottawa police chief Vince Bevan said no more than 650 were ever deployed at one time.
Both Martin and the mayor praised not only the patience of Ottawa residents in suffering the disruptions, but also the non-violent spirit of the great majority of demonstrators. Those who threw objects at police - sticks, bottles and paint-filled balloons - were in most cases chided by their fellow demonstrators.
"I thank the majority of protesters who made exceptional efforts at co-operation," said Chiarelli.
Martin said he fully supports the right to non-violent protest as an essential part of democracy, but deplored the lack of understanding on the part of many demonstrators as to what the international organizations who met over the weekend were actually trying to accomplish.
"An awful lot of what demonstrators are doing supports what some of us are trying to do on the inside," he said, noting that the formation of the G20 two years ago was an effort to bring less developed countries into top-level economic discussions.
====
 

PUBLICATION: Windsor Star
DATE: 2001.11.19
EDITION: Final
SECTION: NEWS
PAGE: A10
BYLINE: Melanie Brooks Kate Jaimet and Paula McCooey
SOURCE: Southam News
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
Riot police take a break on the third day of internationalfinance meetings in Ottawa on Sunday. The police arrested 50 demonstrators during protests against the meetings. Canadian Press photo: Tom Hanson

50 arrested at G-20 Summit in Ottawa; While city's mayor praised police, protesters said excessive force used

The demonstrations are over, but protesters and police are still butting heads over who is responsible for the weekend's violence.
The protesters rallied in front of the courthouse on Elgin Street Sunday morning, where protesters arrested Saturday were in bail hearings. Chanting "justice for all,"about 200 people danced and shouted outside the front doors and scribbled messages in chalk on the cement saying "free the political prisoners."
Police on Sunday said they arrested 50 people during the course of protests this weekend -- eight on Friday, 41 on Saturday and one Sunday. Most were released after a period of detention which ranged from a few hours to overnight.
Seven people were charged with mischief and assaulting police and one protester is still in custody.
Paul Smith was one of those arrested Saturday afternoon and said police were excessive in their reaction to the protests. In addition to the arrests, four people were bitten by police dogs and a CBC reporter was hit on the head with a police night stick.
"Four of us went over to try to get into the meetings, to take our message to the meetings," said Smith, who was released at 4:30 a.m. Sunday. "We went non-violently. When we were arrested, we were brutally taken down by police. I was tasered in the leg for refusing to comply."
Smith said he and others arrested weren't allowed to call the legal support collective that was set up to help protesters.
Free legal service
Lawrence Greenspon, one of the Ottawa lawyers offering free legal service to the protesters, said the protesters who were arrested will decide whether to file a civil suit or complaints against the police.
Greenspon said the police actions over the weekend were a sign that police were doing more to protect organizations such as the G20 than ordinary citizens.
"Sept. 11 has become a licence to the police to violate constitutional rights of peaceful demonstrating Canadians," he said. "The vast majority of those demonstrators did nothing to prompt the arrest. The proof of that is they were all released within six, 10, 20 hours."
Displaying a counter full of objects seized from protesters -- which included gas masks, helmets, goggles, glass bottles, cans of paint, iron bars and wood sticks -- police justified the arrests as necessary to maintain the public peace.
About a dozen protesters were arrested early in the day Saturday, without any apparent provocation, but police said Sunday those arrests were to prevent people of suspected violent intent from causing trouble. The rest were arrested later in the afternoon and evening.
Police said the arrests were necessary to prevent a repeat of the vandalism that occurred Friday, when some protesters smashed windows of a McDonald's restaurant and spray-painted graffiti on the Bank of Canada building.
Targeting groups
"We started targeting groups who, we were confident, were not there to do peaceful protest, who were there for other reasons," said Ottawa Police Staff Sgt. Leo Janveau.
He said police identified members of the targeted groups based on their clothing, behaviour and on previous information obtained both internally and from other police forces. They were detained until police judged they were no longer a danger to the public, Janveau said.
Police also admitted that some people were bitten by police dogs during protests Saturday, but RCMP Sgt. Marc Richer said the bites were superficial.
Jennifer Breakspear, a street medic for the protesters, said she treated four dog bites, one which was so deep it "almost went down to the bone."
At a press conference Sunday afternoon, Police Chief Vince Bevan said the dogs are there to protect police who have to go into crowds to make arrests and all dogs are supposed to be leashed.
"We'll certainly be looking to see if there are things to be learned as a result of what has happened here," he said. "But it is accepted practice in a number of police services to have dogs deployed with public workers."
Sunday's police presence was notably more subdued. Members of the riot squad stood silently behind the barricade in front of the conference centre, then later retreated, leaving a single row of regular police. Most of the violent protesters seen in the Friday and Saturday demonstrations seemed to have left and the small group that remained were mostly content to sing and dance.
Short tableaus
The protesters marched up Elgin Street to the war memorial, where they staged short tableaus of people lying dead in front of the monument. As it was all weekend, the protesters' message was unfocused: People shouted for clean water, better education, world justice, an end to capitalism and globalization and abolition of debt.
Officials at the World Bank and IMF committee meetings paid little attention to the demonstrations and said dancing in the streets doesn't help to find solutions to the world's problems.
"I don't mind attention and I don't mind the debate. I think it's good, it's healthy," said World Bank President James Wolfensohn. "But I'd prefer to have it as debate rather than people in the streets, because I think that's pointless and it has no effect."
Late Sunday afternoon, Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli held a press conference to wrap up what he called a "successful" meeting of the finance ministers for the G20 conference.
Sent a message
"Our city has much to be proud of and proved that Ottawa is more than capable of hosting a major economic summit -- post-Quebec, post-Italy and post-Sept. 11," he said. "That sent a message to the world, especially the terrorist world that a democratically elected government will not be intimidated or thwarted from hosting a event such as the G20."
Chiarelli thanked residents for their patience in dealing with road closures and traffic disruptions and praised police for an "admirable" job. Police Chief Bevan said despite the arrests, the weekend's protests were largely controlled and orderly.
"Our job was made easier because a majority of those who came to Ottawa to protest did so with a peaceful purpose in mind," he said. "Those who came to disrupt public order or carried out criminal acts were dealt with in accordance of the law."
Chiarelli said the total cost to the city, including policing, emergency services, damage and clean-up, won't be known until later this week.
After the end of the meetings Sun- day afternoon, city staff removed all traffic barriers and police barricades and reopened streets downtown and OCTranspo resumed normal routes. City Hall also reopened after being closed to the public Friday due to security concerns.
With files from James Baxter
Banff meet
Deputy Mayor John Stutz of Banff, Alta., is urging the RCMP to refrain from overt shows of force there during a meeting of G-8 environment ministers next April 11 and 12. That's about two months prior to the G-8 Summit meeting in Kananaskis Country.
Stutz said images of armoured police, wielding shields, batons and gas masks -- such as was seen in Ottawa this weekend at the meeting of G-20 nations -- would damage the mountain resort's reputation as a quaint, quiet tourism destination.
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.20
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A15
BYLINE: Rene Rivard
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
NOTE:
The G20 summit

Terrorists

Must we excuse violent protesters?
We live in a democratic country where the leaders, whether competent or not, are duly elected by the majority of the people. Representatives of the G20 are also democratically elected by their peoples. Why should we then bow before the demands of a self-righteous minority whose only intent is to disrupt the work of those we have democratically elected?
The dissidents talk of peaceful demonstrations, yet they throw safety barricades at the security forces that are meant to ensure our safety, and they break the windows of private businesses that have nothing to do with the activities of the G20. They then have the gall to accuse the police of over-reacting to their violent activities.
From my perspective as a peaceful citizen, I believe they are themselves terrorists. They may not bomb international sites, but they do spread terror among the citizens of this city, disrupt our lives, cost us millions of dollars and even dare to request free accommodation. And our mayor thinks that is a reasonable request? I think not.
Those who are not Canadians should be banned from the country and those who are Canadians should be prosecuted for the terrorist acts they commit.
I support free speech and civil disobedience, but not to the extent that it enables minorities to impose their perspective on members of the majority at the majority's expense.
Rene Rivard,
Vanier
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.20
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A15
BYLINE: Birte Ertmann
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Julie Oliver, the Ottawa Citizen / Theanti-globalization protests during the weekend had a sterile, ritualized air to them, writes Birte Ertmann. It's time for activists to find more effective, less intrusive ways to protest.
NOTE:
The G20 summit

Protesters must find new methods

Re: Dear protesters: We don't owe you a thing, Nov. 17.
I agree with Randall Denley: Why should the City of Ottawa be responsible for housing protesters? Nobody invited them, and for them to expect to be housed at ratepayers' expense makes no sense at all.
Taxpayers have enough extra expenses to deal with as it is, as a result of having to provide police services and security for the city during the meetings of the G20 and others.
In any event, the whole pattern of protests during such meetings is becoming exceedingly boring. It is as ritualized and carefully choreographed as the mating dance of flamingos, or the Swan Lake ballet on a stage: one side provides protesters shouting slogans and waving signs, the other tries to keep them from hurting themselves, others and property. To what avail?
I am a firm believer in people's democratic right to express in a civilized way their views and displeasure at the way the elected govern. But I do not for a minute believe that mindless and sometimes destructive mobs running through city streets will make one iota of difference in the way things are done by the Canadian government, or the G7, G20, WTO, IMF or whatever.
In the end, what the protesters have achieved is an enormous cost for police and security, the loss of untold millions of dollars for downtown businesses, and the everlasting irritation of local citizens who were deprived of the use of their streets, stores, craft fairs and entertainment.
Wake up, Maude Barlow, et al. Your current protest methods have worn themselves out, they are passe, and it is high time to find other ways of expressing your quite legitimate concerns.
Birte Ertmann,
Nepean
====
 

PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2001.11.23
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Editorial / Op-ed
PAGE: B2
SOURCE: The Gazette
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Riot police subdue a protester at G20 summit inOttawa.

