'Don't want to antagonize:' G7 protestors vow restraint, question if police will follow suit
Article content
Activists protesting the G7 gathering say they'll assemble peacefully but some doubted police will refrain from violently suppressing their right to demonstrate.
Article content
An organizer with an alliance of 25 activist groups across the country that's bringing some of its members to Calgary said they avoid provoking police backlash but might not confine their activities to three designated protest zones being set up for them in Calgary located near the airport, at Municipal Plaza and in Victoria Park.
Article content
Article content
Article content
'Depending on the security situation, we might do a march and we'll see what the implications of leaving the designated zones are but we don't want to put public safety at risk,' said Yasmeen Khan, North American vice-chair of the International League of Peoples' Struggle in Canada (ILPS).
Article content
Article content
'We should be able to bring a voice to the wider public but at the same time, we don't want to antagonize.'
Article content
Police have said they have no legal mandate to confine protestors to the assigned zones but add they won't tolerate law-outbreaking outside them.
Article content
Khan said she expects modest numbers from her alliance's groups to come to Calgary, maybe as few as 100 – mostly activists from around western Canada, though demonstrators from other groups as well as Calgary-based will add to those numbers.
Article content
They'll highlight a host of issues from Indigenous struggles, housing, migrant and national liberation struggles, wages, climate change and international support for Israel's onslaught on Gaza.
Article content
Article content
'I don't think we're expecting thousands of people but we're hoping to bring together a political consciousness in Calgary,' she said, adding there's a simmering desire to join that movement in conservative Calgary.
Article content
'There are people in the community who are waiting to come together, to be galvanized.'
Article content
Activists target the G7, said Khan, because they don't believe its leaders seek to address the problems facing regular people.
Article content
'It's a sham sense of democracy and decision-making,' said Khan.
Article content
Activists will hold demonstrations and a 'peoples' forum' at Municipal Plaza June 14-15,, she said, and there could be other protests in the days that follow during the G7, which runs from June 15 to 17 with leaders from Canada, the U.S., the UK, Germany, Italy and France, Japan and the European Union will be gathering at Kananaskis Village to come to consensus on peace and security, economic stability and the war in Ukraine.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Great new military spending, Canada. Where's the money going to come from?
Todd Hirsch is a Calgary-based economist, author and public speaker. He is also the director of the Energy Transition Centre. Canada will reach NATO's defence spending benchmark of 2 per cent of GDP this fiscal year – five years earlier than planned. That's according to an announcement on Monday by Prime Minister Mark Carney. The move is timely and necessary in an unstable world. Ottawa is upping this year's budget for the Department of National Defence by $9.3-billion. That and existing spending from other departments will push defence-related expenditure to $62.7-billion for 2025-26 – 2 per cent of GDP, as per the requirements of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Never mind that the rest of NATO now wants to meet U.S. President Donald Trump's demand of 5 per cent. The fact that we, the laggard, finally got our act together and came up with such a bold plan to get to 2 per cent is good news. Now for the unglamorous part: There's no magic money tree. Defence can't surge to $62.7-billion and leave everything else untouched. The reality is, unless there is something Mr. Carney is not telling us, getting to the 2-per-cent target is going to be hard and uncomfortable. The problem isn't the size of Ottawa's $490-billion budget – it's where that money is already going. Most of it is locked up in transfers to individuals and other governments, and almost none of it is politically or legally touchable. I wrote about this issue in The Globe and Mail more than a year ago. Pardon me if I'm repeating myself a little, but the situation hasn't changed and will never change. Roughly a quarter of federal spending flows directly to Canadians through programs such as Old Age Security, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, Employment Insurance and the Canada Child Benefit. Another 20 per cent heads straight to the provinces through the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer to fund health care and social services. Then there's equalization: $26.2-billion this year, constitutionally enshrined. And let's not forget interest on the national debt, which rings in at $49-billion. No wiggle room there. After those are accounted for – along with other assorted transfers and programs such as money to the territories and Indigenous peoples – Ottawa is left with about $130-billion in 'Operating Spending.' Out of that, almost $40-billion is already committed to the military. Which leaves us with an uncomfortable fact: Out of nearly half a trillion dollars in federal spending, just $90-billion is truly discretionary – available for cuts, trims or efficiencies. And now, the Prime Minister wants to boost military spending by $9.3-billion. Easy, right? Cut the entire CBC? That covers a fraction of the target. Shutter every national park? Axe the federal justice system? Pull funding from Olympic athletes and sports? Abandon every federal dollar of scientific and medical research? How is this extra military spending to be accomplished? Mr. Carney did suggest some creative accounting on Monday, moving the coast guard to the defence department, presumably to redefine some non-defence budget as defence. So, sure, some of the $9.3-billion could come out of existing spending. But Mr. Carney didn't exactly elaborate on the accounting on Monday, and let's remember, this government hasn't put out a budget. Call me cynical and uncreative, but from where I'm standing and given what we know right now, we're looking at some combination of ugly options. The first is to raise taxes. Set aside for a moment the promised tax cut coming for middle-income households. The Liberal Party will have a hard time convincing Canadians that higher taxes are necessary – especially when they campaigned on the opposite. The second option is to borrow more and pile it onto an already ballooning national debt, erasing any realistic hope of a balanced budget for the foreseeable future. This option also drives up total debt-servicing costs. The third is to cut from existing spending in other areas. None of these is good. These options might not manifest visibly. We might not see a new 'weapons tax.' We might not see war bonds. We might not hear Mr. Carney announce one day that, say, this agency or Crown corporation could have gotten a $100-million budget increase instead of $50-million if not for the defence spending. But make no mistake: The number of dollars the government has is finite, and every one has to come out of somewhere. It's not easy for a leader to up defence spending. It's never been a popular thing in this country. So, kudos to Mr. Carney for stepping up. But now he has an even harder task. Mr. Carney needs to have an honest conversation with this country about where all the money is going to come from.
