[R-G] 'Amigos' summit protesters try to overcome squabbles; Groups aim to disrupt Montebello meetings

[Anthony Fenton]

Copyright 2007 Ottawa Citizen, a division of CanWest MediaWorks  
Publication Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Ottawa Citizen

July 20, 2007 Friday
Final Edition

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A1

LENGTH: 1158 words

HEADLINE: 'Amigos' summit protesters try to overcome squabbles;  
Groups aim to disrupt Montebello meetings

BYLINE: Andrew Thomson, The Ottawa Citizen

BODY:


Protesters sizing up next month's "Three Bandidos" summit in  
Montebello are hoping that co-operation will trump their political  
differences to create a common front against plans for North American  
integration.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, U.S. President George W. Bush, and  
Mexican President Felipe Calderon meet at the Chateau Montebello on  
Aug. 20-21 to discuss North American integration.

The latest "Three Amigos" summit (or Three Bandidos, as protesters  
are calling the trio) will again focus on the Security and Prosperity  
Partnership, a controversial initiative aimed at closer alignment  
between the three countries on a number of fronts.

Throngs of demonstrators will be waiting nearby after arriving by  
car, bus, bicycle -- and maybe even a canoe or two.

Their roster spans numerous political agendas, including the Council  
of Canadians, several unions, anarchists, anti-capitalists, anti- 
continentalists, anti-war demonstrators, and other social-justice  
groups.

"Even though the SPP is still vague, people know that Bush and Harper  
meeting is probably not a good thing," said Dan Sawyer of PGA Bloc  
Ottawa, an anti-capitalist group. "So I think momentum is really  
building." With varying levels of civil disobedience, all the groups  
plan to try their hand at disrupting meetings at the luxury resort  
just west of Montebello. But while some worry about Canadian troops  
fighting and dying in Afghanistan, others are zeroed in on Alberta's  
oilsands or harmonized pesticide regulations. Plus, there's the  
question of whether demonstrations are better served in Montebello,  
close to the summit itself, or back in Ottawa, with its large  
population and media base.

The messages these groups want to project might be lost amidst the  
chaos, or even through squabbling among themselves in the heat of the  
moment.

So what's a protester to do? "If we can get it out from the cover  
it's under now, then it's a big success," said Rick Arnold, a co- 
ordinator with Common Frontiers, a group opposed to free trade in the  
Americas.

"We don't all share the same politics or tactics, but uniformly we  
agree that we have a democratic right to protest and have our  
concerns heard," echoed Mr. Sawyer.

PGA Bloc and other groups have issued a call for protesters, under  
the banner of the Outaouais-Ottawa Stop the SPP Committee, to bring  
food, tents and sleeping bags to Montebello. The umbrella body has  
been busy organizing transportation and accommodation.

A march from Ottawa City Hall to Parliament Hill and subsequent  
demonstration are planned for the afternoon of Aug. 19. Bicycle  
caravans to Montebello from Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal are also  
being organized for that evening and the next morning.

There has even been discussion of creating "Flotibello," a collection  
of canoes, kayaks, rented tour boats and rowboats journeying down the  
Ottawa River.

Before the summit begins, protesters are planning a "massive day of  
mobilization" as close to the hotel as possible. Organizers have been  
scouting the area for suitable camp locations, Mr. Sawyer said.

SPP opponents are raising concerns about water, energy, health care,  
the environment, foreign policy, economic integration, aboriginal  
rights and civil liberties, which are all believed to be on the table  
during the SPP talks.

The overall hostility against continental integration cuts across  
single-issue groups that might normally compete for attention, said  
John Hollingsworth, a PGA Bloc member who organized protests in  
Quebec City during the 2001 Summit of the Americas.

"The key is to learn from the past to maximize our collective  
resistance," he said. "You're talking about a visit within one hour  
of Ottawa and Montreal of the most hated president in U.S. history.  
That creates a pretty broad basis of unity." Another working group,  
headed by the Council of Canadians had planned a teach-in  
demonstration at the community centre in Papineauville, six  
kilometres west of Montebello, before authorities blocked the event.

The large grey gymnasium -- located directly behind a Surete du  
Quebec detachment -- could accommodate at least 1,000 people on its  
concrete floor. The council paid the $100 rental deposit, but a  
Papineauville municipal official told the group two weeks ago that  
the RCMP, local police and the U.S. military would not allow the  
municipality to rent the centre to the council.

The municipality was also told police plan to establish a 25- 
kilometre security perimeter around the Chateau Montebello, with  
checkpoints at Thurso and Hawkesbury. Passing cars would be allowed a  
maximum of five passengers.

"We suspected that something like that might be happening (at the  
time of the cancellation)," Mr. Arnold said. "There were signals of  
an extremely broad circle being put up around Montebello." The forum  
is now scheduled for the University of Ottawa on Aug. 19. Speakers  
include parliamentarians, Council of Canadians chief Maude Barlow and  
University of British Columbia professor Michael Byers. Also  
scheduled is Gustavo Iruegas, foreign affairs spokesman for Mexico's  
Party of Democratic Revolution, considered the country's parallel  
government by many left-wing activists after Mr. Calderon's  
controversial win in last year's presidential election.

The Council of Canadians also plans to deliver a 10,000-signature  
petition against SPP to the summit's front door, said director of  
organizing Brent Patterson.

And with energy expected to be a hot topic at Montebello, protesters  
are planning a meeting of unionized oil, gas and electrical grid  
workers in Montreal on Aug. 18, with the hope of forging a common  
declaration against the partnership.

"We're very committed to peaceful protest," Mr. Patterson said.  
"Violence usually doesn't help the case." Police have released few  
details about what security measures are planned before and during  
the meetings. Safety remains the paramount concern, said Sgt. Manon  
Gaignon.

The Council of Canadians and Common Frontiers are working together,  
assuming the 25-kilometre perimeter will be implemented. They've  
joined forces with a number of groups, including the Reseau Quebecois  
sur l'Integration Continentale, the U.S.-based Alliance for  
Responsible Trade and the Mexican Action Network on Free Trade.

Several unions have helped organize past anti-partnership events with  
the Council of Canadians. The Canadian Labour Congress, Canadian  
Union of Postal Workers, Canadian Auto Workers, Canadian Union of  
Public Employees and the National Union of Public and General  
Employees all plan to protest next month.

"We think it's NAFTA on steroids," said Evert Hoogers, a CUPW  
national union representative.

But not everyone believes a 25-kilometre security zone will even be  
enacted. Some are preparing for a simpler, tighter formation around  
Montebello and the hotel property.

"I think it's a discouragement tactic," said Jo Wood, an Ottawa  
organizer for NOWAR-PAIX and the Raging Grannies. "I could be wrong,  
but I'm suspicious of that intelligence."