The Toronto G20 Impact Zone

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Wellesley Consulting Services

The RCMP-led Integrated Security Unit, which has responsibility over security for the G8/G20 Summits in Huntsville and Toronto this month, recently released road closure information.

Toronto G20 Summit road map of security barrier and traffic changes. (RCMP G8-G20 ISU website)

The area within the orange box will be generally inaccessible to the public, and access will be restricted to G20 delegates, accredited media, and other authorized persons. Residents who live within this area are asked by the ISU to register and obtain a pass, however, unregistered persons will still be able to access the zone provided they are willing to show identification and give specific information about where they are going, and are willing to wait or possibly be escorted.

This area contains the CBC building, the CN Tower, the Rogers Centre, and several business that are mostly restaurants and commercial office towers.

According to the CN Tower website, the attraction will close during the G8/G20 summit, from June 25 to 27, as a result of anticipated security restrictions on travel in the area. It is also worth noting that the main observation deck altitude of 346 metres, and proximity to the G20 site, provide for an ideal observation post for security forces to coordinate and observe activities in and around the summit facility.

The CBC is a 24 hour news media operation, and is unlikely to be significantly impacted overall. Its vehicle entrance does not face Front St, which is likely to be closed entirely to vehicle traffic.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced on May 11 they will play their three game series against the Phillies in Philidelphia, instead of at home as originally scheduled, and issue refunds to ticket holders. Their last home game before the summit will be June 24. It is expected that the Rogers Centre will be closed for the duration of the summit.

Because Bremner Blvd provides direct access to the convention centre’s south building, it is probable that it will be closed or access severely restricted. Such closures may affect businesses like the Steam Whistle Brewery, who declined to comment on G20 matters, and other businesses and condos in the area.

The Royal Bank building at 325 Front St W is also likely to see access restrictions, as vehicle access to the buildings underground parking is from Front St, which is likely to be closed betweek Blue Jays Way and York Street. The banks headquarters is adjacent to the Royal York Hotel, which is also located within the security zone and is a likely location for accomodations for delegates.

The security zone is not as large as previously projected by some media outlets, including the Globe and Mail, which suggested the security zone would extend as far as Queen Street to the north, and Queen’s Quay to the south, and Spadina to Yonge to the west and east.

Access within the blue “traffic” zone will be permitted, according to the ISU, however at this point vehicles can expect to “engage with a Toronto Police Service officer”. It is within this zone that the heaviest police presence can be expected, and the removal of street furniture such as mail and newspaper boxes, and transit shelters, will take place. Utility access covers will likley be welded shut and the bulk of the 77 additional CCTV cameras monitored by Toronto Police will cover this zone.

Security On Hiring Rush for G8/G20 Summits

Posted on May 25, 2010 by Wellesley Consulting Services

Commissionaires Great Lakes are hiring guards for a two week period coinciding with the G8/G20 summits. (Image: Commissionaires website)

The G8 and G20 summits this June could prove lucrative for some private security firms in Toronto, many of whom are on hiring blitzes to fill short term jobs next month.

During the summits, world leaders and their officials, along with media, will descend on Toronto and Hunstville, located in the Muskoka region north of the city, and will at least in part be protected by private security companies.

The Commissionaires Great Lakes is seeking to “fill short term positions” in and around Toronto in June, from the 14th to the 28th. The Muskoka 2010 G8 Summit runs on June 25 and 26, followed immediately by the Toronto 2010 G20 Summit, which runs from June 26 to 27.

The company is looking for candidates who have been residents of Canada for at least 5 years, which would enable government security clearances to be processed without delays.

Originally the Corps of Commissionaires, the security company was at one time known to favour employing former RCMP and military members, and for providing security services to public sector clients. The organization is now made up of several branches, employs a wider demographic, and sells security services to both private and public sector clients.

The RCMP-led Integrated Security Unit is responsible for the overall security program, and involves a partnership of police officers from their own agency, along with Peel Region and Toronto police, and the Department of National Defence.

A similar ISU was formed for the 2010 Vancouver Games in February, where private security officers saw wide involvement in venue entry point screening roles.

Ottawa RBC Fire a ‘Direct Action’

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Wellesley Consulting Services

An RBC branch in Ottawa was targeted in an arson Monday. (File photo: Wellesley Consulting Services)

A posting on an indepedent news site with anarchist ties has claimed the fire yesterday at an Ottawa RBC branch was a “direct action” aimed at Canada’s largest bank and one of the main sponsors of the recent 2010 Vancouver Games.

The posting, together with a video, was placed on the Ottawa site for indymedia.org. The website features articles on indiginous rights and sovereignty activities.