Police aroused anger at G20 summit

While attending my first protest in Ottawa last weekend during the G20 summit, I was struck by how intimidated I was by the presence of a strong, unified force of people unwilling to consider the needs of those who oppose them in any way.
Two people I encountered seemed to feel the same way. The first was a man working in a restaurant by Parliament Hill. Seeing my protest sign, he immediately became agitated. He told me that he was from Algeria, and that he had seen people die in the street. When he was driving into work that morning and saw rows of police clad from head to toe in black riot gear, he had vivid flashbacks of times of violence in his homeland. Before I left, he wished me good luck and offered me a free pastry and coffee.
The second was an old lady with a cane who was trying to get past the police barricade so that she and her three companions could go to the theatre. An officer gruffly informed her that she and her friends would have to walk three blocks out of their way in order to get around the barricade. This, the officer informed her, was "for her own safety." The woman responded by saying that she had survived the bombing of London and was sure she could survive going through a peaceful protest and that the police were the only ones causing her trouble at the moment. But the officer would not budge.
I believe the intentions of the police are good. I believe we all need protection from the violent element that is present at any protest. I also believe, however, that we all need to consider, more than ever, how our actions help generate violence rather than quell it. Isn't it the duty of police to make citizens feel secure? How can they do so when they arouse more anger than they contain?
Roberta Yeo
Montreal
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.24
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: B5
BYLINE: Liam Husk
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
NOTE:
The G20 Summit

We were fighting for poor countries

I would like to straighten out why we were marching in the streets of such a free country.
When I was in jail (for protesting), two police officers joked that we should all be shipped to Iraq so we could see what repression was really like. Yes, we do feel repressed: Face the riot police and get shot with tear gas, a water hose (on a cold day) and rubber bullets and see if you don't feel the same.
But we were fighting for the people in the countries where they are just trying to survive or live in fear to be able to protest. We were fighting for the poor countries which the G20, especially the International Monetary Fund, claims to "rescue."
I read the Citizen in hopes that I would find articles that portrayed what the many G20 protesters were trying to get across. Unfortunately, all I found were angry people judging us and condemning us for our actions. We have been blamed for costing the city much money and causing a general disturbance.
I apologize for blocking most of the downtown area, but it took us a while to get past the extensive police blockades to actually get to the protest site.
It makes us wonder, if this really is a democracy, why were the police trying to stop us from protesting? Why, when we were arrested, were we beaten? Why have we been shown in the worst possible light? Why were the majority of the pictures in the Citizen of the punks?
You all saw the thousands of people drawn together to fight for their views on freedom. We showed you, and hopefully the world, our hope that some will listen or, even better, research these global influences themselves. We will not stand back and watch. We will show you that we care and we will still come, again and again, to stand up for a free world.
Liam Husk,
18,
Ottawa
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.13
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: D5
BYLINE: Jeff Spooner
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
NOTE:
The G20 meeting

World is watching

As the G20 conference draws near, the plans of the various militant protesters are becoming more apparent. If these groups try to carry out any destructive acts, one would hope that the Canadian people would support rather than criticize our police forces as they tried to prevent such actions.
Anarchy and a call to violence can never be tolerated, least of all now.
I suspect that the various nations now engaged in the war against terrorism will take more than a passing interest in how we respond to terrorist actions in our nation's capital.
Jeff Spooner,
Kinburn
====

PRIORITY: Rush
CATEGORY:
Quebec-Ontario regional general news
DATE: 2001.11.12
DATELINE: OTTAWA
PUBLICATION: cpw

BC-Barlow-G20-Son code:6; OTT OUT QQQ; INDEX: International, Politics, Social, Finance; HL:Activist Maude Barlow could face son at G20 summit police barricades

OTTAWA (CP) - As area police forces brace for the threat of violent protesters at this weekend's G-20 meeting, one Ottawa police officer could come face-to-face with one high-profile agitator - his mother.
Const. William Barlow still doesn't know what his duties will be but the patrol officer hopes his mother, renowned Canadian activist Maude Barlow, won't get caught in any violent skirmishes.
``I don't want her getting into the violence, for her sake,'' said the 32-year-old, who's been on the Ottawa force for three years.
Maude Barlow, chairwoman of the Council of Canadians, said she and the son she calls ``my sweetie'' have joked about the possibility of her youngest slapping the cuffs on mom.
``We figure he'll say `I remember that time I asked you for that raise in my allowance and you didn't give it to me - you're under arrest,' '' she said in an interview from the World Trade Organization talks in Qatar.
Maude Barlow said she will devote her energy this weekend to a teach-in on the global poverty crisis at St. Matthew's Anglican Church on Friday and a peaceful march to the Supreme Court on Saturday morning. She said she has no plans to protest near the G-20 meeting site at the Conference Centre. (Ottawa Sun)
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.14
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A1 / Front
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Colour Photo: Cautious on Rideau Street: 'We are going toboard up our windows,' says Record Runner's Lia Kiessling.

Bracing for the G20

Police and merchants are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst as the weekend G20 meetings approach.
On the street: Protest organizer to be deported to U.S., B1
Protesters: Some scorn calls to keep the peace, B1
Barricades: Meeting zone battened down, blocked off,B1
High-cost hospitality: Merchants stand to lose $10 million in sales alone, D1
In the meetings: Canada to propose financial stranglehold on terrorism. A8
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.14
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: B1 / Front
BYLINE: Bev Wake
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Parts of city to be barricaded: Areas of downtown will be shut down, even to pedestrians

A section of Ottawa's downtown core will be barricaded tomorrow night, blocking the area to all but security officials and delegates attending the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors.
Some sections -- including stretches of Wellington Street and Mackenzie Avenue -- will even be blocked to pedestrians. The size of the security perimeter, in place until Sunday afternoon, could change at any time.
"We're monitoring information received locally, nationally and internationally on a daily basis in regards to intelligence information," said Ottawa police Supt. Pat Hayes yesterday in a briefing to city councillors and staff. "We have to have the flexibility to expand or condense our perimeters as necessary."
Officials expect anti-globalization demonstrators to protest the meetings, while security concerns have increased dramatically worldwide in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S.
The barricade is just one precaution police have taken. Manhole covers have been sealed and parking meters removed. Newspaper boxes are being chained to the ground, to prevent them from being lifted and turned into weapons.
"The plan police services has prepared is designed to ensure the safety of our community, our visitors, our officers, emergency personnel and, of course, the delegates who will be attending the conference," Supt. Hayes said.
That plan means some areas around the Government Conference Centre, where the meetings are to be held, will be blocked to cars and pedestrians.
"I understand and appreciate there will be a number of people not happy," Supt. Hayes said. "We'll have to deal with that."
It was unclear yet how many officers will be working this weekend, but Steve Kanellakos, the city's general manager of emergency and protective services, said the federal government has agreed to pay all overtime costs connected to security.
The weekend is one of the busiest of the year for merchants, who have stocked their shelves with Christmas gifts. A huge craft fair is planned for the Congress Centre this weekend, while Sweden's Cullberg Ballet will perform Sleeping Beauty at the National Arts Centre Friday and Saturday nights.
Carleton University was to hold its fall convocation ceremony at the NAC Sunday, but moved it to the school gym. Supt. Hayes, however, said police aren't asking people to avoid going downtown.
NAC spokeswoman Jayne Watson said performances will go ahead as planned despite the road closings. NAC parking is still accessible on Elgin Street at Slater, she said, as well as the Albert Street parking garage. They've also created a drop-off zone at Elgin and Queen, which will allow drivers to drop off any visitors before doing a U-turn and heading south down Elgin again.
Similarly, parking at the Rideau Centre and Congress Centre will still be accessible through the Nicholas Street parking garage entrance.
OC Transpo and STO buses will also be detoured over the weekend. Buses will still be allowed on the Mackenzie King bridge, but will not be able to make a stop. Neither will ParaTranspo.
"Most areas will be fully accessible, but not by traditional roads," Supt. Hayes said.
But Councillor Diane Deans said she was concerned the Market could turn into a ghost town if people decide "to clear the decks and stay out of the downtown core."
Supt. Hayes said if the meetings are uneventful, some restrictions could be lifted, including a ban on pedestrians crossing from Wellington to Rideau, but said he doubted there would be any further opening of roads to cars.
"Pedestrians would be allowed to cross at given times if it was safe. Obviously, if we're in the midst of a fray or protest, it would not be a good time for pedestrians to cross," he said.
When questioned by Councillor Alex Cullen as to why pedestrians might be able to use that stretch of road but not walk along Mackenzie Avenue, which will be blocked off, to get to Major's Hill Park, Supt. Hayes would not comment.
"The justification behind closing Mackenzie I'm not about to discuss at this point," he said.
Supt. Hayes would not discuss anything to do with specific security measures or the reasons they have been implemented.
Mr. Cullen told the Citizen he objected to security measures that would effectively ban pedestrians from certain streets, and said officials were being "overzealous" in their decision to block off Major's Hill Park. He said the security measures should have been discussed by council and that he was worried about any precedent they might set.
"I think it's wrong when we go through these intrusions in our daily lives not to have city council see it and approve it," he said. "If we don't speak out now then the next conference that comes in to town will get even more intrusive."
Councillor Madeleine Meilleur said merchants in her Rideau-Vanier Ward are upset by the road closings but understand the security concerns. She says the security plan is appropriate.
"I think it's good what they're doing. It's not too aggressive," she said. "Let's just hope it's going to be calm."
Ms. Deans, chairwoman of the city's emergency and protective services committee, said she wouldn't have chosen to host the G20 summit in Ottawa. She also said it should have been held in a more remote location, rather than the downtown core, where businesses should be bustling this weekend.
But she said she was satisfied with the security provisions.
"They've done everything they can to be fully prepared and protect our citizens over the weekend," she said. "I believe if they say they're ready, they're ready."
The City of Ottawa has bought ad space in newspapers tomorrow and Saturday, and bought time on radio stations to update people on road closings this weekend. City staff will also post any updated information on their Web site (www.city.ottawa.on.ca.) while the city call centre (580-2400) will be staffed all weekend.
"Every time there will be a change to road closures, or we want to give out other information, the Web site will be updated," said communications director Marie-Josee Lapointe.
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.14
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: B1 / Front
BYLINE: Kate Jaimet
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Colour Photo: Pat Mcgrath, The Ottawa Citizen / Maude Barlowof the Council of Canadians sent a strong message when she asked protesters to avoid acts of provocation.

