A posse of store owners will patrol Calgary during the G-8 summit to stop anarchists from vandalizing downtown businesses.
The Progressive Group for Independent Business (PGIB) says its members aren't looking for confrontation, but they will use physical force -- if absolutely necessary -- to "move along" hardcore protesters who try to smash windows or loot stores to make political points.
"These people (protesters) aren't going to push Calgarians around. We're not going to take it," said Craig Chandler, the national president of the PGIB. "We will be down there moving these people (protesters) aside."
Local activists reacted to Chandler's comments with shock and disappointment Wednesday, saying Calgary businesses have nothing to fear from G-8 protesters.
"(Store owners) are believing the misinformation that's being put out there," said Grant Neufeld, a spokesman for the Revolutionary Knitting Circle, a local protest group.
"I live in Calgary. This is my home. I'm not interested in trashing it."
Calgary police Insp. Al Redford warned PGIB members against confronting protesters during the June 26 and 27 summit.
"We don't want anybody to put themselves in a compromising situation, where they're confronting people who they shouldn't be confronting," Redford said. "That's just a bad idea."
Redford said stores owners who want extra protection should hire professional security guards, rather than take the law into their own hands.
The PGIB will also offer downtown businesses help in boarding up stores and also in cleaning up any anti-summit graffiti that might appear during the G-8.
Stephen Chapman, chairman of the Calgary chapter of the PGIB, said his members have no desire to get into fights with protesters.
Indeed, he hopes the mere sight of PGIB members patrolling will be enough to deter even the most hardcore activists from committing acts of violence or vandalism.
"We're not going to be a marauding group out there. But if we can be there, just watching and people know they're being watched, that's a huge deterrent.
"If (protesters) see that things are not easy targets, then they'll behave and act in an orderly fashion."
While the PGIB believes the police will do a good job protecting Calgary, Chandler said they simply can't be everywhere -- thus the need for the store owners to also patrol the downtown during the summit.
He said protesters who engage in violence need to realize they're "hurting mom and pop (store owners) who may live around the corner from them."
The PGIB has more than 1,000 members, but Chapman couldn't estimate how many members will patrol the streets during the summit.
As for Neufeld, the anti-G-8 activist, he said the protest movement is constantly battling fear-mongering by politicians, police and businesses.
Neufeld said the real concern for Calgarians should be the hundreds and perhaps thousands of police officers and soldiers who will be coming to Calgary and Kananaskis as part of the G-8 security team.
"The real concern for me are all these military forces . . . and the police coming in from outside Alberta. These are people whose jobs are about violence -- and they have no relationship to our community."
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