What people said.

Citizen Nov 10

"The RCMP came in and told us to report anybody who is looking for things like gas masks," said Dan Ferran, manager of Irving Rivers work clothing shop. "They said to keep an eye out ... because you never know, if those protesters get armed, you don't want to see that."

Mr. Ferran said he would comply with the RCMP, but wondered why no one had alerted him about this conference sooner.

"We just found out about this two days ago when the RCMP came in here," he said. "I don't like it."

Many merchants in the Byward Market said they have been blindsided by a potentially disastrous business weekend.

Pavla Novotna, manager of Venus Treasures of Europe, said she became aware of how the meetings would affect her business only after speaking with police officers who were setting up concrete barriers in front of her store on Clarence Street.

"Is the security going to be on a high enough level for me to be OK with my glass windows and glass merchandise?" she said.

Ms. Novotna said her customers have become nervous about the possibility of violence next weekend. She says she doesn't blame them.

"If I didn't have to work on the weekend, I wouldn't come down here at all," she said.

Sarah Parmenter, owner and manager of candle store Wix said being in the Rideau Centre should give her store an advantage over those located in the Market because it is indoors and easier to police.

Toronto Sun Nov 11

"There will be quite a heavy police presence and it's not exactly going to be a safe, happy and peaceful day in the park," said Starhawk, priestess of the pagan religion. "It's about how to de-escalate violence and learn how to react in a peaceful way," said the longtime activist, who was first arrested in the mid-'60s while protesting the Vietnam War.

Jamie Kneen of Global Democracy Ottawa, the unofficial hosts of the G20 protest, said there has been so little time to organize that all he can say is that he expects "thousands" to cram into downtown Ottawa next weekend.

But he expects them to be good for business downtown and he doesn't think merchants and barkeeps should worry about violence from the protesters.

Jeff O'Reilly, general manager of D'Arcy McGee's Pub, agrees. His bar, just a stone's throw from Parliament Hill, looks right out on the plaza that surrounds the National War Memorial, where police expect demonstrators to gather next to the home of the meeting, the Ottawa Conference Centre.

"I'm more worried about terrorists," O'Reilly said.

Edmonton Sun Nov 11

Finance Minister Paul Martin says next weekend's G20 conference is good business for Canada and Ottawa and predicts protests and terrorism won't be a big problem.

"The fact is that Ottawa is really going to be the centre of a lot, of an awful lot of international press attention. I think that's good for Ottawa," Martin told Sun Media.

He said downtown merchants need not worry about lost business during a time they consider to be the first big Christmas shopping weekend. "I think it's good for those merchants in the long run," Martin said.

"There are an awful lot of tourists who go to places like Ottawa and Washington because these places are in the news. So in the long run, I think it's probably good for Ottawa."

Security concerns are real, but under control, Martin said.

"I rely on what the police say. As far as the police are concerned, they have it under control," he said.
 

Jeff O'Reilly, general manager of D'Arcy McGee's Pub, agrees. His bar is just a stone's throw from Parliament Hill and looking right out on the plaza that surrounds the National War Memorial - where police expect demonstrators to gather next to the home of the meeting, the Ottawa Conference Centre.

"I'm more worried about terrorists," says O'Reilly, adding he's consulting his insurance company and landlord about whether he'll open for business next weekend.

Nat'l Post Nov 15

"A lot of us are in a retreat-and-reflection mode," Tim Atwater, national organizer for Jubilee USA Network, which advocates the cancelling of debt to developing countries, recently told The New York Times.

"We are having to walk on tiptoes and communicate very, very carefully. Things are coming back slowly. But we will be singing slower, sadder songs."

Windsor Star Nov 18 & Citizen Nov 19

Deputy Mayor John Stutz of Banff, Alta., is urging the RCMP to refrain from overt shows of force there during a meeting of G-8 environment ministers next April 11 and 12. That's about two months prior to the G-8 Summit meeting in Kananaskis Country. Mr. Stutz said Banff is an environmentally minded town, and as such, will welcome peaceful protest during the meeting of environment ministers next April. However, he was troubled by images from Ottawa over the weekend, showing armoured police officers clashing with protesters.

Stuart Ryan In other words, people were being targeted for arrest on suspicion alone, prior to any possible criminal action.

The purchase of gas masks is legal in Canada. Protesters have previous experience as well. The 5,500 tear-gas canisters fired in Quebec City weren't aimed just at the rock throwers; they permeated through the 65,000 people who marched in opposition to the FTAA. Bandanas and cider vinegar weren't enough to protect you. Bringing a gas mask to the G20 protests did not mean you were about to commit a criminal act, but it was enough for you to get arrested or have your property seized.

At least two-thirds of the potentially dangerous materials were gas masks. Other things were poles to carry banners and sticks to carry signs. While there were some rocks and five Swiss army knives, the number of "dangerous weapons" was pretty small.

The police response to the G20 protests shows the worst potential of Bill C-36. Police will be able to detain people for 72 hours on suspicion alone, not just 24 hours that police use today. People will be targeted for the clothes they wear or the company they keep. They will not only be denied the legal counsel of their choice, they could be forced to testify before a judge. If the judge rules they could be a terrorist, they could be held for up to a year without anyone being informed of the information leading to that decision.