Protesters ready for violence in order to 'be heard'

A few aggressive foes of capitalism and globalization will likely attempt to tear down police roadblocks and break into conference facilities.
"The barricades are there to prevent the protesters from being heard by people inside the meeting. And people come to the protest to be heard," said Jamie Kneen, media liaison for Global Democracy Ottawa, one group organizing protests.
Mr. Kneen said that in his opinion, breaking into the conference facility where delegates of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the G20 are meeting this weekend does not constitute "violence."
But the majority of protesters plan to demonstrate peacefully as three major international meetings come to Ottawa this weekend. The Council of Canadians reiterated its call yesterday for protesters to refrain from all acts of provocation.
Council president Maude Barlow had already sent a strong message two weeks ago telling protesters that citizens are upset by the events of Sept. 11 and do not want to see "any cars being hit, any mailboxes being overturned."
"Our position hasn't changed," said Council of Canadians issue campaigns co-ordinator Steven Staples. The council will be participating in teach-ins and peaceful demonstrations along with church groups, social justice groups and trade unions, he said. The Canadian Federation of Students will also espouse peaceful protest.
The events scheduled this weekend are meant to show opposition to policies of the World Bank, the IMF and the G8. Protesters believe these groups cause misery by imposing harsh monetary policies and debt repayment conditions on poor countries, and by forcing poor countries to compete in the global marketplace against rich countries. Some demonstrators will also be marching to oppose the war in Afghanistan.
But the largest event will be a march Saturday morning beginning at three different locations and converging on the lawn of the Supreme Court. Some protesters will then carry on to the area surrounding the Conference Centre, where the international meetings are taking place.
Even protest organizers have no firm idea of how many people will come to the demonstrations this weekend, with estimates ranging from 5,000 to 20,000.
Police, who will close down the immediate conference vicinity to all traffic and restrict some other streets to pedestrians, are expecting that most protesters will remain peaceful.
However, based on intelligence gathered from the Internet, they are ready for sporadic confrontations with small groups of protesters, and are prepared to use tear gas and pepper spray.
One of the most aggressive messages on the Internet comes courtesy of a Toronto group calling itself the Black Touta.
"We propose that we attempt to shut down the IMF/WB/G20 meetings as well as we can, by snake-marching militantly through the downtown core of Ottawa," the Web site says. "If a fence is constructed, we propose an anarchist bloc converge to take down many different points along the fence. ... We could shut Ottawa down!"
Mr. Kneen said protest organizers will ask the peaceful protesters to go to the Byward Market area, while more militant activists approach the Congress Centre from other angles.
"If people want to try to shut the meeting down, they'll do that on the other side," he said.
But Paul Smith, another member of Global Democracy Ottawa, said that even in the Market, protesters should be ready to refuse to comply with police if they are asked to clear an area where they feel they have a right to be.
"We may sit down in front of them and not comply," he said. "Non-violent civil disobedience is confrontational."
====
 

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.14
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Business
PAGE: D1 / Front
BYLINE: Vito Pilieci, with files from Bev Wake
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Colour Photo: Bruno Schlumberger, The Ottawa Citizen / PeterHarbic, a show producer with the Ottawa Signatures Craft Show at the Congress Centre said his show must go on despite the protests and road closings. Mr. Harbic spends more than $125,000 a year on advertising the annual Christmas craft show that features artisans from across Canada. He said he has no choice about moving his event, which typically attracts 25,000 visitors.; Graphic/Diagram: Bruno Schlumberger, The ottawa citizen / Lia Kiessling, an employee at the Record Runner, a Rideau Street music store about two blocks east of the Conference Centre, says the store plans to board up its windows for the weekend. 'I don't see why they would blast apart an independent record store, but we are going to be leery.'; Photo: Rod Macivor, The Ottawa Citizen / Pavla Novotna, manager of Venus Treasures of Europe in the Market, says she and other retailers 'fear the unknown.'

G20 could cost retailers $10M: Road closings, protests to keep away shoppers, expert says

Hosting the G20 meeting could cost Ottawa as much as $10 million in lost retail sales alone, says a market research expert.
"I think the loss of business is going to be significant," said marketing analyst Barry Nabatian, general manager of Market Research Corp. "I think that if Sept. 11 had not happened the impact would not have been as drastic, but because of that, more people will stay away."
In fact, Mr. Nabation feels the slowdown may have already begun, with shoppers leery of travelling to the downtown core.
He estimated that sales would drop by about $4 million through this week and those losses will grow with the variety of road closings and possibility of violent protests downtown this weekend. He expects small businesses in and around the Rideau Centre to lose some $6 million worth of sales over the weekend.
Councillor Diane Deans, chairwoman of the city's emergency services committee, said there's a sense among her constituents that the best thing to do this weekend is "clear the decks and stay out of the downtown core."
"They say it's business as usual but it's not," she said. "The reality is a lot of places you'd want to get to, you just can't get to."
Most retailers have already given up on trying to reassure people and entice them to come downtown this weekend. Instead, they are preparing for the worst.
"We are going to board up our windows," said Lia Kiessling, an employee at the Record Runner, a Rideau Street music store about two blocks east of the Conference Centre. "I don't see why they would blast apart an independent record store, but we are going to be leery."
Protests are slated be held on the northeast corner of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive. If they turn violent, Ms. Kiessling's store could find itself in the middle of the action. In Quebec City in April, protesters smashed store windows and ransacked the downtown area. It is estimated the Quebec summit cost the city more than $100 million in damages.
"We are definitely going to have our guard up," said Ms. Kiessling.
Record Runner, like other businesses in the neighborhood, has been asked by the Rideau Business Improvement Association (RBIA) to refrain from putting out any garbage or other items that could be used as weapons or projectiles. Last week, the city removed street signs, benches, patio furniture and garbage cans from the downtown area, standard procedure when getting ready for this type of event.
But seeing the police directing such thorough precautions has area businesses worried of what may happen next.
"It is the fear of the unknown," said Pavla Novatna, manager of Venus Treasures of Europe in the Byward Market, a crystal and glassware store, which displays its fragile wares on glass shelves in the front windows. "We don't know what is going to happen."
Ms. Novatna said because of reassurances from the police that the area will be safe, most stores in the market are going to be open this weekend.
But she not sure how long they will stay open.
"If I see somebody running around in a ski mask I don't think I am going to be very comfortable."
Peter Harbic, a show producer with the Ottawa Signatures Craft Show said his show must go on despite the protests and road closings.
"People are saying, 'Hey, we can't let our lives stop here'," he said. "The exhibitors are coming from far away, we have a good contingent coming from British Columbia and the Maritimes."
Mr. Harbic spends more than $125,000 a year on advertising the annual Christmas craft show that features artisans from across Canada. He said he has no choice about moving his event, which typically attracts 25,000 visitors.
Groups of Ottawa protesters have posted plans on the Internet, rallying people who are against globalization to meet at LeBreton Flats at 9 a.m. Saturday. From there they will march to Rideau Street and Sussex Drive to stage a demonstration.
Ottawa police said last week that depending on the turnout, the road closings could be scaled back or beefed up. At worst, the Rideau Centre could be shut down.
As it stands, no changes have been made to announced road closings. People can access the Rideau Centre or the Congress Centre from the parking garage off Nicholas Street.
====
 

PUBLICATION: The London Free Press
DATE: 2001.11.14
SECTION: Opinion pages
PAGE: A11
COLUMN: National affairs
SOURCE: Special To The Free Press
BYLINE: Greg Weston
DATELINE: Ottawa

