By Ricky Leong
G7 leaders will gather in Kananaskis from June 15 to 17, marking a half-century of international co-operation among some of the world’s most-advanced economies.
Stepped-up security measures around the summit site come into effect Tuesday.
Meanwhile, protesters for various causes say they are eager to respectfully share some of the spotlight. After world leaders arrive in Kananaskis, matters on the agenda will be divided into three major areas of discussion:
Peace and security, foreign interference and transnational crime, and wildfire response;
Critical mineral supply chains and economic growth through artificial intelligence and quantum computing;
Private investment for stronger infrastructure, creation of good-paying jobs, and business success through dynamic markets.
Other topics up for discussion include the war in Ukraine and the creation of reliable global coalitions.
Follow Postmedia Calgary for continuing coverage of the leaders’ summit, on site and in our communities, from the preparations until the final communiqué and beyond.
Who’s attending the G7 meeting in Kananaskis?
Prime Minister Mark Carney will be joined in Kananaskis by:
U.S. President Donald Trump
U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer
French President Emmanuel Macron
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President António Costa
Non-G7 leaders invited to the gathering include:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum
Australian Prime Minister Antonio Albanese
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump may meet on the sidelines of this month’s Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on June 6.
Yermak said a delegation he led on a visit to Washington this week worked on a potential meeting between the two leaders.
“Our visit was preparation, among other things, for a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada,” Yermak said in a televised interview.
How is the G7 venue being kept safe?
The RCMP-led team handling security for the upcoming G7 summit gave a glimpse of the equipment that will be on standby.
A bear trap, motorcades, mobile command centres and multiple armoured vehicles were among the tools members of the Integrated Safety and Security Group had on display for media on June 2.
Drones, mounted police, bicycles, motorcycles and ATVs were also shown in a parking lot at the Calgary Police Service headquarters. “Some of it is pretty specialized equipment that will allow us to make sure the event’s safe and secure for kind of everybody involved,” said RCMP Chief Supt. David Hall, ISSG security director, adding it is the “more visible” of the security measures in place. Meanwhile, pilots persistently breaching restricted airspace over the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis could be shot down by military aircraft, an RCMP security official said. Aerial intruders who refuse to obey orders to turn back from restricted airspace radiating 30-nautical miles from the summit venue at Kananaskis Village could be brought down with force as a last resort, said Sgt. Mark Basanta, lead aerospace planner for the G7 summit. “Shooting is an extreme measure but yes, we have the capability of taking them down,” Basanta told a media conference at the Springbank Airport just west of the city. “They’ll be met, they’ll be intercepted, we do have (CF-)18s flying combat air patrol, we’ll have Griffons (military helicopters) support. Hopefully that’ll be a deterrent for them to turn around.” Source: calgaryherald.com/
