Rocky Mountain Civil Liberties Association Nonviolent Dissent in Connection with the 2002 G8 in Calgary and Kananaskis Alberta June 26 – 27, 2002 October, 2011 Nonviolent Dissent in Connection with the 2002 G8 in Calgary and Kananaskis, Alberta, June 26 – 27, 2002 Trudy Govier, University of Lethbridge Lowell Ayers, University of Lethbridge October, 2011 Rocky Mountain Civil Liberties Association [email protected] www.rmcla.ca Copyright © 2011 Rocky Mountain Civil Liberties Association ISBN 978-0-9877929-0-7 Nonviolent Dissent in Connection with the 2002 G8 in Calgary and Kananaskis, Alberta, June 26 – 27, 2002 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Demonstrations in conjunction with the G8 meetings in 2002 in the Calgary- Kananaskis area were lively, interesting, and, above all, nonviolent. There were no incidents of property or personal violence and only three arrests for minor misdemeanours. The orderly and friendly nature of these protest-related events stands out in contrast to others, including events at the 2010 G20 in Toronto. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 fear about possible terrorist attacks was such that the G8 meetings were moved from Ottawa to the Calgary area. Planners had a common goal in seeking to avoid the violent confrontations between police and protesters that had occurred in Quebec in 2001. To what factors can their success be attributed? Attitudes matter. Police recognized that it is legitimate to express dissent from policy, and planned with civil society groups, whose representatives had similar goals in wishing to avoid violence while allowing for expressions of dissent and concern. Planners worked to allow for communication while preventing violent confrontations. A variety of protest events occurred, including a bike rally, concerts, a ‘die-in’, a knitting event, and several marches. Amnesty International and the Calgary Civil Liberties Association organized independent observers, to serve as impartial witnesses should there be any negative confrontations between demonstrators and police. There were none. In fact, some police were on bicycles; some offered water to protesters. To provide for further public participation, lectures and panel discussions were held at the University of Calgary, organized under the title ‘G6B’. That label was devised to refer to the six billion people of the earth who were not leaders of any G8 country. Dissenting views were expressed and explored, sometimes in depth. And yet there was no violence. These features make the 2002 G8 meetings of considerable current interest. Considering the events in retrospect, using a preliminary report from 2002 and other related material, advice can be extracted for planning of future meetings. Recommended are the following: • Advance planning by polic e and government officials with representatives of civil society groups • Understanding by police that nonviolent dissent is legitimate and crucially important to the functioning and development of democratic society • Understanding by protesters and media that violence is not necessary to effectively communicate a message of dissent • Organization of associated events providing for reflective consideration of evidence and arguments about substantive issues • Presence of impartial observers, accredited observers be ing most desirable • Absence of a fence or wall that might provoke protesters 2 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.........................................................................................................................1 Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................3 1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................4 2. ATTITUDES PRIOR TO THE KANANASKIS G8 .......................................................................5 3. EVENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE G8 MEETINGS ..........................................................7 The G6B People’s Summit ...........................................................................................................7 Bike Rally .............................................................................................................................................8 Family March .....................................................................................................................................8 Demonstration at the Gap ...........................................................................................................9 Stampede March (also referred to as ‘Show-down at the Hoedown’) .................9 Snake March .................................................................................................................................... 10 Die-In ................................................................................................................................................... 11 Riley Park Event ............................................................................................................................ 11 Revolutionary Knitting Circle ................................................................................................ 12 Car Caravan to Kananaskis ...................................................................................................... 12 Second Caravan to Kananaskis .............................................................................................. 13 Concert Event .................................................................................................................................. 13 4. REFLECTIONS ON TWO SENSES OF ‘CONFRONTATION’................................................ 13 5. CONCEPTIONS OF PROTEST AND PROTESTERS................................................................ 16 6. NEGOTIATIONS................................................................................................................................ 17 7. THE ROLE OF MEDIA: AN UNDERLYING DILEMMA ......................................................... 18 8. RESPONSES TO THE MEDIA DILEMMA.................................................................................. 19 9. THE SUCCESS OF NONVIOLENCE: CONTRIBUTORY CAUSES........................................ 20 Relatively Remote Location and Relatively Small Number of Protesters ...... 20 Post September 11 Context ..................................................................................................... 21 Walls and Fences May be Provocative ............................................................................... 22 Attitudes and Behaviour of Police ....................................................................................... 22 Planning with Police and Civil Society Groups ............................................................. 23 Dissent and Democracy ............................................................................................................. 23 Presence of Impartial Observers ......................................................................................... 24 Events Featuring Substantive Content .............................................................................. 24 Attitudes of Demonstrators and Attitudes Toward Them ...................................... 25 10. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................. 25 3 1. INTRODUCTION In June, 2002 the G8 met in the Kananaskis area, near Calgary, Alberta, Canada. These meetings were accompanied by protests of a nonviolent and predominantly good-humoured nature. There were only three arrests. This report is prepared with a special interest in the nonviolent protest and related events that accompanied the meetings. The major goal of this report is to reflect on aspects of planning that could potentially be reproduced on future occasions, with the goals of facilitating expression of dissent while at the same time avoiding violent behaviour and violations of civil liberties. Two civil society groups in Calgary, Amnesty International and the Calgary Civil Liberties Association, organized observers to attend events associated with the meetings of the Kananaskis G8. Their underlying idea was that in the case of any unpleasant incidents involving demonstrators and police, observers could provide reliable information and their presence could serve to deter bad behaviour in either quarter. The observers were carefully selected community members. They were not, however, officially accredited by police. Activists and academics organized extensive meetings accompanying the G8, calling them meetings of the G6B (the six billion). Held at the University of Calgary, G6B events included panels, discussions, speaker presentations, films, and debates. They attracted a considerable crowd, and some participation by foreign experts and members of Canada’s Liberal government. Media attention was given to these events. In the immediate aftermath of the G8 meetings, Amnesty International Calgary and the Calgary Civil Liberties Association received observers’ reports on related events. During the summer of 2002 a committee did some work compiling that information with a view to writing a report on the meetings and related events. Regrettably that report was never completed. Its preliminary results are referred to here as the Preliminary Summary. A report on the G6B is available,