OTTAWA -- Antiglobalization activists say they will try to disrupt government business in Ottawa while Prime Minister Jean Chrétien plays host to other Group of Eight leaders at the Kananaskis mountain retreat in Alberta.
"While the G8 hides out in Kananaskis, we will take the capital," Lisa Freeman, a spokeswoman for the activists, said yesterday.
Police and organizers of the June 26-27 meeting want to avoid the kind of bloody clashes that marred last summer's G8 summit in Italy, in which a demonstrator hurling a fire extinguisher was shot and killed by a paramilitary officer trying to ufiroprotect himself.
But activists would not rule out sit-ins and the occupation of buildings in Ottawa.
Demonstrators want to use the "most effective" tactics to disrupt normal operations of government departments and Crown corporations, said Amanda Dorter, another spokeswoman.
"We're not going to say what's right or wrong," Ms. Freeman said.
Ottawa will be the rallying point for protesters from across Ontario, Quebec and the northeastern United States. Other demonstrations are planned for Calgary.
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