A G-8 protest organizer says Calgarians should blame civic authorities, not her side, for the disruptions posed by limited access to the airport, city buildings and downtown amenities.
The access restrictions -- announced yesterday -- are the product of a paranoid civic administration and an attempt to demonize and sideline peaceful dissent, said Sarah Kerr, spokeswoman for the Solidarity Village Committee.
"How much of this is about security and how much of it is an attempt to prevent people from exercising their democratic right to public spaces ... it's a travesty of democracy?" said Kerr, adding entry to Kananaskis Country will be denied except to accredited visitors during the upcoming summit.
"I hope people remember, when the dust clears, who caused the inconvenience."
Beginning June 25, Airport Tr. will be closed and Aero Rd. N.E. will be limited to emergency service use, while public transit to the facility will be disrupted.
No overnight parking will be allowed at any downtown Calgary Parking Authority lot and some Plus-15s will be closed.
Access to the Municipal Building complex will also be limited.
For added security purposes, the LRT won't stop in front of the Telus Convention Centre from June 24-27.
Despite a raft of major economic meetings in the past two years, "there's hardly a window been broken in North America since (the 2000 World Trade Organization meeting in) Seattle, Kerr said.
City officials were unavailable for comment yesterday, but have said in the past they'll take no chances with the possibility of terrorism and violent demonstrations.
The Canadian Alliance's Foreign Affairs critic said the city has little recourse but to restrict access in response to security concerns.
"If they didn't take these steps, the city would be sued -- they have no choice because of the lack of respect the anarchists have for personal property and freedom," said Stockwell Day.
He said radical demonstrators are already holding both peaceful protesters and the general public hostage.
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