Chief Bevan's testimony Nov. 26 shows that police consider any anti-globalization protesters as potential terrorists. No wonder United Church minister Neil Wallace testified that he was made to feel like a suspect for simply demonstrating.

Stuart Ryan participated in the Nov. 17 march opposing the G20, IMF and World Bank policies during their meetings in Ottawa Nov. 16-18.

Montreal Gazette Nov 17

"I think the loss of business is going to be significant," said marketing analyst Barry Nabatian. He estimated that lost retail sales could run as high as $10 million if shoppers avoid the downtown core en masse.

Merchants say they have been assured by police that they have the capability to keep things under control, but many will be boarding up their windows just in case.

Citizen November 21

The federal government is willing to pay downtown Ottawa businesses for losses caused by last weekend's G20 meeting of finance ministers, a Ministry of Finance spokesman said yesterday.

The decision to reimburse store owners in Ottawa's downtown core comes the day after more than 950 businesses banded together to launch a class action lawsuit aimed at the Ministry of Finance.

While the ministry would not comment on the businesses' lawsuit, spokesman Jean-Michel Catta said requests for compensation from businesses are now being accepted.

"If there was significant disruption to business as a result of the security measures that were put in place, the government would consider valid, fair and reasonable requests for compensation," Mr. Catta said. "That is where we stand."

Ottawa businesses are hoping to get similar compensation as businesses damaged by the Quebec City Summit of the Americas last April. Those businesses received a $2-million compensation package from the federal government last week.

But Mr. Catta was not specific about how the government would go about reimbursing businesses, or even how much compensation the government would be willing to award.

Downtown business improvement associations in the Byward Market and along Rideau Street have rallied their members and are charging ahead with their lawsuit. Last week, market analyst Barry Nabatian estimated that businesses may have lost as much has $10 million last week because of the G20 disruptions.

However, it is unclear whether those sales are lost forever, or if the merchants will recoup some of the lost sales as Christmas shopping heats up.

"We're sending out a letter to all of our members and asking them to quantify their losses," said executive director of the Byward Market Business Improvement Area Jantine Van Kregten. "That should take a few weeks to collect. At that point we will see if we have a situation to pursue."

Downtown shops argue the ministry should have foreseen a meltdown in downtown business. Numerous road closings and re-routed buses deterred many would-be shoppers from venturing downtown this past weekend.

"You can't close down Sussex Avenue, Colonel By Drive, Rideau Street and Confederation Square for three days without economic fallout," said Joshua Moon, a lawyer with Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall, the law firm representing the businesses. "My clients are saying there is another cost to this, other than the overtime of the police officers, and that is a cost that we shouldn't have to bear."

"It's Christmas time and this was the first real Christmas shopping weekend," said Andrea Rojas, manager of Neon Clothing Inc. in the Market. "I would say that business was down between 60 and 65 per cent."

Ron Warren, assistant manager of Stitches Clothing Store beside the Rideau Centre, said his sales dropped more than 45 per cent.

"Hopefully we will be able to make it up this week," he said.

Even merchants selling staples such as food found the G20 drove customers away. "Business was bad," said Eddie Faiklay, owner of International Cheese and Deli in the market. "There was nobody down here. I would say that business was down 50 per cent."

Toronto Sun Dec 13

Some Ottawa merchants are still upset about the loss of business they suffered when streets were closed as thousands of protesters descended on Ottawa during last month's meeting of G20 finance ministers.

"Merchants in (Ottawa) had to deal with the G20 and were so good about it. We don't want to subject Ottawa to having another of those in the middle of Winterlude," a senior government source said.

Citizen Dec 26 no byline

City Councillor Jacques Legendre, who is a police board member, says many protesters felt "shafted" when police divided their group as they headed towards the G20 summit site at the Government Conference Centre.

The protesters' group has come forward with two proposed routes to making peace with the police. Councillor Legendre and his colleague, Clive Doucet, proposed to city council that police, business operators and the protesters should sit down together in a "community conflict resolution process," which would mediate the issue, a process that would cost between $15,000 and $20,000.

City council rightly rejected this idea. A mediation suggests almost a civil process between equal parties. This is no such issue; it's a case of citizens questioning the conduct of powerful law-enforcement officials. These issues are properly dealt with by the Police Services Board and the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services.

Having failed to get a mediation process, the protesters have turned to a citizens' panel to be heard. This panel was formed after the police services board declined to hold a general review of the force's conduct. The panel includes former mayor Marion Dewar and Anglican Bishop Peter Coffin.

But this panel isn't the answer either. Since when do we allow self-appointed groups of citizens to conduct major investigations of vital public services? Mr. Doucet says some citizens feel the consideration of elected city officials was "not good enough." But surely enlisting sympathetic unelected officials is not as good as having truly accountable elected officials hear the issue. Mr. Legendre says he has much confidence in Ms. Dewar, but that's not the issue. She is a highly respected community figure, but she's not elected and she's not even a police services board member. She shouldn't be sitting in judgment of the police.