EDMONTON (CP) -- Seven Canadian journalists, including an award-winning photographer and an editor at a popular Edmonton weekly, have been refused media accreditation for next week's G-8 summit because the RCMP considers them a security risk.
"I was surprised," said Elaine Briere, a photographer from Vancouver who planned to cover the meetings for the Canadian Labour Congress.
"To be quite honest, it was very scary. All I could think of was, 'Oh no, what's going on?' "
Briere, whose photos have appeared in the Vancouver Sun and the Globe and Mail, said RCMP called her last weekend and said she would not be accredited.
The caller refused to give her a specific reason for the refusal. Instead, she was given a list of criteria for disqualification: having a criminal record, being mentally unfit, exhibiting anti-social behaviour or having political views that are subversive, violent or extremist.
Briere said none of those apply in her case.
"What they are trying to do is prevent critical reporting from coming out of the summit," she said. "That just can't be allowed to happen."
Dan Rubinstein, news editor at Edmonton's Vue Weekly, was also refused.
He said he finds the developments troubling.
If government authorities can choose which journalists cover events, without an explanation to the public, then critics can be excluded and the public will not realize journalistic balance has been lost, Rubinstein said.
The 28-year-old said he's never attended a protest, except as a journalist and, although acquaintances have protested G-8 events, he has no connection to the violent anarchist groups.
"I've written articles that are critical of government," Rubinstein said. "But other than that, I can't see any reason I'd even be looked at twice."
RCMP Sgt. Wayne Noonan said Canada's privacy protection stops him from answering questions about the security status of journalists.
The accreditation review involved multiple organizations, Noonan said, but he cannot reveal what the review looks at.
Only seven of the 3,500 accreditation applications were declined.
Pamela Foster, a writer for the Montreal-based Upstream Journal, had her application rejected even though she had been approved for last year's G-8 summit in Italy.
"If they define the work we do, which is to be a watchdog on government policy ... as a security threat or borderline terrorism, then that's a real problem," Foster said.
Two Greenpeace members, Jamey Heath of Ottawa and Clode Deguise of Montreal, were also denied accreditation.
They write for Greenpeace Web sites and a Greenpeace magazine.
"Prime Minister Jean Chretien wants to silence anyone who disagrees with him," Heath said.
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