G20 SUMMIT RISKS TOO HIGH FOR POLITICKING

A friend with a well-known restaurant in the heart of the nation's capital is so excited about this weekend's international G-20 meeting of finance ministers here, he went out Monday and bought enough plywood to board up his entire business for the occasion.
Just down the same street in the popular Byward Market area, another pal with an exclusive dress shop is thinking about closing down during the entire three-day economic summit, worried her staff and store could be in danger if crowds of protesters turn into mobs of rioters.
The owner of another nearby business has been quoted as saying she wouldn't blame customers for staying away from the area in droves.
"If I didn't have to work on the weekend, I wouldn't come down here at all," she said.
Other friends are packing up their families and leaving town altogether for the weekend, especially now that the finance ministers' talkathon has forced postponement of the national capital's annual Santa Claus parade.
Kids be damned.
Alas, according to the wisdom of Finance Minister Paul Martin, it is all so much ado about nothing.
The man who desperately wants to be Canada's next prime minister recently told Sun Media's David Gamble: "The fact is that Ottawa is really going to be the centre of an awful lot of international press attention. I think that's good for Ottawa."
OK, so consumer spending is already evaporating, the retail economy is in the tank and this should have been the first critical weekend of Christmas shopping.
No big deal, says the man in charge of Canada's economy.
"I think it (the summit meeting) is good for those merchants in the long run. There are an awful lot of tourists who go to places like Ottawa and Washington because these places are in the news. So in the long run, I think it's probably good for Ottawa," Martin said.
It almost goes without saying that the last time Canada hosted a major international summit, in Quebec City in April, it sure did wonders for tourism and local businesses.
For three days, the entire downtown commercial core of Quebec City was smothered in tear gas, and barricaded behind riot police and high chain-link fences.
For three days, international media beamed colourful images of Quebec City to millions of would-be tourists around the world -- truly romantic images of rioting mobs and police water cannon.
The whole event was such a smashing success that Canadian taxpayers have had to dole out tens of millions of dollars in compensation for property damage and lost business.
All that's changed since Quebec City is Sept. 11: Before, the threat was formidable; now it is potentially catastrophic.
And for what?
The G20 finance ministers were supposed to be meeting in Delhi until the Indian government wisely cancelled in the wake of Sept. 11, fearing the gate-crashers might include ambassadors of Osama bin Laden.
At the same time -- and for the same reason -- the U.S. government scrapped meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, scheduled to be held in Washington later this month.
So whose bright idea was it to host all three meetings in Ottawa?
Ordinarily, if Canada were going to offer to host such gatherings, the invitations and arrangements would come from the Department of Foreign Affairs. But not this time.
"I am truly happy to report that Foreign Affairs had absolutely nothing to do with this," said a senior official in that department. "It was entirely coming from Mr. Martin and his shop."
Of course, the only reason Martin and the other extraterrestrial thinkers in his department chose to potentially put at risk Canadian businesses, millions of tax dollars and even lives, is because the world desperately needs to hear 20 finance ministers talking behind closed doors.
It is only pure coincidence that the event will also give Martin three days of photo opportunities to look perfectly prime ministerial.
Frankly, if this is the best he has to offer, he doesn't deserve to be running a phone booth.
====

PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2001.11.14
SECTION: News
PAGE: 41
COLUMN: Aftermath briefs

AFTERMATH BRIEFS COLUMN

MARTIN WANTS G20 IN LINE
OTTAWA (Staff) -- Finance Minister Paul Martin is determined that his G20 colleagues, who meet here this weekend, will produce an action plan with the teeth to take a real bite out of terrorist financing.
Martin's officials said yesterday his pledge comes even though some countries have balked at going after terror cash in their banks. Officials refused to name countries, but Muslim nations, as well as China, have been reluctant to join the countries who've clamped down on terrorist assets. Another official told Sun Media that countries such as Canada, the United States and Great Britain may have to "pony up" cash and training for some countries to help probe banks. CRUCIAL VOTE IN BERLIN
BERLIN (AP) -- Hoping to overcome opposition to German military participation in the war against terrorism, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder turned a parliamentary vote yesterday on the issue into a vote of confidence.
Schroeder hopes the vote Friday will bring wavering lawmakers from his own Social Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Greens, in line with his pledge of support for the U.S. campaign. But he also faces the possibility that his government could collapse. Eight lawmakers indicated they would vote against the planned deployment of 3,900 troops.
11 ARRESTED IN SPAIN
MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Spanish police arrested 11 members of a group that allegedly recruited people to carry out terrorist attacks and whose leader was identified as Osama bin Laden's representative in Spain, the interior minister said yesterday. Police seized computers, videos, falsified documents and .22-calibre guns. The recruiters, who belonging to the "Mujahideen Movement," allegedly provided the false papers to members on their way to other European points.
U.S. THANKS NEWFIES
ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) -- The people of Newfoundland and Labrador received a personal, heartfelt thank you yesterday from the U.S. ambassador to Canada.
Paul Cellucci travelled to the Legislature in St. John's, where he praised the province for taking in thousands of stranded American travellers following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The province welcomed more airline passengers than any other. Some 13,000 people on 78 aircraft were diverted to five airports.
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.15
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: B2
BYLINE: Bev Wake
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Police ready to use tear gas, pepper spray: 'If you use violence, we'll deal with you'

Ottawa police might use tear gas, pepper spray or force to deal with any demonstrators that turn violent at this weekend's G20 summit of finance ministers.
A letter has already been sent to businesses around the Government Convention Centre, where the summit will be staged, warning merchants that tear gas and pepper spray could be used to control dangerous crowds.
"In the past few years, some other meetings have escalated to a point where, to maintain public order, certain security measures were required to disperse crowds and subdue individuals," the notice reads, before offering advice on how to counteract the effects of the two chemicals, which can cause pain and excess drainage from eyes, nose, mouth and breathing passages.
"We have sent a letter to business owners informing them that we may have to use that option," Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Leo Janveau said yesterday during a media conference at City Hall. "We hope we won't have to."
Officials expect between 2,000 and 5,000 demonstrators to gather in Ottawa this weekend for the G20 summit and two committee meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank being held at the same time.
"Demonstrators should keep in mind that as much as they have the right to protest, the Ottawa community has a result to a safe and secure community," said RCMP Sgt. Marc Richer. "If you want to come and express yourself, do so peacefully, you will be respected. If you use violence, we'll deal with you."
A section of the downtown core will be blocked off to all traffic by concrete vehicle barriers, while a small portion will be closed off to pedestrians and traffic with short metal barriers. The security perimetre could change at any time, opening up to pedestrians if there are no demonstrators, or expanding further if needed.
Sgt. Richer said the joint police security team, which includes the RCMP, Ottawa police and OPP, have been gathering intelligence in preparation for the event and meeting with protest groups. He said he doesn't expect anything along the lines of Quebec City, where 50,000 demonstrators converged in a city sealed off to protesters by temporary walls.
In Ottawa this weekend, the Rideau Centre, Byward Market and Congress Centre will be open and accessible, but through alternative routes.
For OC Transpo information, call 741-4390, for STO call 819-770-3242, for police inquiries call 236-1222 and for road closings call 580-2400.
For more information, visit the City of Ottawa's Web site at www.city. ottawa.on.ca.
====

PUBLICATION: La Tribune
DATE: 2001.11.15
SECTION: Général
PAGE: B4
SOURCE: PC
PHOTO: PC
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
Marc Richer (GRC), à droite, Léo Janveau (policed'Ottawa-Carleton) et Kristine Cholette (police provinciale d'Ontario) faisaient le point, hier, sur la rencontre que tiendront les ministres des Finances du G20 en fin de semaine à Ottawa.

Les manifestants violents seront arrêtés

Le sergent Marc Richer, de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada, a lancé un avertissement clair aux gens qui comptent manifester dans les rues d'Ottawa, cette fin de semaine, à l'occasion de la rencontre des ministres des Finances du G20.
Quiconque mettra en danger la sécurité des policiers, de la population d'Ottawa et des autres manifestants sera arrêté. Seuls les manifestations pacifiques seront permises dans les rues du centre-ville.
La GRC, la police d'Ottawa et la Police provinciale de l'Ontario viennent de mettre la touche finale à un plan d'action qui vise à ce que la rencontre se déroule dans le calme et la paix. "On ne peut jamais prédire ce qui va se passer. Mais on s'attend à ce que la plupart des manifestants soient passifs. Nous verrons à ce que ceux qui ne le sont pas ne mettent pas la sécurité des autres en danger", affirme le sergent d'état-major Léo Janveau, de la police d'Ottawa. "Les manifestants pacifiques seront bien accueillis à Ottawa. Nous reconnaissons le droit à la manifestation pacifique. Mais les gens qui habitent et qui travaillent au centre-ville d'Ottawa ont le droit à la sécurité, au même titre que les manifestants ont le droit de s'exprimer librement", ajoute-t-il.
Pas comme à Québec
La GRC et la police d'Ottawa ne s'attendent pas à vivre des épisodes aussi violents que ceux qui ont eu lieu lors du Sommet des Amériques, à Québec, le printemps dernier. "Les deux villes sont différentes et les deux rencontres n'ont pas exactement la même portée", estime Marc Richer. On s'attend à ce qu'environ 5000 personnes sortent dans les rues d'Ottawa, cette fin de semaine. Le rassemblement le plus important de la fin du week-end devrait avoir lieu samedi matin, devant l'immeuble de la Cour suprême du Canada. Des milliers de manifestants devraient s'y réunir aux environs de 11 h.
"Cette activité devrait durer au moins une heure. Il est difficile de prédire ce qui va se passer après", déclare David Robbins, de l'organisme Counsel of Canadians. M. Robbins encourage lui aussi les manifestants à faire preuve de civisme. "Nous encourageons les manifestations pacifiques", dit-il.
Les policiers ont reconnu que des mesures extrêmes comme les balles de plastique et les gaz lacrymogènes pourraient être prises contre des manifestants violents. "Nous le ferons seulement si tous les autres outils que nous avons à notre disposition ne fonctionnent pas", dit Marc Richer.
====
 

