Showing up to show up the G-8
Activists undaunted by remote location
 for summit

Jason Foster, AFL Staff

Maybe selecting Kananaskis as the site for the latest G-8 Summit meeting wasn’t such a good idea, Prime Minister Jean Chretien must be thinking these days.

The Prime Minister originally thought that by moving the annual summit of the world’s eight largest economies to a remote location in southern Alberta, they would avoid all the inconvenience and discomfort of seeing tens of thousands of democratic protestors activate against their agenda.

He might be thinking today that was wrong. The Prime Minister recently had to announce that the Summit, originally scheduled for three days, has been shortened to less than two days. It is now the shortest G-8 Summit in memory. It is now scheduled to take place on June 26 and 27.

And he is also discovering that Kananaskis is not going to be a disincentive for the thousands of activists needing to make their voice heard. Plans are moving fast on a number of fronts for the G-8 summit.

1. A multi-faceted counter-conference is being held in Calgary between June 22 and 25. Dubbed the G-6 Billion, it will address the many voices muted by the select group of men representing the eight most powerful countries in the world.

2. A family-focussed rally is being organized for the Sunday June 23 in Calgary.

3. A Solidarity Village will gather thousands of activists at a site near Kananaskis to converge and share in opposition to the G-8 agenda. A large scale rally is planned for the 27th, the first day of the Summit. It will be an active day, including speakers, music, workshop and strategies to oppose the G-8. Space is being made available for people who wish to camp overnight. Transportation to and from Calgary is also planned.

The Solidarity Village site will be close the area where the leaders are meeting, and will ensure the voices of those left out of their agenda have a place to be heard.

The government finds itself having to allocate millions of dollars to fortify an large natural area. All of this preparation seems odd considering that camp organizers are committed to non-violence and protection of the natural area.

For more information about G-8 activities, go to the G-8 Activist website at www.g8.activist.ca.