G20 organizers: the only childish games during the summit will be at the convention centre
As the G20 summit looms, it’s looking more and more like Toronto FC will be the only thing in the city not brought to a complete standstill by sweeping security measures. Downtown patios will be shut down for two weeks before the summit even begins, bankers are being told to work from home, and the Blue Jays are heading to Philadelphia rather than playing at the Rogers Centre, as originally planned. Now, hundreds of families who use downtown daycare centres are being told they should probably keep their children somewhere else.
At a meeting last night, parents were warned that it will be extremely difficult for them to reach child care centres amid excessive crowds, hordes of police in riot gear and a complete lack of parking. It was something security officials didn’t initially foresee as being a problem. “We didn’t think of it,” a G20 security officer told the Globe.
“Foresight” and “G20” are apparently mutually exclusive. The city of Toronto tried unsuccessfully to convince the feds to move the event somewhere more feasible, like the Ex, where the entire downtown core of Canada’s largest city wouldn’t have to be put into a coma.
At least G20 officers had this pearl of wisdom for parents: “They told us to Google the G20 protest to see what’s planned,” one parent said. Thanks for the tip, although we hope that security personnel are relying on better intel than Toronto parents.
• Parents urged to avoid daycares in security zone [Globe and Mail]
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