Citizens' Responses and Authorities' Counter-responses
The previous summit, the 27th G8 summit, in Genoa, Italy was the site of large anti-globalization protests and occasionally violent conflict between protesters and the police. In contrast to Genoa, most of the area near was closed to the public during the summit, and protesters were kept far away, mainly in Calgary. The protests were peaceful, attended by groups including the Raging Grannies.
Kananaskis was selected because of its isolated location. Security was augmented by CF-188 jet fighters, air-to-air refuelling aircraft and helicopters which patrolled the skies non-stop; all major thoroughfares were closed, many of the shops in nearby Calgary were boarded up, and police reportedly outnumbered protesters six to one. It was the largest peacetime security operation in Canadian history.
Security was very tight at the summit, costing taxpayers in excess of $200-million . It attracted thousands of protesters and security was provided by 5,000 to 7,000 police and military officers. This was the first G-8 summit held after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Read more about this topic: 28th G8 Summit
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“Apathy is one of the characteristic responses of any living organism when it is subjected to stimuli too intense or too complicated to cope with. The cure for apathy is comprehension.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)