From Councilor Vaughan, important information regarding the upcoming G20 Summit and impact on the downtown core.
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Dear Residents,
This notice is particularly important for people who live, operate businesses, or work in the south end of Ward 20. The recent announcement by the Prime Minister’s office regarding the G20 Summit is going to have a dramatic and difficult impact on our neighbourhoods.
On June 26 and 27th, heads of state and leaders from the world's twenty largest economies will be holding their annual meeting in Toronto. The Federal government has chosen to locate the event in Ward 20 without any prior consultation.
There will be several zones of security established to protect the meeting. Summits such as this in Quebec City and Seattle have presented serious challenges to host cities. Anti-terrorism precautions, crowd control and the reality that these meetings usually draw large numbers of protestors, will mean that much of the ward will be severely impacted by security initiatives.
The city has tried to convince Ottawa to move this event to Exhibition Place, but the Federal government insists on staging it near Front Street, between Yonge and Spadina.
There will be fences, security checks and a significant number of street closures. The event may only last for two days, but preparations and clean-up will extend the period of disruption. Transit and the PATH system could also be impacted.
At my request, a Town Hall meeting has been called to brief all affected persons in the ward. It is set for:
Date: Thursday April 29, 2010
Times: Afternoon: 3:00 – 5:00 pm or Evening: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Location: Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Room 308/309
As your councillor I will continue to work to try and move the summit, and if it can’t be moved, mitigate its impact. I will also use my seat on the Police Services Board to make sure the interests of the ward and the city are respected as security issues come forward.
I have received a ‘classified’ briefing so far. There will be serious disruptions. The security perimeter will be much larger than the area affected by the recent NFL games, and the protests are expected to be larger than last spring’s Tamil demonstrations.
I will forward what information I can when I receive it. Please let my office know as soon as possible if there are any special events or needs that require accommodation.