PUBLICATION: CTV - CTV NEWS
DATE: 2001.11.14

Security preparations underway in Ottawa for G20 summit

LLOYD ROBERTSON: Security preparations are underway tonight in Ottawa which is hosting the so-called G20 summit this weekend. The gathering of international Finance Ministers and delegates of the world bank and international monetary fund was shifted to Ottawa after India backed out over terrorist concerns. As CTV's Roger Smith reports, police are bracing for a flood of protesters.
ROGER SMITH (Reporter): These protestors are getting ready, training for what they say will be peaceful demonstrations. But some sound more threatening. An anarchist group called the Black Touta warns of confrontation. Its web site says: "We could shut Ottawa down." Fears are it could get ugly, like the summit of the Americas in Quebec. But police say this will be a lower-profile meeting, with smaller crowds and no perimeter fence as a flashpoint.
MARC RICHER (RCMP): This is not Quebec City, folks, this is quite a different setting.
SMITH: The setting, this conference centre. The meeting was shifted here from India, after September 11th, because of security concerns. But police are less worried about terrorists than protestors.
RICHER: You want to come and express yourself, do peacefully, you'll be respected. Any violence, we'll deal with it.
SMITH: After the terrorist attacks, critics of globalization concede there's less appetite for violent demonstrations, yet they insist it's no reason to stay silent.
DAVID ROBBINS (Council of Canadians): September 11th didn't stop the IMF and the world bank from keeping on with damaging policies.
SMITH: One American protestor, travelling with this woman, has already been detained by immigration.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN (1): I think the whole terrorist threat is being used to try to suppress open dissent.
SMITH: Police are closing roads and warning about tear gas. Stores worry Christmas shoppers will be scared away.
PAVLA NOVOTNA (Store Owner): This area, downtown, will be dangerous. I hear people say I don't want to get killed with a stone in my head.
SMITH: One other precaution. Ottawa's Santa Claus parade has been postponed for a week. In the nation's capital, hopes are the disruptions won't get any more serious than that. Roger Smith, CTV News, Ottawa.
====
 

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.16
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: F1 / Front
BYLINE: Mohammed Adam and Karina Roman
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

'We can't give in to terrorism': Mayor reiterates city's responsibility to host summit as a democratic duty

On the eve of a G20 meeting that India refused for fear of terrorism, Mayor Bob Chiarelli reiterated Ottawa's readiness to step forward as host.
"We can't give in to terrorism. We have a democratically elected government that wants to meet with other governments in the free world and if they are intimidated out of being able to hold a meeting in any of the capital cities of those 20 countries, that'll be very sad for democracy," he told reporters.
Several Ottawa businesses have complained that security measures for the meeting, including shutting off parts of the city all weekend, will cost them millions in sales. Many are planning to board up their stores for fear of violence and vandalism.
But Mr. Chiarelli said Ottawa residents, who benefit tremendously from living in the capital, cannot shirk their responsibilities when it comes to holding conferences and meetings.
"It is very important for the people of Ottawa to acknowledge the tremendous benefits we get by being the capital of Canada. You can't take all the good and not the responsibility," Mr. Chiarelli said.
He said the city is not expecting the level of violence that happened in Quebec City during the Summit of the Americas.
"We are expecting some demonstrations, but I am hopeful that serious trouble -- broken windows or anything like that -- will be non-existent or if there are, will be very, very minimal," he said.
However, Ottawa police are preparing for the worst. All officers who are working the G20 this weekend, about 700, have been equipped with gas masks. Officers received training on how to use the masks and to ensure they were fitted properly.
So many police are needed to work this weekend that plainclothes officers were called in and needed new uniforms. Many officers have been out of uniform for years and required updated clothing and equipment.
Because of the general expectation for violence, one group, Global Democracy Ottawa, has sent a letter to downtown business owners and managers to reassure them they have nothing to be afraid of from protesters.
"We are ... hoping to answer any questions you may have and assure you that the majority of the protesters do not want to cause harm or destruction," the letter says. "They are trying to make the world a better place for all who live here."
The letter explains that the Market area is designated a "green zone." Such a designation means it is likely to be filled with non-violent protesters since those who don't want to risk arrest are told to stick to such zones.
"We are reaching out to you to encourage you to welcome them to Ottawa and to your establishment," the letter says. "By welcoming them in your establishment, you will be helping people to exercise their democratic right to protest."
Global Democracy also points out that protesters will be hungry and thirsty and, therefore, are potential consumers as well. The group adds that during April's Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, some businesses offered special "summit menus."
====

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.16
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: F10
COLUMN: Press Releases
SOURCE: Compiled by Linda Denley

Press Releases

Excerpts from news releases sent to the Citizen newsroom.
City of Ottawa issues numbers to call for official help during G20 meetings
The City of Ottawa, along with the G20 Joint Security Team, would like to issue the following contact numbers for the general public during the G-20 conference in Ottawa which runs from Nov. 16 - 18. General Public Contacts Numbers for Information or Emergencies: Ottawa Police Services, General Enquiries: 613-236-1222
Ottawa Police Emergency: 9-1-1
City of Ottawa, General Enquiries (road closures etc.) 613-580-2400
City of Ottawa Web site www.city.ottawa.on.ca
OC Transpo 613-741-4390
STO (Hull buses) 819-770-3242
Expert to help parents whose children have problems with communication
Lindsay Moir, an education consultant, will lead a workshop to help parents whose children have trouble communicating. It will take place Saturday, Nov. 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, 52 Abbott St, unit 2, Smiths Falls. Sponsoring the workshop are the Language Express PSL System, Lanark Early Integration Program and the local chapter of the Ontario Association for Families of Children with Communication Disorders. Ms. Moir presents the latest information to families and school board personnel, assisting everyone in working together to help children access the supports they need. Workshops will be presented on educational advocacy training; current issues in special education; and transition to school. Cost is $10. This includes lunch. To register, call 283-2742 or 1-888-503-8885.
Peace-promoting quilt project comes to Centrepointe
Since 1981, many peace quilts have been made, honouring peacemakers, reaching out to the global community and creating local change. These tactile textiles have been used to make political statements and explore frontiers in cooperative creativity.
Centrepointe House will present the Boise Peace Quilt Project "Stitching Peace Around the World' with Boise quilters Heidi Read and Marcia Way-Brady, Tuesday, Dec. 4, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Fee is $40. On Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. these ladies will also host a hands-on workshop where you will make a block that will go into a community quilt. No previous sewing or quilting experience is required. Fee is $100 with limited space. Both events are to be held at Bethany Baptist Church, 382 Centrepointe Dr., Nepean. To register, call 224-8688.
Public Star Night features annual Leonid meteor shower
The Ottawa Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will hold a Public Star Night at Pinhey's Point in Kanata tomorrow, (rain date on Sunday) at 6 p.m. Members will be on hand with a wide variety of telescopes showing the wonders of the night sky as well as answering questions.
During the evening leading into the morning of the 18th, the annual Leonid meteor shower is due. This year's display might be particularly good as about 100 fast-moving meteors will be seen per hour. Commonly known as shooting stars, these particles, as small as a grain of sand, will dash across the sky at 65 km/second as they burn up in our atmosphere. There is no danger of any pieces falling to Earth. Some larger particles, about pea-size, known as fireballs, will be extremely bright. The shower is a result of the Earth passing through the tail of Comet Temple/ Tuttle. The display will start around 11 p.m. tomorrow when the constellation Leo rises above the east horizon and will last all night. A predicted outburst of possibly 2,500 meteors per hour may occur for a short period at 5 a.m.
To observe this great display pack a lawn chair, dress warm and head out of the city to escape Ottawa's light pollution. Find a spot with a flat 360 degrees horizon as these streaks can flash anywhere in the sky. For a detailed map visit http://ottawa.rasc.ca or for information call 830-3381.
Emily Carr Middle School raises $7,000 with 5K walk-a-thon
The Emily Carr Middle School 5K walk-a-thon Oct. 5 and donations by staff raised a record $7,000, $3,500 for the David Smith Centre, a drug rehabilitation facility for young people, and $3,500 going to the United Way of Ottawa Carleton.
Centrepointe Theatre Volunteers host annual holiday celebration
The Centrepointe Theatre Volunteer company will host its 12th annual holiday celebration, Sunday, Dec. 2, 1-4 p.m., at Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Dr. This fun family and community gathering supports FAMSAC and the Nepean-based food bank. Admission is free but non-perishable foods and toys will be accepted. Nepean Choir, Mostly Bows and the Pinecrest handbell Choir will entertain. There will be a kiddy corner with colouring contests and games and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. You can stock up on new tree ornaments, seasonal decorations, baked goods, previously owned bestsellers and attic treasures. For those who are unable to attend the gathering, donations will be accepted the night before during the Second City performance at Centrepointe Theatre.
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.16
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: F11
COLUMN: Protester's notebook
BYLINE: Jay Fothergill
SOURCE: Citizen Special

Freedom worthless if we don't express it

My week began with a music show featuring the International Noise Conspiracy, a highly political rock band from Sweden whose current single is Capitalism Stole my Virginity.
It was a perfect time for protest rock, though thinking of what a rarity it has become made me sad. Music with a message is sorely lacking in this world.
From today until Sunday (coined early on as N16-18), finance ministers and central bank governors will be meeting for the G20 -- an organization set up to smooth out the bumps of financial globalization.
Although the mandate of this privileged group -- a coalition of the world's richest countries -- sounds decent, its operation and members smack of
the same corporate-led, anti-democratic economic policies that have entrenched poverty in less developed nations.
Also meeting here this weekend will be the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which will conduct their own meetings. These are the organizations that truly raise my ire and will assure my presence on the streets alongside others.
I'm a 27-year-old public servant with a degree in metallurgical engineering. As a student at McGill University, I became interested in social justice issues. I wrote for and edited the engineering paper The Plumber's Faucet. We became a satirical newspaper, using humour to get engineers to think about issues like cuts to education, globalization, sexism and racism.
I was working in jobs that used in my engineering skills. But in my everyday life, I continued to be interested in these issues.
I am a little tense. It's hard to know to what lengths police and governments will go to silence dissent. Just yesterday, American social activist Lisa Fithian was released after being detained for two days. Our first political prisoner, I thought. The action showed that the government, acting through police, was on the offensive.
I was aware of the frightening measures proposed by C-36, the anti-terrorism bill, and that police monitoring is occurring, but Lisa's detainment caught me off guard. I realized for the first time that there is a real threat of a raid on the Welcome Centre, an office set up at the University of Ottawa to pass out information and welcome protesters.
When I went to visit businesses in the Byward Market on Wednesday, the tension there was mostly subtle, but real. I say mostly because one store owner kicked me out of her shop, saying I should "get a job," which I have, and stop "causing a ruckus." It was because of such attitudes that I was dropping off information for Global Democracy Ottawa (GDO). I'm not a member of the group, but I totally support their cause.
GDO does not advocate violence. But anti-globalization is a movement with a lot of people who believe a lot of things. I'm strictly non-violent, but
I can sympathize. I can understand why some people might act out in an
aggressive manner against authority.
The letter and pamphlet I was distributing explains why we will be demonstrating, what GDO represents and gives contact details. All except one merchant welcomed the gesture, and reacted graciously.
The visits to city shops forced me to reassess why I and others, will protest on the weekend. Countering the images of Quebec City is difficult. People remember the battles and the bonfires, not the reason some attended the event. I told store owners many of the protesters are good people whose vision of a better world did not include the IMF, the World Bank or the conditions that necessitated a G20.
There will be people who will vent anger for such institutions, or for the police who protect these institutions. And there will be others who will exploit the situation for their own ends. Every movement comes with a more radical element.
But when you don't agree with something your government is doing, or with the increasing control of unaccountable organizations have over your life, you have to get that message out. The avenues to express it are few, and the ways to express it aren't usually very nice or pleasant. If you don't express it, however, then what is your freedom worth?
Jay Fothergill is an Ottawa resident and public servant.
====
 

PUBLICATION: Le Devoir
DATE: 2001.11.16
SECTION: Les Actualités
PAGE: A5
SOURCE: PC
BYLINE: Ducas, Isabelle
DATELINE: Ottawa

Réunion du G20; Des militants défendront la cause des pays pauvres

Des militants antimondialisation convergeront vers Ottawa en fin de semaine pour réclamer des changements en profondeur dans le mode de fonctionnement de la Banque mondiale et du Fonds monétaire international, afin d'améliorer le sort des pays pauvres, disent-ils.
D'importants comités de ces deux organismes se rencontrent dans la capitale fédérale, demain et dimanche, en même temps que la réunion des ministres des Finances des pays du G20.
Pour faire entendre leur message, les groupes antimondialisation se sont donné rendez-vous à Ottawa. Une grande marche pacifique, qui pourrait réunir 5000 personnes, est annoncée pour demain par plusieurs organismes.
Les organisateurs de la marche demandent aux participants de ne pas faire usage de violence, mais ils pourraient avoir de la difficulté à garder le contrôle, puisque d'autres groupes plaident en faveur de moyens d'action plus radicaux.
Ils espèrent ne pas voir ce week-end une répétition des événements du Sommet des Amériques, à Québec, le printemps dernier. "A Québec, il y a eu de la provocation et des réactions exagérées de la police, a souligné Jamie Kneen, porte-parole de Global Democracy Ottawa. Nous ne voulons pas que ça se répète à Ottawa, nous ne voulons pas que la ville se remplisse de gaz lacrymogènes."
L'organisme qu'il représente est en désaccord avec l'usage de la violence, mais les gens qui veulent faire entendre un message sont libres d'utiliser les moyens qu'ils désirent, ajoute-t-il.
Justement, une manifestation organisée aujourd'hui par la Coalition contre les conservateurs d'Ottawa (CCCO), en collaboration avec le groupe montréalais Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes (CLAC), invite les participants à utiliser "une diversité de tactiques".
"Nous ne condamnons aucune action, c'est aux individus ou aux groupes de décider, a indiqué Heidi Rimki, du CCCO. Si les gens veulent faire des gestes de désobéissance civile, ils sont libres de le faire."
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A3
COLUMN: Don Martin
BYLINE: Don Martin
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
NOTE:
G20 Summit

A lesson in the cosmic approach to civil disobedience

Police may be well prepared for chanting, marching, rock throwing and newspaper box rattling as today's protests reach the conference centre hosting the G20 finance ministers meeting. But an American witch named Starhawk is leading an attack against the security clampdown with something mere riot shields cannot repel -- magic.
Any average protester can climb over a barricade, shove a cop or yell obscenities at the arriving dignitaries. But can they breathe through tear gas? Be re-energized by having the "gunk" in their auras chopped up, fluffed up and combed away? Or, better still, cast a love spell on riot police to replace the use of billyclubs with more, um, friendly weapons?
Such are the tools of "magical activism" being taught by Starhawk, a 50-year-old witch and writer from San Francisco also known as Miriam Simos, who arrived in the capital this week to train fellow witches and their ilk in the secrets to civil disobedience using cosmic energy and assorted other methods mere skeptics wouldn't understand, specifically the student in her Thursday night class who is writing this column.
Alas, Harry Potter fanatics, no Firebolt 2000 broomsticks, Dark Arts or wands are used in Starhawk's training. The witches -- and they can be male -- don't wear black, cook up newt-eye stew in steaming cauldrons or cackle much, except when I struggled to find the aura without groping the university theology instructor unfortunate enough to be my "buddy" for the exercise.
Participation in magical activism requires nothing except one's belief to be suspended in the supernatural during a demonstration while positive energy is channeled across the barricades to calm police emotions.
Starhawk's Ottawa training session this week attracted about 40 people, including a couple of witches, a talkative heretic, a mother with her six-year-old daughter and a guy who popped by on his way to the laundromat who, dare I say, could use a little washing himself.
It was a passive and, frankly, boring session of breathing exercises, meditation, aura manipulation and a chanting stroll around a table of candles wrapped in a rainbow scarf while Starhawk banged on a bongo.
"Magic is the art of changing consciousness at will," she says. "You want to control your own energy state and not get carried away by rage and frustration."
Spells are merely projections of positive energy at inanimate objects to alter this consciousness. For example, Starhawk suggests, a love spell on a mango could transport your mind to a tropical beach. Or a spell could be put on the weekend New York Times reserved for reading in bed which, presumably, could lead to other loving things, although Afghanistan war coverage is not exactly my idea of yeehaw aphrodisiac material.
But this is not to suggest Starhawk is a certifiable wingnut. She is bewitchingly calm, articulate and reasoned in outlining her opposition to government alignments with corporate interests as an elitist, racist exercise that creates poverty in developing countries, environmental destruction and a generally eroded civil society. In other words, it's black magic.
She's written two novels and six activist guides that have sold well enough to finance her travels to whatever summit catches her fancy -- and yes, Calgary, you too can expect a visit for the G8 summit next June -- while earning a diverse readership that includes an official in the Prime Minister's Office, who threatened to put a powerful curse on my journalistic performance if publicly identified.
Starhawk's training, at least the 90 minutes I attended, was about as violent and threatening as the church choir rehearsal being conducted down the hallway of the Anglican church where the session was held.
Yet such was the security threat posed by Starhawk and her companion Lisa Fithian that the pair were apprehended at the Ottawa airport Monday, thoroughly searched and questioned for five hours.
Customs officers were suspicious of the bay leaves she carries for protection. They were curious about the sacred water she hauls for good luck. A notebook on cultural design, which instructed students to "get lots of rocks," raised security eyebrows. They seized her computer for closer examination and only allowed her in with a special visitors' designation while her friend was detained.
Starhawk's desired outcome from all this trouble is a "beautiful and peaceful march" followed by "powerful and moving direct action," such as an attempt to enter the conference room or disrupt the traffic of departing dignitaries.
If that's all that develops today in downtown Ottawa and nobody gets hurt, well, perhaps a little magic was involved after all.
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A4
BYLINE: Vito Pilieci
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Jean Levac, The Ottawa Citizen / Dan Ferran of IrvingRivers surplus store in the Byward Market models one of the Russian gas masks the store is stocking.
NOTE:
G20 Summit

Irving Rivers corners market on gas masks

Irving Rivers in the Byward Market has three crates full of gas masks, but with the possibility the police may use tear gas on protesters the store's manager doesn't expect them to last very long.
"We were lucky, I just got these in yesterday," said Dan Ferran, manager of the work-clothing shop.
"We put a sign up outside and they are selling pretty fast."
Irving Rivers, which doubles as an army surplus store, received the 150 Russian army-issue gas masks early Thursday.
By yesterday afternoon, the shop had sold more than 45 of them at $49.95 each.
Mr. Ferran said he is not trying to fuel G20 protests. He said he has been reporting the sales of the gas masks to the RCMP.
He also said items that could be used by protesters have been pulled from the store's shelves.
"The owner decided to pull all of the knives, batons and pepper spray," Mr. Ferran said.
"He told me he didn't care about profit, he just didn't want to fuel any violence."
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: B5
BYLINE: Alma Norman
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Don't confuse noisy protest with violence

I am another "mouthy older woman" who will be on the streets protesting the G20 meeting. I will be there to assert my democratic right to dissent and my determination to preserve our civil liberties. My protest is aimed as much at the dangers of Bill C-36, the proposed anti-terrorism act, as it is at G20 policies. The right to dissent is a cornerstone of a democratic state. Attempts to stifle it by any means, including intimidation, are as much an assault on our country's values as are terrorist attacks. I've been appalled at the near-hysteria over the possibility of violence by a tiny minority, ignoring the fact that most of this "violence" is vandalism, and much is provoked by nervous police.
The facts show that most protesters have been peaceful.
Let our authorities not confuse vigorous, perhaps noisy, protest with violence so that, out of fear or suspicion, they react with violence themselves.
Alma Norman,
Ottawa
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: B6
COLUMN: Charles Gordon
BYLINE: Charles Gordon
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