Calgary Herald
an hour ago
- Calgary Herald
G7 white hatter ceremonies casualties of security climate
Delegates to the upcoming G7 will receive Calgary's trademark white hat, but it'll be done unceremoniously. Article content Rising security concerns tied to a volatile geopolitical climate mean VIP visitors who arrive in Calgary en route to Kananaskis won't be welcomed with the usual white hatter ceremony, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said Monday. Article content Article content 'This is a tradition we hold close to our hearts, and it's a way of sharing Calgary's western hospitality and Stampede spirit,' Gondek told reporters. Article content Article content 'But we have to respect that security considerations today are very different from the last time we hosted the summit in 2002 . . . there's been a lot of nostalgia about what we were able to do in 2002.' Article content Article content Instead, delegates will be given a white Smithbilt hat minus the usual formal ceremony — along with a gift bag containing soap, chocolate, coffee, beef jerky and glassware that's been subject to security protocols, she said. Article content That ceremony typically includes the recipient repeating a pledge to spread that hospitality — while being fitted with the Calgary-made cowboy hat. Article content Recipients have included the Dalai Lama, Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, Oprah Winfrey, Queen Elizabeth II, George W. Bush, Luciano Pavarotti, Bob Dylan and Ozzy Osbourne. Article content Article content 'It's really important to practise diplomacy, so every delegate will be treated with equal respect,' said the mayor. Article content Article content The number of guests accepting invitations to the summit has remained in flux, with non-G7 leaders such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum being recently added to the list. Article content Gondek reiterated that the G7, despite its tight security, will showcase Calgary's hospitality, business acumen and beauty to a world audience. Article content 'The eyes of the world are on Calgary,' she said, noting 1,400 journalists from around the globe are expected to attend. Article content 'This is Calgary's moment to lead and to welcome with both confidence and care.' Article content
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Canada invites Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman to G7 summit: sources
Canada has invited Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the upcoming G7 Leaders' Summit in Alberta, Global News has learned. It is not yet known if bin Salman has accepted the invitation. He did not attend last year's G7 summit in Italy despite being invited there as well. Canada's invitation marks the third time in recent days that Prime Minister Mark Carney and his government has reached out to leaders of countries whose relationships with Canada have been strained. Leaders from the world's largest economies are set to gather in Kananaskis for three days of talks that begin Sunday. It is common practice for host countries to invite other world leaders to the annual summit to discuss pressing global issues. Saudi Arabia is seen as a key player in Middle East diplomacy. It has been supportive of efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel continues to conduct a military offensive against Hamas that has created a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory. Story continues below advertisement The kingdom has also hosted talks involving the United States on finding an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, a conflict that is expected to be among the major topics at the summit. Yet Saudi Arabia's human rights record has been criticized by Canada and independent advocacy groups, despite bin Salman's stated efforts to improve women's rights. 5:26 Controversy over Saudi Arabia hosting 2034 FIFA World Cup The country recalled its ambassador from Ottawa and expelled Canada's envoy in 2018 after Global Affairs Canada called on Saudi Arabia to 'immediately release' detained women's rights and democracy activists. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy That diplomatic spat began months before the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. Saudi Arabia has denied findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that bin Salman had approved his killing. Canada sanctioned over a dozen Saudi nationals linked to Khashoggi's murder. Story continues below advertisement Canada and Saudi Arabia began thawing relations in 2023 by welcoming new ambassadors to each other's capitals. Saudi Arabia's national airline also resumed flights to Canada after a five-year suspension. Before the diplomatic spat, the Liberal government had temporarily paused arm sales to Saudi Arabia over reports the country's Canadian-made light armoured vehicles were being used in a bloody conflict in Yemen. Bin Salman attended several events during U.S. President Donald Trump's tour of the Middle East last month. Trump gushed over the crown prince during that trip, calling him 'my friend' and praising his efforts to modernize the country. 1:58 Trump prioritizing foreign investment in Gulf states tour Carney personally invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit last week, which Modi has accepted. The move has angered Sikh nationals in Canada — including within Carney's Liberal caucus — who point to allegations that Modi's government was involved in the murder of a Sikh activist leader in British Columbia in 2023. Story continues below advertisement The RCMP is continuing to investigate what it has said are reports of intimidation and violence against Sikhs by Indian agents on Canadian soil. Carney defended the invitation of Modi on Friday and avoided saying whether he believes Modi was involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, referring to the ongoing 'legal process.' Carney also spoke last week with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, with the Prime Minister's Office saying the two leaders agreed to regularize channels of communication between Ottawa and Beijing, despite ongoing disputes over trade and human rights. No officials from China are expected to attend next week's G7 summit. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Monday she had accepted an invitation to attend the summit. It will mark the first time the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are together since Trump launched a multi-front trade war over the flow of fentanyl and the North American auto sector. Negotiations over the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on free trade (CUSMA) are expected to begin next year, but Trump's tariffs have led Canada to seek a bilateral economic and security agreement with the U.S. Multiple premiers have also called on Mexico to be written out of any future free trade agreement. Story continues below advertisement —With files from the Canadian Press
