There won't be as many Red Coats patrolling the greenery of Kananaskis during the G-8 Summit, the Sun has learned.
And those who will be here won't exactly be wearing smiles, said a reliable source.
"There was supposed to be 430 Mounties from Quebec coming here to do the G-8," the source said.
"But last week the Mounties decided to cut that number by about 75 percent."
That means there will only be about 100 RCMP officers to tend to the security needs of those in Kananaskis, he said.
LITTLE DISRUPTION
As the June 26-27 summit approaches, Mounties and other security experts believe little will happen in Alberta to disrupt the proceedings.
"But they do believe other cities, such as Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver will be targeted by protesters or others," the source said.
"I assume that's where the other RCMP officers will be going."
A Mountie spokesman would neither confirm nor deny the information.
"We haven't -- and we won't -- discuss numbers of our personnel," said Cpl. Jamie Johnson.
"If we did, anyone with evil intentions could figure out our staffing levels and shifts and I'm talking about a possible terrorist hit," he said.
PROMISES BROKEN
But watching out for things that go boom in the night won't be the only thing on Mounties' minds while they're in K-Country, said the source.
"They were supposed to be getting a $65 a day per diem while they were doing G-8 security -- now they're only going to get $13 a day."
In addition to the drop in cash, the accommodations won't be what was promised either, the source said.
"They were supposed to be put up in hotels, but they just found out they're going to be in tiny ATCO trailers."
That space could get a tad cramped because the Mounties will be double bunking in the trailers as well.
"There's no individual showers or bathrooms," the source said.
"But they will have access to communal toilets and showers on site."
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