A mostly non-confrontational welcome for the G20

It was an exciting little game of cat and mouse the protesters and the police played yesterday. It was almost good clean fun, the marchers turning this way and that, the police trying to get there first, and it's too bad that it had to end in arrests and smoke.
That's what some people wanted and it's what others feared and both of those groups were represented among those who marched for several hours seemingly over every street in downtown Ottawa.
At every point of potential confrontation, there were protesters urging their colleagues onward to provoke the police into action and there were other protesters urging their colleagues to turn away.
Those who turned away were vastly in the majority.
The first point was at Confederation Square, around 2 p.m. The protesters had marched from the park at the corner of Lyon and Somerset, using the so-called snake march technique that is designed to avoid the police.
It was good-natured little walk on a nice day with a few hundred protesters, mostly very young and bellowing out various chants. They walked east on Somerset, to the beat of makeshift drums, past people watching from the porches of the nice restaurants, then south on O'Connor away from a police line, east on MacLaren, across Metcalfe and then north on Elgin toward Confederation Square and the Conference Centre where the G20 ministers will be meeting.
On Elgin Street, the protesters walked right by an inviting target, the McDonald's, which, unlike the one in Quebec City had not been boarded up.
Passing a line of riot-helmeted police across one intersection, each standing grimly, the left foot forward, protesters urged them to smile.
It was that kind of thing, or was until Confederation Square, and a line of portable metal barricades. There are some protesters for whom portable metal barricades are a gift from the heavens. They threw them aside and charged past, into an open area, at the end of which was a line of police and more metal barricades.
Outside the National Arts Centre, an electronic billboard flashed an advertisement for The Nutcracker, which seemed both ominous and perfectly timed.
At this point, various protesters spoke. One was Yves Engeler from Montreal who yelled out: "If you don't agree with it, don't follow it."
He yelled that a couple of times, adding that the movement doesn't want the image the media will give it, of masked protesters fighting with police. Another, younger protester poignantly and loudly professed his indecision: "I don't know what the f--- to do!" he yelled.
"Let's just lie down," a woman protester shouted.
So several protesters lay down on Elgin Street. The ones who broke through the barrier found no one following them. Eventually they turned around and came back, still looking menacing in their black outfits.
"It's not a conflict with the cops," Engeler told a reporter. "It's about social justice."
Peace was restored and for a time, Elgin Street at Confederation Square became an impromptu festival, with a lot of drumming and dancing, under the eyes of bemused motorists who weren't going to be driving anywhere soon.
Several other confrontations were avoided in the hours ahead, usually by protesters urging their colleagues to walk away from, rather than toward the lines of police that appeared at every major intersection. That happened at Metcalfe and Slater, where an Ottawa Sun box was picked up and slammed to the ground in front of police.
The march halted for glaring and taunting. "Keep moving," organizers shouted, turning the march south onto Metcalfe, away from the police line.
It couldn't last forever. No march that is led by a banner reading SMASH THE STATE is going to leave the city completely unruffled. So some goons smashed a McDonald's window on Bank Street. There were arrests and what some said was a concussion grenade and others reported as tear gas.
Which is odd because the smell of tear gas seemed to be in the air from the moment the marchers gathered.
That could have been just an over-active imagination, flashing back to acrid moments in Quebec. More likely, it's that some people had dragged out their Quebec City costumes, the smell still clinging to them.
Some people wear it like a badge. Now they get to wear it again.
The Citizen's Charles Gordon writes here on Thursdays and Saturdays.
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PUBLICATION
GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: SAT NOV.17,2001
PAGE: A8 (ILLUS)
BYLINE: HEATHER SCOFFIELD
CLASS: National News
EDITION: Metro DATELINE: Ottawa ON

Protesters target G20
Antiglobalization activists in Ottawa
decry World Bank's offer for discussions

HEATHER SCOFFIELD
With reports from Daniel Leblanc and Shawn McCarthy
OTTAWA Two opposing views of globalization clashed in the streets of Ottawa yesterday, with hundreds of protesters marching against the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries meeting in the capital this weekend. About 500 people took to the streets denouncing corporate exploitation and economic inequalities, and thousands more are expected today.
Police arrested four people after militants toppled police barricades near the downtown conference centre, smashed the windows of a McDonald's restaurant with rocks and metal rods, and spray-painted anticapitalist graffiti on streets and government buildings.
"Shut it down! Shut it down!" they chanted about this weekend's meeting.
The protesters made their targets clear: an agenda of globalization that is seen to favour corporations and the rich over poor and middle-class people around the world.
The World Bank has encouraged critics to talk to its officials, rather than stage demonstrations. But a group of research-oriented non-governmental organizations said yesterday that they have given up trying to discuss changes in policy with the World Bank, and are taking to the streets instead.
"If dialogue could change things, we would not bother going into the streets. It's too hard, it's too dangerous," said Lidy Nacpil, an activist from the Philippines.
U.S. activist Starhawk, who was detained at the border earlier this week, told a mostly 20-something crowd of 200 hard-core protesters that they cannot let up on their antiglobalization campaign just because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Since Sept. 11, we've been told to be quiet, slip into the background, shut up," she said. "I say that is really the wrong thing. What is needed is to be strong, to be clear, more out there, more vocal than ever."
But Finance Minister Paul Martin has frequently said that the stated aims of the protesters are not too different from his own.
Yesterday he urged the finance ministers and central bankers in attendance to help the poor by agreeing to a plan to resolve financial crises, freeze financing for terrorists, and work together to end the global economic slowdown.
"It is the poor, primarily, who bear the long-term consequences of terrorism. For this reason, all of us must dedicate ourselves to the cause of economic security, just as surely as we have dedicated ourselves to the cause of physical security," he said in a premeeting speech.
Mr. Martin called on the countries of the G20 to sign on to a antiterrorist-financing action plan this weekend under which all countries would quickly implement all United Nations resolutions on terrorist assets, and to persuade neighbouring countries to do the same.
Another key aim of the weekend meetings is to push an agenda of making globalization work, Mr. Martin said. Ministers need to find ways to round off the "hard edges" of international markets and take a close look at the way globalization affects health and education in poor countries, he said.
"Economic growth is an essential precondition to the alleviation of poverty, and globalization can be -- in fact must be -- a tremendous force for good. But in the end, Canada's argument has been that globalization is what we make of it."
Many of the protesters accuse governments of the leading developed countries of promoting policies that lead to environmental degradation, widen the gap between rich and poor in the world, and the increase power of corporations and unrepresentative international bodies over communities and individuals.
globalization
Fund
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PUBLICATION: Le Soleil
DATE: 2001.11.17
SECTION: Actualités
PAGE: A3
BYLINE: Saint-Laurent, Sylvain
PHOTO: PC
DATELINE: Ottawa
ILLUSTRATION:
Les policiers n'ont pas fait beaucoup d'arrestations commecelle-ci.; Après avoir arraché des barrières métalliques, vers 15 h, les marcheurs ont réussi à s'infiltrer temporairement à l'intérieur du périmètre de sécurité.

Manifestants attendus de pied ferme; Les agents des forces antiémeutes semblaient plus nombreux que les militants antimondialisation

Les policiers attendaient les manifestants de pied ferme, hier, lors de la première journée de la rencontre des pays du G20 à Ottawa.
Les agents des forces antiémeutes semblaient plus nombreux que les militants antimondialisation, dans les rues du centre-ville. La foule des manifestants, qui n'excédait pas 300 personnes, n'a pas causé beaucoup de grabuge.
Les contestataires ont détruit la vitrine d'un restaurant McDonald's et peint des graffitis sur certains immeubles. Ils n'ont cependant pas été en mesure de s'approcher des lieux où se rencontraient les ministres des Finances.
La journée s'est soldée par quatre arrestations, dont une à l'aide d'un nuage de fumée contenant une petite quantité de gaz lacrymogène pour éloigner la foule.
Les quatre manifestants, arrêtés pour du vandalisme, sont actuellement détenus. Ils connaîtront sous peu les accusations qui pèseront contre eux.
Malgré ces incidents, les policiers semblaient satisfaits du déroulement de cette première journée du Sommet du G20 dans les rues d'Ottawa.
"La police est heureuse d'annoncer que la majorité des manifestants étaient pacifiques. Nous voudrions les remercier au nom des citoyens d'Ottawa", a souligné le sergent Léo Janveau, porte-parole de l'équipe mixte de police.
" La journée a été plutôt calme. Il n'y a pas eu beaucoup d'arrestations ; peut-être parce que nous ne nous sommes pas placés dans des situations pour nous faire arrêter ", reconnaît la porte-parole de la Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes (CLAC) de Montréal, Karina Chagnon.
" Nous sommes un peu soulagés. Une rumeur qui circulait voulait que la police nous embarque tous aujourd'hui. Mais très peu d'entre nous ont été arrêtés. C'est tant mieux. Nous pourrons continuer demain (aujourd'hui), alors que nous serons plus nombreux ", a-t-elle ajouté.
A bas le périmètre
Après avoir arraché des barrières métalliques, vers 15 h, les marcheurs ont réussi à s'infiltrer temporairement à l'intérieur du périmètre de sécurité. Un peu plus tard, certains manifestants ont fracassé les vitrines du restaurant McDonald's qui est situé au coin des rues Bank et Sparks.
" Le McDo était vide. Ce n'était pas dangereux pour personne ", a déclaré un militant de l'Ottawa coalition against the torries (OCAT), Roger Clément.
Par mesure de précaution, les autres restaurants McDonald's du centre-ville ont fermé leurs portes pour la fin de semaine et barricadé leurs vitrines.
Les manifestants ont démoli une cabine téléphonique, peint des graffitis sur des immeubles et renversé quelques boîtes à journaux. Les manifestants se sont réunis dans un parc municipal, au coin des rues O'Connor et Lyon, vers midi. Après avoir écouté les discours de leurs leaders pendant environ une heure, le groupe de contestataires a joué au chat et à la souris avec les agents de l'escouade antiémeutes dans les rues jusqu'à 17 h.
La soirée s'est terminée par une vigile pacifique, sur le terrain de l'Université d'Ottawa.
Les manifestants étaient pour la plupart âgés de moins de 30 ans. Plusieurs s'étaient procurés des masques à gaz. Suivant une bannière sur laquelle il était inscrit " Smash the State, end the hate ", les militants ont arpenté les rues en criant différents slogans. Très peu, cependant, ont osé braver les policiers.
Les manifestants promettent de revenir à la charge ce matin. Un grand rassemblement est prévu, à midi, devant la Cour suprême, rue Wellington.
SStlaurent@ledroit.com
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PUBLICATION: The Province
DATE: 2001.11.18
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A41
SOURCE: Canadian Press
DATELINE: OTTAWA
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: CP Photo / A protester flashes a peace sign atriot-police lines in Ottawa yesterday.

