Protest groups are being "insulting" and "unreasonable" to demand the city immediately approve a location for them to gather against the G-8 summit, the city's mayor charged yesterday.
Mayor Dave Bronconnier said those trying to find a spot for Solidarity Village had applied to use Shaw Millennium Park just five days before sending demand letters to parks staff.
"To throw it on the laps of our hardworking city staff and expect and demand an answer within five days I think is unreasonable," Bronconnier said.
"What's insulting is that we have a demand letter from an organization wanting to house a large scale event, something we've known about for almost a year now, and then there's a demand upon the city to jump and react."
But protest groups who have banded together said yesterday they've been getting the run-around from city hall, adding the mayor and aldermen should have the "political will" to guide staff to help them find a spot for their event.
"Our hope is to organize as safe and peaceful a place as possible," said village steering committee member Sarah Kerr.
Kerr said one of the key recommendations after police and protesters clashed at the APEC summit in Vancouver was that protesters should be given a space to be seen and heard.
"We're not getting anywhere close to that."
And there is an "urgency" to getting places secured for the music and education festival and camping for people from outside the city and country, said Mike Desautels, regional representative for the Canadian Labour Congress.
"An event of this size and magnitude ... requires a lot of logistical manoeuvring," Desautels said.
And a "diverse" group of protesters are simply trying to exercise their democratic rights to be heard, said Don MacNeil, a vice-president with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union.
"If the city of Calgary doesn't support this initiative it will be hindering our constitutional rights," he said.
But Bronconnier said the skateboard and BMX park downtown isn't the best place for up to 15,000 protesters.
And skater Ben Marvin agreed, after joking that he thought it was the "V-8" summit coming to Calgary.
"This (park) was made for us, so why should they be able to stay here," Marvin said.
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