Massive Police Mobilization as Police Forces Use Biodiversity Conference as Training Exercise
A massive police presence and various heightened security measures are being deployed in Montreal for the COP15 proceedings being held at the Palais des congrès from December 7-19. It is the biggest and most complex police operation in Montreal in 20 years, a spokesperson for Montreal police told media on November 3. The operation includes a large security perimeter that has already been set up around the Palais des congrès.
According to news agencies, security at COP15 is being provided by the Integrated Security Unit (ISU), which includes the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and the Police Service of Montreal (SPVM).
The main message raises the spectre of a lethal attack being launched against the conference with the ISU saying that it is ready to respond to any situation during COP15, even worst-case scenarios of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive (CBRNE) threats. It prides itself for not ruling out any scenario owing to what it termed the "tense global socio-political context." According to Tasha Adams, a Corporal with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, "During any major event, a CBRNE protocol is an integral part of the integrated security group's operational plan. In this case, the CBRNE team will be mobilized as needed."
In day to day life, none of these police forces are known to provide the security the people need. Far from it, they have earned reputations for negligence or violence against the most vulnerable in society -- national minorities, those with mental illness, youth, women, homeless people and Indigenous peoples. The aim of the security measures taken at this time is mostly to provide police with the opportunity to conduct live exercises in an urban environment.
Based on the people's experience with mobilizing against the Organization of American States General Assembly in 2000 in Windsor, against the Free Trade Area of the Americas and militarization of Quebec City during the 2001 Summit of the Americas, against meetings of the G20 in Ottawa in 2001 and in Toronto in 2010, and the 2004 visit of George W. Bush to Ottawa , amongst others, it is reasonable to conclude that an aim of the state and its police and intelligence agencies is to use the conference to conduct training exercises as they have done at each of these events.
In Quebec City one of the aims set was to see how many tear gas canisters per minute they could hurl at demonstrators behind the security perimeter. In Ottawa they used dogs to allegedly sniff out explosives - a highly unsuccessful and unpopular experiment. In Toronto they eventually had to pay thousands of dollars in restitution to demonstrators who were kettled and held in holding patterns in conditions which violated their civil and human rights.
It is also reasonable to assume that talk about chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons is aimed at bolstering the promotion by the intelligence services that Canada's security is threatened and Canadians should support laws being passed which are justified in the name of curtailing foreign interference in Canadian affairs.
News agencies report that the SPVM will be responsible for security outside the event site, in the Old Port of Montreal, assisting with escorting convoys and managing traffic and crowd control. The SQ will also accompany the convoys of dignitaries and manage traffic.
The SPVM gave an estimated cost of $25 million for the operation, which will be paid in part or full by the federal government. The total number of officers to be deployed is unknown, but the SPVM has asked its officers to volunteer to work during the event. Police officers from Quebec City, Laval, Longueuil and Gatineau will also be sent in to assist the SPVM.
Security measures also include response plans for scenarios in which COP15 delegates, and possibly protestors as well, are exposed to hazardous materials, regarding how they would be treated and where. Scenarios include resolving problems such as where people would go in the event that an evacuation is required. According to reports, the Palais des congrès is to be declared an international zone under the responsibility of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security.
The Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) is also said to be preparing "for all eventualities."
Irène Marcheterre, CHUM's director of communications, in an interview with La Presse, stated, "Our biggest concern is the demonstrations or marches that could happen unexpectedly around our perimeter, which would slow down access to the care environments." CHUM is asking organizers to respect access to the hospital, so that they can take care of patients who need it, she said. Why demonstrators would seek to curtail access to hospitals she does not say, but the CHUM does say it set up a crisis unit at the end of October based on an assumption the demonstrations would be like the student strikes in 2012 or the massive climate demonstration of half a million people in September 2019. It all serves to militarize life and feed the scenario of the intelligence agencies that the people are lawbreakers whose activities pose the dangers to the population.
"We have added a team of security agents with officers and event agents who will be able to move from one entrance to another, depending on the event. We're talking about a dozen more agents at first, but we could add more," says Josée Rondeau, CHUM's emergency measures and security coordinator.
The hospital will also be adding several traffic wardens, in addition to the Montreal police, to help adjust ambulance routes in the event of obstructions, CHUM said.
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 54 - December 5, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520543.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca