National Post (National Edition)
Inside the security zone
LA MALBAIE PREPARES FOR THE G7 SUMMIT
LA MALBAIE, QUE. • His home has been tagged the safest in Canada.
When Rosaire Tremblay retired and bought his bright red and white house in Pointe-au-pic on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, he never dreamed he would one day find himself alone in a top-level security zone of a major international event: the Group of Seven Summit (G7).
Today, Tremblay’s house is on a kind of island, behind the three-metre-tall security fence built around the Manoir Richelieu and the Casino de Charlevoix where the June summit will take place.
The only residence in what security officials have deemed the summit “red zone,” Tremblay’s house is just below the cliff on which the Manoir sits. Even the 153-step wooden stairway to the top is inside the fence and will be off limits to pedestrians.
During the summit, the red zone will be accessible only to heads of state, their staff, police and people working in the hotel and casino.
On this sunny spring day, with a cool breeze from the river where beluga whales frolic, the gate in the fence is wide open, allowing a reporter to approach and be greeted by Tremblay’s friendly dog, Balto, and a couple of curious cats.
When the summit is in full swing in a few weeks, Tremblay and his spouse — who have had to get security clearance to stay — will need to go through checkpoints to get the groceries.
The couple’s three children won’t be able to visit for the weekend either.
With a security officer every 20 feet along the fence, plus lights and cameras everywhere, Tremblay will be spending the weekend in lockdown; in close proximity to seven of the most powerful politicians in the world, including U.S. President Donald Trump on this first official visit to Canada.
“I don’t know if I will write a book but I will take lots of pictures,” Tremblay jokes, taking it all in stride. “The security people are exemplary. Say nice things about them.”
It helps that Tremblay’s enthusiasm for the G7 is unbridled.
“What’s happening here is the best thing that could have happened to La Malbaie,” he says gesturing to the stunning view of the river and mountains of the legendary Charlevoix region.
“Look at the beauty here. Wait until the Europeans see this. Journalists will feed these images back. You can’t buy advertising like this.”
Tremblay is seen as one of the lucky ones in this city of about 9,000 people 150 kilometres northeast of Quebec City. Pointe-au-pic is a village in La Malbaie, formerly known as Murray Bay.
He’s got top flight security, the kind that comes with the arrival of massive security detail, including the presence of about 8,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces, plus the RCMP and Sûreté du Québec.
An informal survey of other residents — about 1,000 live in the belt around the summit fortress red zone — reveals some trepidation.
That area — tagged the green zone — is not fenced in but will have checkpoints, which means police will control who comes and goes. Residents here have already been handed accreditation passes to simplify their lives.
They are nevertheless nervous. An area known for its cozy auberges, shops and art galleries catering to the region’s robust tourist trade, the green zone is not far from the fortified Manoir and another area near the river where summit organizers have installed a freespeech zone for anti-globalization protesters.
The free-speech zone is to be in the park near the Musée de Charlevoix, about 1.5 kilometres from the Manoir. Nobody really knows what will happen in this area but an array of protesters have said they plan to show up.
“If no protesters show up during the activity period, no doors will be closed, the access will not be cut off,” said Marcel Blais, operations and planning co-ordinator for the SQ. The provincial force will be responsible for security in the green zone.
Citizens in this region remember only too well the vandalism and damage at the 2001 Summit of the Americas in nearby Quebec City.
In that case the fence around the summit, held at the Centre des congrès, was three kilometres long but anchored only by concrete blocks.
After days of playing cat and mouse with police, protesters breached the wall in a haze of tear gas. The images were beamed around the world. There were complaints of rights violations.
This summit’s fence, built at a cost of about $3.8 million and stretching over a total of 3.7 kilometres, is much more sophisticated and anchored on cemented posts sunk 18 inches into the ground.
It snakes around all access points of the red zone, onto the wharf in the river which will also be under control of security forces.
Watching all the angles, federal cabinet minister Jean-yves Duclos recently announced the government will plant 100,000 trees (at a cost of $325,000) to compensate for the greenhouse gases the summit will create.
All this excitement has left the people of Pointe-au-pic on edge, worried things will get out of hand if protesters try and leave the free-speech zone to tackle the fence which often acts like a magnet in these events.
“From what I have seen of these summits, there are usually riots,” says an elderly auberge owner who preferred his name not be used.
“It might just be a bomb or pass like nothing. And if there is damage, who will pay for it?”
He scoffs at predictions the summit will be a boost to the local economy.
“I think it’s going to give La Malbaie 15 minutes of fame but that’s it.”
The leaders may never hear a peep from any protesters. Perched high on the cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence River, the Manoir remains a formidable fortress for anyone to attack — especially with all the roads and paths blocked off.
In reality, this area is no stranger to international guests.
In his book, Charlevoix, Two Centuries at Murray Bay, author Philippe Dubé notes that for more than 200 years the region — tagged the “Newport of Canada” — has played host to the famous and adventurous.
Trump will not be the first American commanderin-chief to spend time here. Among the regular summer residents in the 1910s and ’20s was U.S. president William Howard Taft.
A famous quote about the region is attributed to him. “Where is Murray Bay?” friends would ask. Taft would reply “Murray Bay is a state of mind.”
The Manoir itself, now known as the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, originally opened in 1899 but was destroyed by fire in 1928. The current building, made of stone with a French castle design, was opened in 1929.
It has everything your world-weary leader could want: 405 rooms, four restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools, 27-hole championship golf course and shops loaded with Canadiana, including soapstone carvings and maple syrup products.
Across the yard is the Casino de Charlevoix. It will become the on-site media centre for the summit. And for Trump, who is known to be fond of a little late-night KFC snack, there is a St-hubert BBQ franchise on the premises.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who decided to bring the leaders to La Malbaie for what will be the 44th meeting of the G7, bubbles when he talks about the location, which he has visited several times in the last few months.
“The greatest richness of Charlevoix are the people who live here,” Trudeau said in a January speech to the local board of trade. “That’s exactly why we chose it.”
According to the G7 website, the total approved funding for the whole year of Canada’s presidency of the 2018 G7 is $604.5 million. That figure goes beyond just the Charlevoix summit.
It applies to the planning, execution and security for all the G7-related meetings and events over the year.
Security, however, is the big-ticket item. According to a G7 spokesperson, 68 per cent of the budget (about $395 million) is being spent on security and another $183 million on logistics.