Calgary police designate three protest zones for next month's G7, expect big influx of activists
Also on Wednesday, RCMP Chief Supt. and ISSG Security Director Dave Hall acknowledged some Banff residents weren't happy with initial plans for a designated protest zone in the town's Central Park.
Article content
He said another one has been found elsewhere in Banff and will be revealed on Thursday.
Article content
'Police have learned their lessons from previous events, finding people have a right to be seen and heard and (ensuring) it's done legally,' said Hall.
Article content
He said protesters won't be tolerated on any roads or highways leading to the Kananaskis venue.
Article content
Article content
Security personnel with earpieces could be seen patrolling the grounds of host venue Rimrock Hotel, a few uniformed were in its hallways and an RCMP sniffer dog has been inspecting journalists' gear prior to press conferences.
Article content
Article content
But law enforcement officials say they expect the contentious presence of U.S. President Donald Trump at the summit, the war in Ukraine and the possibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's presence, and the ongoing Israeli attacks and blockade on Gaza will attract demonstrations for the Kananaskis event.
Article content
Article content
A large chunk in the heart of Kananaskis Country will be closed to the unaccredited public from June 10-18, with roadblocks to the north of the Kananaskis Village venue at Mt. Lorette Ponds and one to the south at the Galatea Creek trail head parking lot. The mountain terrain to the east and west of the summit site will also be restricted.
Article content
An estimated 5,000 Canadian soldiers and up to 1,500 RCMP personnel will guard the closed access area, where even the movements of grizzly bears will be monitored.
Article content
The Royal Canadian Air Force has begun conducting preparatory security flights over the Kananaskis region, with low-level sorties flown by CF-18 Hornet fighters and, later in the month, CH-147F Chinook and CH-146 Griffon helicopters.
Article content
The G8 summit that was also held in Kananaskis in 2002 attracted a wide variety of protesters who gathered mostly in Calgary, but the event proceeded without any major violent incidents.
Article content
'They were seen and heard but it was done in a way that was lawful,' said the CPS's Brar.
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
Canada condemns Israel over Gaza aid crisis, but CIJA says Hamas to blame
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday accused the Israeli government of failing to prevent a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and of violating international law by denying aid. In a post on X, Carney said Israel's control of aid distribution must be replaced by 'comprehensive provision' of humanitarian assistance led by international organizations. 'Canada calls on all sides to negotiate an immediate ceasefire in good faith,' he said. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'We reiterate our calls for Hamas to immediately release all the hostages, and for the Israeli government to respect the territorial integrity of the West Bank and Gaza.' Israel's parliament on Wednesday approved a symbolic motion to annex the West Bank. Carney said Canada supports a two-state solution, with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand set to attend a UN conference next week in New York on the issue. Canada condemns the Israeli government's failure to prevent the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Israel's control of aid distribution must be replaced by comprehensive provision of humanitarian assistance led by international organizations. Many of these are… Israel and the U.S. recalled their negotiating teams from Qatar on Thursday and President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas's latest response to proposals for a deal showed a 'lack of desire' to reach a truce. It's unclear when negotiations will resume. The Centre for Jewish and Israel Affairs (CIJA) said Hamas is not negotiating in good faith. 'We all want to see the hostages returned, the humanitarian situation in Gaza resolved, and a ceasefire agreement reached. Tragically, negotiations collapsed today, with mediators concluding that while Israel agreed, Hamas was acting in bad faith. Despite these developments, Prime Minister Carney condemned Israel and called on 'both sides' to negotiate an immediate ceasefire in good faith. It's obvious that Hamas does not want an agreement. It wants to survive and retain power at any cost,' said the centre's chief executive, Noah Shack, in a statement. CIJA said statements like the one from Carney only help Hamas to retain control in Gaza. 'This is why we see Hamas thanking governments — including Canada's — for statements that embolden it to continue subjecting both Gazans and Israelis to further suffering,' Shack said. 'At the NATO summit last month, Prime Minister Carney was clear: a two-state solution requires the Palestinian leadership to recognize the right of the Jewish nation to live safely in our ancestral homeland.' We all want to see the hostages returned, the humanitarian situation in Gaza resolved, and a ceasefire agreement reached. Tragically, negotiations collapsed today, with mediators concluding that while Israel agreed, Hamas was acting in bad faith. Despite these developments,… Anand said it is 'inexcusable' that women and children in Gaza are without adequate access to food and water. 'The Israeli government must allow the uninhibited flow of humanitarian aid to reach Palestinian civilians, who are in urgent need,' she said on X. Their comments came on the same day French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country would recognize a Palestinian state. Macron said in a post on X that he would formalize the decision at the UN General Assembly in September. 'The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved,' he wrote. France is now the biggest western power to recognize a Palestinian state, and the move could pave the way for other countries to do the same. More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe. The Palestinians seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem and Gaza, territories Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war. Canada was one of more than two dozen countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia, that issued a joint statement this week calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. — The Canadian Press, with files from National Post and The Associated Press Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump wants to play global peacemaker. Derailed Gaza ceasefire shows how daunting that ambition is
