Somebody is cruisin' for a bruisin' as the war of words is whipped up between the city and thousands of anti G-8 protesters expected to descend upon us in the last week of June.
Now we find out the city has not received any parade permits from the protesters for the days of the summit, though there is a still-unapproved application for a "solidarity march" on the Sunday before the meeting of world leaders.
So now the 10,000 or so activists have not only failed to find a park to hang out during the day, they don't have any approved routes to march, no streets designated to be blocked off, no proper traffic control or policing.
What will happen? Where will they go? Will they just take over the streets in random places at random times?
Ain't anarchy a blast?
On this same tense day, with heat of all kinds hanging in the air, the Alberta Federation of Labour issues an ultimatum. If the city doesn't pony up with a park for the protesters today then "let the chips fall where they may."
Bronco is ballistic. He'd wanted to talk about a study showing the Calgary economy would reap $193 million in financial rewards from the G-8 Summit. No luck.
"What are these protesters really trying to do? What messages are they trying to communicate? From the Lilac Festival to Gay Pride Day, they play by the rules," says the far-from-mellow mayor, who insists it's not in his job description to plan the protest for the protesters.
"My job is to lead the city. Maybe these people intentionally don't want to comply with the rules. These are bullying tactics. They're the ones torquing the rhetoric. If they want to take matters into their own hands, they'll face the consequences. It won't be on my head, it'll be on theirs.
"They sure need to get their act together. They don't seem too desirous to meet the basic requirements.
"I believe they have their right to protest but they don't have the right to trample on our rights."
The mayor has been briefed by police and military officials and they are ready with a "very aggressive" security plan.
"We are taking the security threat very seriously. We are not going to shy away from this. This is the largest security operation in Canada's history," he says.
"Some people think this is a game. This is not a game. I am confident police Chief Beaton will exercise whatever authority he needs to ensure citizens and their property are safe."
Meanwhile, the activists face more rejection. John Haverstock of McMahon Stadium says his place will not host a Solidarity Village, a staging point for the protests.
Haverstock says he was approached a couple weeks ago about whether McMahon was available. It isn't.
There is a Stamps game on G-8 week along with field hockey matches and football practices. Quite frankly, our John admits he was somewhat surprised by the call.
"I had to listen twice," says John. "I thought she meant next summer, not this summer. To plan something in six weeks, I hadn't heard of anything like it."
John Chaput, the city's G-8 man, is out at the Erlton fire observing the city's ability to respond to emergencies.
Appropriate. Chaput says the city has no place for the protesters.
"We're up against a brick wall," says Chaput, who also confirms an absence of parade permits from the Solidarity Village people.
"They still don't have a village, and if they're planning parades, we would expect parade permits very shortly," says Chaput.
By day's end, there is the appearance of an olive branch. Don MacNeil, one of the village organizers, says it is time to "deflate the rhetoric. "I understand the mayor being angry about us coming in very late," says Don.
"But we've been trying since November, and in earn-est since February, to find land. The fact is there are thousands coming to Calgary, park or not. Doesn't it make sense to have them all together rather than all over the place?"
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