EDMONTON (CP) - A dispute between Ottawa and Alberta over who would pay for next month's G-8 summit in Kananaskis led the province at one point to consider barring federal officials from the event.
The province also considered withholding leases on land needed for security fences to protect the June 26-27 meeting, says the April 5 memo written by an adviser to Alberta Solicitor General Heather Forsyth. "Alberta will advise Canada that unless there are immediate steps taken to come to some agreement, we will consider withholding leaseholder consent," the memo reads.
"We also hold leases on the land on the perimiter of the red zone that is designated for perimeter barriers.
'Withholding the use of this land could cause some serious problems for the security planning team."
Forsyth confirmed Thursday the province used the threats as negotiating points with federal officials.
While a final agreement hasn't been signed, Forsyth said she is confident a final deal will be reached before the end of the month.
"Dealing with the federal government at times can be somewhat frustrating," she said in an interview. "I think they realized that Alberta was quite serious on the negotiations."
The main focus of the dispute is over which government will pay for costs that arise after the two-day event, especially for prosecutions.
The Quebec government has already spent more than $860,000 prosecuting Jaggi Singh, a man charged during a riot at the Summit of the Americas meeting in Quebec City last year, she said.
Forsyth said while progress has been made in negotiations, Ottawa continues to balk at committing to pay such costs.
"The federal government is concerned about setting a precedent," she said.
"We want to make sure Alberta does not get stung for paying any of the costs of something that is a federal initiative and a federal responsibility."
Federal Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay could not immediately be reached for comment.
Alberta also considered linking the dispute with other issues including the Kyoto climate accord, health care and softwood lumber.
"Negotiations have progressed very well since then," she said. "We have made some remarkable progress."
The federal government hasn't confirmed the full cost of hosting the G-8, which some reports suggest could run as high as $300 million.
The Canadian Alliance has been pushing the federal Liberals to pay for insurance for Alberta businesses that may suffer losses at the hands of G-8 protesters.
The April 5 government memo was leaked to the media by the Alberta Liberals.
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