Preparations for rolling out the red carpet in the Blue Sky City are set in stone, according to local law enforcement, who confidently plan to welcome and wave goodbye to participants of the G7 Summit. 

In just 19 days, Kananaskis will host a portion of the world’s leaders, and planning committees shared how they will support an influx of people during a meeting with the city council on May 27.

Acting superintendent of the Calgary Police Service (CPS), Sheldon Scott, said that with more than 3,500 people expected to fly into the city to attend the conference between June 15 and 17, their focus will be on ensuring smooth sailing in and around the airport and downtown core. 

He said that temporary road closures — including the tunnel on Airport Trail NE — and detour routes will be implemented in an attempt to mitigate disruptions between June 15 and 18. 

During the meeting, Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal asked if the potholes located along the nearby Country Hills Blvd will be filled before the event. 

Shortly after, the city’s director of roads, Troy McLeod, said that the city enacts cleaning and repair initiatives annually in preparation for the Calgary Stampede. This year, he said, they will be “turning the calendar forward” to ensure this happens in time for the summit. 

“Our maintenance programs will be focused on areas where there’ll be activities,” said McLeod.

“So the delegates can see us at our best.”

Motorcades will be running between Calgary and the summit’s location sporadically, and Scott said that much of this will lend itself to the jurisdiction of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), being the events’ primary law enforcement agency. 

Regardless, he said that CPS will be responsible for several urban operations.

What will be done differently this year?

Scott said that CPS has outsourced extra officers to manage security and traffic control at certain venues. He said that traffic is expected to be heavily impacted, and encouraged residents to check wait times online before departing. 

Between the RCMP, Canadian Armed Forces, and provincial policing branches, Scott said that the CPS is confident in its ability to execute operations seamlessly.

“The planning has gone on for a year,” said Scott.

“We’ve made sure that we maintain our normal staffing members on the front line to be able to have call response and back up and preventative policing measures in place.”

Basing their expectations on the outcome of the G8 Summit that happened in Kananaskis in 2002, Scott said that a lot has changed since then, and that their strategies have needed to shift, too. 

Amid the current political climate, he said that a heightened number of protests are expected to happen during the conference. In response, CPS will be fencing off three designated demonstration zones near downtown.

Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner expressed her concern about whether the businesses and housing units adjacent to a couple of the demonstration sites have been notified of the occurrence. 

Scott said that CPS has contacted a handful of businesses, but that they intend to follow up via social media in the coming days. 

He said that activity at the protest sites will be live-streamed to the summit so that participants can share their anxieties with diplomatic representatives. Ultimately, Scott said that the sites are intended to allow people to safely speak their stance. 

“The reality is that people want to be able to express their opinion and want to be heard,” he said.