Police and protesters clash at G20 summit

OTTAWA -- Police used tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, water and bean bags to push back about 2,000 protesters outside G20 international financial meetings yesterday.
By mid-afternoon, after two confrontations, protesters deserted police barricades. But smaller groups then faced off with police in a five-block area around the meeting site.
That prompted several smaller standoffs where pepper spray was again used.
At least 14 people were arrested.
The demonstrators from a variety of social activist groups were protesting the dominance of global financial organizations over poor countries and disadvantaged people.
One cluster of about 200 -- some in black balaclavas, some flashing peace signs -- came face to face with police a few blocks from the central site. Protesters locked arms in a line less than a metre from police as half a dozen dogs barked and more officers came running from all directions.
About 100 officers formed a line and took away protest signs, saying those carrying "weapons" would not be allowed to pass.
They shouted "Move, move, move!" shoving the protesters, who backed away, some giving up their signs. Police handcuffed one young man.
At another location, police fired tear gas to disperse about 300 people and dragged one young woman away.
The bean bags, fired from rifles, are meant to momentarily stun rioters.
Finance Minister Paul Martin said earlier yesterday that he shares many of the activists' concerns. He said he has "a commonality of views" with activists from Canada, Africa and Latin America.
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.19
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A17
COLUMN: Charles Gordon
BYLINE: Charles Gordon
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Julie Oliver, The Ottawa Citizen / Angry Young Men:Anti-globalization protesters must find new, peaceful ways to get their message across, argues Charles Gordon.
NOTE:
The G20 Summit

I am protest, hear me roar: Demonstrators must confront their own violence and lack of creativity to stay relevant.

You knew this wasn't the Santa Claus parade right at the beginning, when police jumped some black-clad elves, pulled them aside and, guarded by snarling dogs, arrested some and searched others. The marchers, who had just started out from LeBreton Flats, lost their festive mood in a hurry.
The amazing thing is how many people were not shocked at the sight of the riot police. We've come a long way since the appearance of those helmets, visors and shields at a Parliament Hill demo in the '80s startled the city. Now we see them all the time. They are part of the ritual that protest is becoming.
This one was a kind of mini-Quebec City -- the speeches, the marches, the clashes with police; peaceful marchers going one way, those bent on confrontation going up to the barricades, the standoff that can only end with somebody doing something stupid and the tear gas rolling across the urban landscape.
This one came out a little better, maybe because of the earlier police actions, maybe because of the smart reaction of protest leaders to them.
"We will not be provoked," they shouted through their bullhorns. Or maybe it was because of simple geological good luck: there didn't seem to be anything for thrill-seekers to throw. A couple of sticks sailed over the barriers, some water balloons, but no rocks, as in Quebec City.
One of the unsung heroes of the standoff at Confederation Square was a middle-aged spectator, who saw some masked lads trying to pry a throwable rectangle of ornamental stone out of the ground around the War Memorial. Broken up, it would make useful ammunition. He walked out of the crowd and stood on it. This led to some unpleasant conversation. The man (who didn't give his name but lives in Ottawa South and likes capitalism and golf) was yelled at but stood his ground. "This is the red zone," one kid yelled, as if that explained everything.
"Why do you want to be violent?" the man asked, not moving. The spokesperson pointed in the general direction of the Conference Centre where IMF meetings were going on at that moment. "Do you think they give a damn about non-violent protest?" he asked. Then he said quite a few bad words through his bandanna and walked away.
Protest veterans are weary of the media's obsession with violence. "It's not 'Why are you here today?'" said Joel Duff, Ontario chair of the Canadian Federation of Students. "It's 'What do you think about the violence?'"
True enough. The media should be asking more about content. On the other hand, here we were in what was truly a content-free environment, with cops and kids glaring at each other across a barricade. In such a situation, with violence only as far away as a young arm can throw a stone, it's natural to ask about it. And while the media might be shallow in leading with shots of violent behaviour by a tiny minority, you'd think the protesters would have figured out by now that the way to avoid that is to avoid having rocks thrown and windows broken.
Duff acknowledged the need for more creativity in the movement. "In terms of how to move forward, perhaps we have to articulate a clearer vision," he said.
That's true, because the movement is in danger of running out of steam. If the same thing that happens in Quebec City happens here and the same thing happens at the next place, pretty soon no one will pay any attention. Without the violence, it will be as newsworthy as the Santa Claus parade.
Which isn't to say that the protests are unimportant, particularly in bringing together people from different ages, backgrounds, provinces, countries and interests. "It's creating a movement," Duff said.
That movement has been effective. Just a look at what the G20 talked about -- Third World debt, aid to developing countries -- shows an awareness that the movement is out there, strong enough to have a political impact, and with the potential to become stronger.
It's that potential that is threatened, not only by the violence issue but by the lack of new and creative ways of making the movement's voice heard. Saturday's movement included parts of a United Church congregation, greying '60s veterans and their children, people with dogs, people with Internet addresses on their protest signs, students of all kinds, people concerned about all manner of problems that could be solved in a fairer world economy.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare was there. Why? Rick Smith, IFAW's Canadian director, explained as he marched that sea turtles, tuna, dolphin and shrimp are "negatively affected by these trade agreements." An attempt to block the importation of unhealthy puppies from the U.S. could be the subject of a challenge under NAFTA.
It takes all kinds to make a movement. This one, despite the bad ink it gets, will keep growing if it finds ways to avoid getting stale. Worth remembering in all the controversy over tactics is a point made by Joel Duff, of the Canadian Federation of Students.
"People don't go to these events time and time again for no reason."
Charles Gordon is a Citizen columnist.
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2001.11.19
EDITION: Final
SECTION: City
PAGE: D1 / Front
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Merchants consider lawsuit over losses: Paula McCooey and Aaron Sands

While merchants out of pocket from the G20 summit are considering filing a class-action lawsuit seeking government compensation, Ottawa's mayor hopes such a move won't be necessary.
Businesses affected by road closures and demonstrations have reported up to a 75 per cent reduction in sales during the three-day meeting of financial leaders, which drew hundreds of unpredictable protesters and an intense police presence in the area surrounding the Byward Market and popular weekend shopping strips.
Now that it's over, they're discussing how to recoup heavy losses that came at the start of the holiday season.
"We're weighing all of our options at this point, but it's too early to say what route we'll decide to take," said Jantine Van Kregten, executive director of the Byward Market Business Improvement Association.
"Right now we're trying to find out what happened in Quebec CIty and what the circumstances were. We're still in the research phase."
Last week, the federal government awarded a $2-million compensation fund for Quebec City businesses that suffered damages outside the security perimeter during the Summit of the Americas in April.
Stressing the issue of compensation is the federal government's concern, Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli said he is confident the matter will be settled out of court.
"I have seen the reports that a number of businesses want to get together and file a class action lawsuit" against both the federal and municipal governments, Mr. Chiarelli said.
"I am prepared to try to facilitate discussion between the businesses and the federal government. I think if there are meaningful discussions ongoing, there won't be a need for a class-action suit and the matter will hopefully be settled."
The exact amount that will go to each of the approximate 400 Quebec City businesses that claimed damages has yet to be determined.
The money will be paid through the federal economic development agency for Quebec.
The federal government also agreed to pay the Quebec government $33 million for policing costs.
Mr. Chiarelli said an accurate estimate of the capital's bill for the G20 should be available within a week.
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PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2001.11.19
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A2
SOURCE: The Gazette
ILLUSTRATION:
Photo: Julie Oliver, Ottawa Citizen / Sophie Vesque was oneof the protesters who marched up Ottawa's Elgin St. yesterday for a "die-in" at the war memorial following a rally at the city courthouse to decry what they called heavy-handed police tactics. It was a gentle denouement to a weekend of mostly peaceful protests by anti-globalization activists against the meetings of the G20, International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Inside today's Gazette

War on Terrorism
Trade centre recovery a true hell for workers .....

Ottawa Summit
Helping world's poor no longer a luxury
In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, helping the world's poor is no longer a luxury for developed countries but a necessity, World Bank President James Wolfensohn tells a high-profile international gathering in Ottawa. Page A12
Financial talks spark little confrontation
On the final day of the summit, police in Ottawa have a relatively peaceful time as they guard the government conference centre where the G20, International Monetary Fund and World Bank met over the weekend. Page A12

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PUBLICATION: Le Droit
DATE: 2001.11.19
SECTION: La Région
PAGE: 16
COLUMN: En bref

Mauvaise idée

Le Sommet du G20 et un arbre sont venus à bout de fuyards qui tentaient d'échapper à la police. Dimanche matin vers 4 h, les policiers ont arrêté un Jeep Cherokee à bord duquel prenaient place deux hommes de 17 et 21 ans, pour une vérification de routine au coin des rues Rideau et King-Edward à Ottawa. Avant que la police ne puisse faire son travail, le véhicule a démarré en direction du Centre de conférences, où se tenait le Sommet du G20, frappant une barricade destinée aux manifestants et terminant sa course contre un arbre. Personne n'a été blessé, mais les deux jeunes hommes ont été arrêtés.