Ottawa police are planning for the worst during the G8 protests by secretly turning a municipal building into a temporary jail for prisoner overflow.
More than a dozen cage-like cells were being erected yesterday inside an empty warehouse at the southeast corner of Catherine and Percy streets in Centretown.
The makeshift jail -- which resembles a dog kennel -- can hold between 200 and 250 prisoners should police have nowhere else to stick them. Washroom facilities are available on the property.
But so quiet are the plans that even the head of the Police Services Board insisted no such thing existed when he was contacted by the Sun yesterday.
"I know nothing about this," said board chairman Herb Kreling.
What is known is protesters are planning to demonstrate in Ottawa next Wednesday and Thursday while G8 leaders meet in Kananaskis, Alta.
Protesters from across Ontario and Quebec are targeting Ottawa because they say the offices that write and enforce capitalist policies are here.
The "Take the Capital" group is planning gatherings, snake marches and general disruption in the city.
Creating extra jail space is "about playing it safe," said police spokeswoman Sgt. Monique Ackland.
"When there's a major event, police have to plan for any type of scenario," she said. "Nobody knows what's going to happen.
"If there should be a lot of arrests, we need the facility."
Organizers with the Take the Capital demonstration see the temporary jail -- reminiscent of Camp X-ray, the spartan detention facility built by the U.S. to house its prisoners of war -- as an intimidation tactic and believe police may be preparing for mass arrests.
"I think people are hoping not to be arrested, but (police) are the ones who have the power to arrest," said group spokeswoman Lisa Freeman, who was aware of the Catherine St. centre.
"I'm surprised it's not an arena or Lansdowne Park," she said.
During the G20 marches in Ottawa last November, police used tear gas, rubber bullets, attack dogs and water hoses to keep demonstrators under control.
This time around, they have been promising a kinder, gentler presence in exchange for peaceful conduct from demonstrators.
But protest organizers have refused to condemn violence or co-operate with police, saying the police broke their trust at the G20 demonstrations.
Yesterday, police Chief Vince Bevan forwarded to the Sun an open letter inviting demonstrators to meet with police, residents and business owners.
"Recent major demonstrations in Ottawa have taught us that both police and demonstrators need to work together to achieve a lawful and safe environment ... A secure environment works for everyone, including the demonstrators who then have an opportunity to express their points of view."
The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Assembly Hall at Lansdowne Park.
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