The video was posted along with a sequence of stills showing the ATM vestibule at the Bank St and First Ave RBC branch erupting into flames, and a caption “The Vancouver Games are over, but a torch is still burning.”

A fire erupts at an Ottawa RBC branch in an image posted to ottawa.indymedia.org

In February, an RBC branch in Guelph was vandalized by anarchists who claimed responsibility for jamming the keyholes on the doors in a posting on another anarchist blog. Protesters also targeted a Waterloo RBC branch, unfurling a banner with an anti-Olympic message.

In February and again in March of 2008, the same RBC branch at Bank St and First Ave was targeted for vandalism, first when bricks and then a month later when an ice block was thrown through windows, according to a 24 Hours Vancouver report from August that year. The report highlighted several incidents where RBC branches were targeted in vandalism attacks.

In the video posting of the Ottawa RBC branch fire, mention is made of the upcoming G8/G20 summit in Huntsville and Toronto, with the group claiming they “will be there.”

Based in Montreal, RBC has the largest market capitalization of all Canadian banks, at $75.5 billion. Royal Bank employs over 71,000 workers and has nearly 1,200 branches across Canada.

The gold-windowed Toronto offices of the Royal bank are located near the location of the June G20 summit.

Tuesday’s arson attack marks a serious escalation as arson goes well beyond vandalism and has the potential for loss of life.

A strict definition of terrorism under the Criminal Code, if applied to this arson, could be applied rendering the arson an act of terrorism, and the group behind it a terrorist group. The Code defines a terrorist act as including an act that is committed for political or ideological purposes, that is intended to intimidate the public with regard to its security, and that intentionally causes a substantial property damage likely to result in harm.

Applying the definition would then trigger a host of possible crimes related to the provision of materials or financing to the terrorist group, which are indictable offences.

Showcasing Major Event Planning at G20

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Wellesley Consulting Services

Security planning for the 2010 G20 summit in Toronto is well underway, and involves several agencies. Image: WELLESLEY CONSULTING SERVICES

This June, the political leaders and heads of state will be in Toronto for the G20 summit. For those responsible for protecting the invited VIPs, media, and others, the event provides an opportunity to showcase how major event security is planned and coordinated across various agencies and jurisdictions.

The geography of the city and the size of the G20 already make security planning a large order. Dignitaries will for the most part arrive at Canada’s busiest airport, which is in Mississauga, then travel down a network of major highways crossing two different policing jurisdictions, and finally end up lodging within a “ring” of security that will surround the downtown Toronto location of the 2-day event.

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Anti-Olympic Protests Focus on Easy Hits

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Wellesley Consulting Services

A massive police and security presence in the Vancouver and Whistler areas has virtually eliminated any significant protest actions by anti-games groups. As a result, much of the protest activity against the 2010 Vancouver Olympics has been occurring far away from the Greater Vancouver Area.

Royal Bank's branches in Southern Ontario have been targeted by anti-Olympic protests, well away from the glaring focus on Vancouver. Photo: WELLESLEY CONSULTING SERVICES

Olympic resistance blogs have reported “direct actions” such as vandalism of Royal Bank of Canada branches in Guelph, some 3,300 km away. RBC is one of the high profile corporate sponsors of the 2010 games, and according to a statement posted on a website Sunday, one of their Guelph branches was the target of “sabotage” when the keyhole and ATM slots were filled with glue.

The alleged vandalism reportedly occurred on February 16, only a few days after another RBC branch, in Waterloo, was the target of a banner unveiling by games protesters. In that incident, a large banner was unfurled from the roof of an RBC branch on the same day as a protest billed as a “heart attack” for the downtown Vancouver arteries occurred.

According to media reports, activists in Vancouver are not united in their approach to anti-games protests, perhaps due in part to fragmentation of diverse political and social agendas and interests. Some violence was reported during the first few days of the games, but overall the type of backlash against the games has not resulted in the scale of mayhem seen at other large events in the past, such as the APEC summit, or the infamous Seattle anti-globalisation protests that marred the 1999 World Trade Organization summit.

There appears to be a trend now in protesters selecting “soft” targets: in this case, those that rest far away from the centre of the action and security activity, yet that have a large enough backdrop to draw some attention to their message.

Guelph and Waterloo are just about an hour’s drive from Canada’s largest municipality, and well within gaze of mainstream media. The cities are large enough to have a presence of all of the major Olympic sponsors, and certainly there is no shortage of RBC branches in those, and other communities.

While none of the protests would have impacted the bank significantly, the selection of targets should at least grab the attention of corporate security leaders, looking to maintain vigilance across the board.