Will it happen or won't it happen? Will there be violence as a result of the G-8 summit or will it be a non-event?
That's the question people around Calgary have been asking since Prime Minister Jean Chretien announced last year that the summit would be held in Kananaskis.
Here in the Sun newsroom for example, those who believe violent protests are inevitable outnumber those of us who believe it'll be a more peaceful affair.
Of course, the answer will be clear this week as the conference gets underway.
However, those charged with the multi-million-dollar effort of protecting the city, its citizens and summit delegates say they're as ready as they're ever going to be for whatever may happen.
"We are, we're ready right now -- I wish it was happening today," Calgary Police Service Insp. Al Redford, one of the dozens of city cops who've been instrumental in planning for the G-8 summit, said last week.
"Hopefully, we're at the point where there will be no surprises," he said.
"We built flexibility into our operations and we have good contingency plans -- a Plan B -- for any eventuality and the last possible details are being hammered out."
For the record, police are expecting some disturbances, but again say they've planned for them.
"We do expect a minority with a less than peaceful purpose in mind," Redford said.
"Our response then will be measured, it'll be balanced and appropriate to the circumstance at hand," he said.
Right now, there are probably more cops -- from across Canada and the world -- in and around Calgary since this city hosted World Police/Fire Games in the last decade.
The only other event that's even come close to the security planning used for the G-8 is the World Petroleum Conference held in this city in 2000.
There were few troubles of note during that conference and the CPS was praised for the exorbitant planning that saw it come off without a hitch.
"Some of the elements that worked well with the WPC have been incorporated for the G-8," Redford said.
"The advantage is that many of the resources we used for the WPC are still available so we didn't have to reinvent the wheel."
All the extra police needed for G-8 duties will not leave the city in a lurch and Calgarians need not fear reduced police service, Redford said.
"We've done a hundred things to make sure we have the proper level of policing in Calgary."
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