'Specialized equipment': A look at the RCMP-led entourage for G7 security

Calgary Herald

2 days ago

The RCMP-led team handling security for the upcoming G7 summit have given a glimpse of the equipment that will be on standby.
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A bear trap, motorcades, mobile command centres and multiple armoured vehicles were among the tools members of the Integrated Safety and Security Group (ISSG) had on display for media on Monday.
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Drones, mounted police, bicycles, motorcycles and ATVs were also shown in a parking lot at the Calgary Police Service headquarters.
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Led by the RCMP, the ISSG is the multi-agency team responsible for safety and security of the G7 Leaders' Summit, which runs from June 15 to 17 in Kananaskis Village.
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Among the RCMP's partner agencies are the Calgary Police Service, the Alberta Sheriff's branch, Alberta conservation officers and the Canadian Forces, all of which had equipment and personnel present in northeast Calgary on Monday.
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RCMP Chief Supt. David Hall, ISSG security director, said the purpose of Monday's display was to give members of the public a sense of what to expect in terms of equipment throughout Calgary and Kananaskis during the summit.
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'Some of it is pretty specialized equipment that will allow us to make sure the event's safe and secure for kind of everybody involved,' said Hall, adding it is the 'more visible' of the security measures in place.
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'I want to reassure you that every security measure that we have put in place is intended to keep people safe,' he said.
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Hall noted that the security operation is massively complex, being the 'largest domestic security operation' for whichever country is the host.
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Airspace to be restricted
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Last week, RCMP highlighted several areas that will be under airspace restrictions, and cautioned that pilots persistently breaching restricted airspace over the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis could be shot down by military aircraft.
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Aerial intruders who refuse to obey orders to turn back from restricted airspace radiating 30 nautical miles from the summit venue in Kananaskis Village could be brought down with force as a last resort, Sgt. Mark Basanta, lead aerospace planner for the G7, said last week.