CALGARY - Executives are being advised to trade business suits for casual wear. Restaurateurs will be informed of the ill effects of pepper spray and tear gas. Bike racks and newspaper boxes will be removed from the streets, lest they be used as projectiles. The Calgary Petroleum Club will be closed for maintenance.
These are just some of the precautions being taken in Calgary, as the city prepares for the G8 Summit on June 26 and 27.
While the top level meetings will be held in Kananaskis, the mountain resort area 100-kilometres west of the city -- which is to be out of bounds for all but the G8 ministers -- Canada's energy capital is playing reluctant host to the sideshows.
"This is going to be an excuse for everybody and every group with every special interest whatsoever directed at any corporate entity or level of government or even the media to come out and get their piece heard," said Bill Partridge.
"There are no innocents here. Everybody is a potential target ... from Talisman to Starbucks to McDonald's," said Mr. Partridge, executive vice-president of the Building Owners & Managers Association.
In fact, a representative from G8 Summit Security visited the National Post office in Calgary this week and left a pamphlet with tips for businesses on how to deal with pepper spray and tear gas and what to do with street furniture and outside signage.
"Refraining from putting up Stampede decorations, such as hay bales and wood fencing, should also be considered," the pamphlet says.
The city expects thousands of protesters to demonstrate around the Olympic Plaza, since the anti-globalization types won't be able to get near the summit.
More than 2,500 journalists from around the world will also cover the summit, and an equal number of summit delegates and legions of public and private security personnel will also be on hand.
While Calgary's business community usually welcomes major international events, the G8 is regarded as a costly nuisance.
"It's not our party," said Richard White, executive director of the Calgary Downtown Association. "This is a political federal thing."
"The locals won't come downtown. Our regular clientele will be off work. I am sure that a lot of businesses are just going to close up for the week," said Brian Guichon, owner of Riley & McCormick, a popular Western clothing store in downtown Calgary. "The tourists aren't going to come because they are going to be afraid. And that leaves us with the protesters and the media, and I'm told neither one are big spenders."
The G8, chaired by Jean Chrétien, the Prime Minister, and attended by the leaders of industrialized nations, will focus on three priorities: global economic growth, building a new partnership for Africa's development and fighting terrorism.
While some business leaders hope a successful, and non-violent summit, might bring positive international publicity, there's greater anxiety things could go wrong.
Genoa, which hosted the G8 Summit last July, suffered huge property damage when 150,000 took to the streets. Quebec City saw 6,000 police clash with about 30,000 protesters during the Summit of the Americas in April, 2001, and two years ago, some 40,000 activists converged in Seattle to protest meetings of the World Trade Organization.
Some here fear that Calgary will be targetted simply for what it represents: the home of big oil.
Still, the city's ready.
Police have been working for months with downtown business owners, property managers, corporations, to lay out the risks and encourage prudent security measures.
Large corporations are beefing up security. Most buildings will go under so-called lockdown conditions and entry will be restricted to security pass holders. Many parking lots will be closed. Large property owners have implemented a communication network linking all office building downtown to facilitate contact with police. Downtown businesses have been advised to ensure they have the necessary insurance, since the federal government will cover only some costs if there's damage.
Suncor Energy Inc. recently distributed a bulletin advising employees to take holidays or work from home if possible, dress casually, avoid arranging meetings outside the office.
"At this point we are advising employees to show up and assume that it's business as usual," said Chris Dawson, spokesman for Petro-Canada. "But ourselves and other companies are prepared to adapt quickly if necessary."
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