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks this week plunges one of President Donald Trump's pushes to solve global conflicts into new uncertainty. The derailing of talks to solve the 21-month Israel-Hamas war is the latest blow to Trump as several of his efforts to broker agreements for fraught conflicts and complex global threats have stalled. Though the Republican president has only been back in office for six months, he has sought to be known as a peacemaker. In some cases, he has set ambitious goals that have fallen short, like a promise to end the still-ongoing war in Ukraine before he took office. Trump has said he's seeking the deals to stop destruction and loss of life. But he has also been open about his ambition to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, prompting some of those seeking to cultivate favor with Trump to nominate him for the prestigious recognition. Here's a look at where some of Trump's efforts to strike peace and security deals stand. Gaza STATUS: No major breakthroughs in recent talks. THE BACKSTORY: Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday that the U.S. was bringing home its negotiating team from Qatar, where talks were ongoing, to assess its next steps. Witkoff said the move was made because Hamas was not showing 'good faith' toward reaching a ceasefire, but U.S. officials did not offer specifics. No major breakthroughs have occurred despite weeks of talks in Qatar, along with a visit early this month to the White House by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Witkoff said the U.S. would 'consider alternative options to bring the hostages home,' but U.S. officials did not answer questions about what those options could include. When asked about next steps on Friday, Trump told reporters that Hamas didn't want to make a deal and said, 'I think what's going to happen is they're going to be hunted down.' Russia-Ukraine STATUS: War still going on. THE BACKSTORY: Before he returned to office, Trump repeatedly said he would solve the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours — and even before he was sworn in as president. That didn't happen, and both sides remain far apart on reaching an agreement. Trump has become increasingly critical of President Vladimir Putin in recent months and is losing patience with his continued offensive in Ukraine. But Trump has resisted backing a bipartisan U.S. bill to impose steep sanctions on Russia, instead giving Russia 50 days to accept a peace deal or face sanctions on its energy exports. The delay has given Russia a window to continue a stepped-up offensive in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week reiterated his willingness to meet face-to-face with Putin to end the conflict. Russia has rejected the offer, saying the countries are too far apart. Lower-level Ukrainian and Russian officials met Wednesday for talks in Istanbul, but no breakthroughs were announced. Putin has said any peace deal should include Ukraine withdrawing from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but did not fully capture. He also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept limits on its military. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected those terms. Iran STATUS: Open conflict ended for the moment. Many unanswered questions remain. THE BACKSTORY: Trump was able to broker a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran after the U.S. joined Israel in launching strikes on Iran's nuclear program. But the status of Iran's nuclear program is another unanswered question for the Trump administration. While the recent U.S. and Israeli strikes dealt a blow to Iran's nuclear capacities, the United States has still not struck an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program. An Iranian diplomat said Wednesday that his country was ready to engage in talks on its nuclear program with the United States, but only after Washington takes meaningful steps to rebuild trust. Meanwhile, Iran has opened the door to a separate yet related negotiation track with Britain, France and Germany, three of the remaining members of a 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew the United States from in his first term. Foreign ministers from the four countries met in Istanbul on Friday to discuss European threats to reimpose sanctions on Iran if there is no progress on a deal to limit its nuclear program by August. Other conflicts While deals in some of the most pressing conflicts have remained elusive to Trump, he has helped to broker agreements in the months he's been back in office. RWANDA-DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: In June, he invited leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the White House to sign an agreement seen as a major step toward peace after decades of conflict. The U.S.-brokered deal emphasizes the two neighboring countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity and includes a commitment to end hostilities and backing of armed groups. The deal also helps the U.S. government and American companies gain access to critical minerals in the region. INDIA-PAKISTAN: In May, when a series of military strikes brought longtime nuclear adversaries India and Pakistan closer to war, Trump's administration intervened. The nations agreed to stop fighting after the U.S.-led talks, and Trump said he would work to provide a 'solution' to the long-running dispute over the Indian-controlled Kashmir region. The ceasefire has held, but it's not clear what progress has been made on any long-term agreement. Last month, Trump had lunch at the White House with Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief. SYRIA-ISRAEL: Earlier this month, after Israel intervened in fighting between Syrian government forces and rival armed groups, Trump's special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, announced a limited ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria. Barrack, who's also the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said he met in Paris on Thursday with representatives from both countries to discuss de-escalation. Barrack said on social media that 'we accomplished precisely that' and that both sides committed to continuing the effort. Israel's intervention, however, caught Trump off guard and stymied his administration's push to get both countries to reach a full normalization of diplomatic relations. ___ Amiri reported from New York.
Edmonton Journal
an hour ago
- Edmonton Journal
Canada condemns Israel over Gaza aid crisis, but CIJA says Hamas to blame
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday accused the Israeli government of failing to prevent a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and of violating international law by denying aid. Article content In a post on X, Carney said Israel's control of aid distribution must be replaced by 'comprehensive provision' of humanitarian assistance led by international organizations. Article content Article content Article content 'We reiterate our calls for Hamas to immediately release all the hostages, and for the Israeli government to respect the territorial integrity of the West Bank and Gaza.' Article content Israel's parliament on Wednesday approved a symbolic motion to annex the West Bank. Article content Canada condemns the Israeli government's failure to prevent the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Israel's control of aid distribution must be replaced by comprehensive provision of humanitarian assistance led by international organizations. Many of these are… — Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) July 25, 2025 Article content Article content Israel and the U.S. recalled their negotiating teams from Qatar on Thursday and President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas's latest response to proposals for a deal showed a 'lack of desire' to reach a truce. It's unclear when negotiations will resume. Article content Article content The Centre for Jewish and Israel Affairs (CIJA) said Hamas is not negotiating in good faith. Article content 'We all want to see the hostages returned, the humanitarian situation in Gaza resolved, and a ceasefire agreement reached. Tragically, negotiations collapsed today, with mediators concluding that while Israel agreed, Hamas was acting in bad faith. Despite these developments, Prime Minister Carney condemned Israel and called on 'both sides' to negotiate an immediate ceasefire in good faith. It's obvious that Hamas does not want an agreement. It wants to survive and retain power at any cost,' said the centre's chief executive, Noah Shack, in a statement.
