2010 G20 Toronto summit preparations had already begun in advance of the announcement of the meeting venue. Preparations for the important topics to be discussed at the summit evolved in tandem with practical planning for the meeting as a venue and as an event.
Plans for the gathering of G8 leaders in Muskoka included an early and continuing investment in security projections which encompassed Toronto and Pearson International Airport. When subsequent decision-making caused Toronto to be named as a site for a G20 summit, some plans needed modification.
Potential protestors were also engaged in planning in advance of the summit.
Previous summits in Toronto
In June 1988, Canada had been the host for the 14th G7 summit in Toronto . The venue for the meetings of the international leaders was the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in central part of the city.[1] The RCMP coordinated security and protective operations.[2]
Sherpas
During the preliminary preparatory process which takes place in advance of a G8 summit, the leader of a G8 host nation conventionally invites representatives from the other G8 participants to send representatives known as "sherpas" to develop the agenda topics and other matters.[3]
Security
Logo of the Integrated Security Unit for the 2010 summits
The decision to hold the international meeting in central Toronto expanded the scope of the Integrated Security Unit which planned and established coordinated security operations.[4] Aspects of security planning encompass accreditation, mobilization and training, tactical emergency response, sites and venues security, community relations and communications security.[5] The potential significance which could attend flaws in these plans was underscored in media coverage of a firebombing in Ottawa in May[6] and a minor protest "event" in Toronto mid-June 2010[7]
Sites and venues security
Security planning was designed to ensure that the summit agenda would remain a primary focus of the attendees' discussions. Security zones were split up into concentric rings with the summit site at the center.[8]
The innermost security zone was handled by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) because the RCMP have jurisdiction over the security of Internationally Protected Persons (IPP)s and other dignitaries.[5]
In addition, the Canadian Forces (CF) support for the ISU draws on unique military resources and capabilities which are provided by the army, navy and air force.[5] This was known as Operation Cadence. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) coordinated decision-making about establishing no-fly zones during the summits.
Pedestrian screening
The contract for pedestrian security screening at the G8 and G20 summits was awarded to Contemporary Security Canada, headquartered in British Columbia.[9] The screeners were selected from a diverse group of various ethnicities and cultures. Some were experienced security staff and retired police, fire and military personnel. All worked under RCMP supervision.[10]
Community relations
Canadian law ensures that protesters have the right to be seen and heard, which means that visiting leaders cannot be shielded from lawful protests. Canadian officials determined that this means arrangements must be made so that protesters will be visible to those participating in the summit.[11] Information about the plans of anti-summit protest groups was readily accessible online.
The G20 ISU planning included explicit actions designed to ensure that Charter guaranteed rights and freedoms are upheld.[12]
In advance of the summit, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair explained that the officers would be on Toronto streets in order to facilitate the peaceful protests that were bound to take place. He also explained his view that it was the police responsibility in a democracy to protect the rights of (peaceful) protesters.[13]
Emergency response
Ontario's provincial planning was tweaked to provide emergency response arrangements which could address the potential hazards affecting public safety in the summit area.[14]
Hospitals anticipated a potential for urgent admissions among protestors; and the G20 tested the hospitals' ability to prepare for an emergency that doesn't have a fixed date.[15] Simulated drills in advance of the summit were designed to test readiness.[16]
Post-summit review of preparations
The complex command structure designed for the G20 caused constant consultations between Toronto Police and the federally led Integrated Security Unit based in Barrie. A post-summit civilian review of the multi-jurisdictional policing model was created. A central goal of the investigation is to identify perceived structural problems.[8]
"There are legitimate public policy questions .... Who was the Integrated Security Unit reporting to? . . . Who's in charge? Are they reporting to the prime minister? Because that's ultimately the oversight of the RCMP. Are they reporting to the premier? Because that's ultimately the oversight of the OPP. The premier and the prime minister, did they agree on a security plan? How did that all work?"—David Miller, Mayor of Toronto[8]
"There is little that an internal policy review conducted by the Toronto Police can do to get to the bottom of concerns that involved all branches of the G20 Integrated Security Unit .... The summit saw the largest mass arrests in Canadian history, granting of questionable new police powers and vast numbers of reports of illegal searches, inadequate detention facilities and denial of the right to counsel. Concerns of this scope and scale go far beyond the capacity of an internal complaints process and call out for a public inquiry." —British Columbia Civil Liberties Association[17]
↑ Statement by the Prime Minister of CanadaArchived April 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine , 18 March 2010; excerpt, "I think many people are probably not aware that the relatively brief leaders' summits are the culmination of months of work at various levels of our governments to arrive at the final declarations and next steps forward. You, as the so-called 'sherpas' of your countries, play a leading role in this process."
The Group of Eight (G8) was an inter-governmental political forum from 1997 until 2014. It had formed from incorporating Russia into the Group of Seven, or G7, and returned to its previous name after Russia was expelled in 2014.
William Sterling Blair is a Canadian politician and former police officer who has served as the minister of National Defence since 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, Blair represents Scarborough Southwest in the House of Commons. Blair previously held the portfolios of Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction and minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. Before entering politics, Blair worked for four decades with the Toronto Police Service (TPS), serving as the chief of police from 2005 until retiring in 2015.
The 30th G8 summit was held in Sea Island, Georgia, United States, on June 8–10, 2004.
The 28th G8 Summit was held in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 26–27, 2002.
The 33rd G8 summit was held at Kempinski Grand Hotel, 6–8 June 2007. The summit took place in Heiligendamm in the Northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the Baltic Coast. The locations of previous G7 / G8 summits to have been hosted by Germany include Bonn, Munich (1992), and Cologne (1999).
The 34th G8 summit was held in the town of Tōyako, Hokkaido, Japan, on July 7–9, 2008. The locations of previous summits hosted by Japan include Tokyo and Nago, Okinawa (2000). The G8 summit has evolved beyond being a gathering of world political leaders to become an occasion for a wide variety of non-governmental organizations, activists and civic groups to congregate and discuss a multitude of issues.
The 14th G7 Summit was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between June 19 and 21, 1988. The venue for the summit meetings was the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Downtown Toronto.
The 35th G8 summit was held in L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy, on 8–10 July 2009. It was originally to be held at Sardinian seaside city of La Maddalena, but it was moved to L'Aquila as part of an attempt to redistribute disaster funds after the devastating earthquake that April.
The 36th G8 summit was held in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada, on June 25–26, 2010. In this year's meeting, the G8 leaders agreed in reaffirming the group's essential and continuing role in international affairs and "assertions of new-found relevance". The form and function of the G8 was reevaluated as the G20 summits evolved into the premier forum for discussing, planning and monitoring international economic cooperation.
The Alberta Sheriffs Branch is a provincial law enforcement agency overseen by the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services of the province of Alberta, Canada. Under the authority of the Peace Officer Act, Alberta Sheriffs are provincial peace officers with jurisdiction over the province of Alberta. The premier of Alberta has the authority to grant emergency police powers to all Alberta sheriffs during major emergencies within the province. The Alberta Sheriffs Branch is the largest sheriff service in Canada.
The 37th G8 summit was held on 26–27 May 2011 in Deauville, France.
The 2009 G20 Pittsburgh Summit was the third meeting of the G20 heads of state and heads of government to discuss financial markets and the world economy. It was held on September 24 and September 25, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Integrated Security Unit (ISU) is a joint-services infrastructure security unit created to secure major events in Canada. This administrative and operational entity was first created by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 2003.
The 2010 G20 Toronto summit was the fourth meeting of the G20 heads of state/government, to discuss the global financial system and the world economy, which took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during June 26–27, 2010. The summit's priorities included evaluating the progress of financial reform, developing sustainable stimulus measures, debating global bank tax, and promoting open markets. Alongside the twenty-one representatives of the G20 major economies, leaders of six invited nations, and eight additional intergovernmental organizations also took part in the summit.
The 38th G8 summit was held in Camp David, Maryland, United States, on 18–19 May 2012.
The 2010 G20 Seoul Summit was the fifth meeting of the G20 heads of government/heads of state, to discuss the global financial system and the world economy, which took place in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, on November 11–12, 2010. South Korea was the first non-G8 nation to host a G20 leaders' summit.
Public protesting and demonstrations began one week ahead of the 2010 G20 Toronto summit, which took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 26−27 June. The protests were for various causes, including poverty and anti-capitalism.
The 2010 G20 Seoul summit preparations encompass all the work which preceded the 2010 G20 Seoul summit.
The 2011 G20 Cannes Summit was the sixth meeting of the G20 heads of government/heads of state in a series of on-going discussions about financial markets and the world economy.
The 39th G8 summit was held on 17–18 June 2013, at the Lough Erne Resort, a five-star hotel and golf resort on the shore of Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It was the sixth G8 summit to be held in the United Kingdom and the first to be held in Northern Ireland. The earlier G8 summits hosted by the United Kingdom were held in London, Birmingham (1998), and Gleneagles (2005).
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