NORAD to provide G8, G20 security
TORONTO, June 7 (UPI) -- The commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command has pledged security help during the upcoming G8 and G20 summits in Toronto, officials said.
NORAD's commander said it would provide aerial surveillance and security for the conferences, The Toronto Sun reported Monday.
"The role of NORAD essentially in the G8 and G20 summits is to do what we always do, and that is to provide for the air sovereignty and security of Canada and the United States," Adm. James Winnefeld Jr. said.
Winnefeld took command of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command in May, the Sun said.
NORAD, established in 1958 to protect North American air space, played a similar role during the recent Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Winnefeld said.
He called NORAD a "very, very important security relationship that is emblematic of the overall relationship between our countries," the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
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The G8/G20 meetings took place in Ontario from June 25-27, 2010. Toronto-based organizations of women, people of colour, indigenous peoples, the poor, the working class, queer and trans people and disabled people organized a peoples convergence with 40,000 people taking to the streets, standing up for justice in collaboration and solidarity!
Activists, community members, inspired and outraged individuals came together as a movement to demand justice for people and the planet. Over a week of mobilizations, events, workshops and direct actions took place in the face of state and police repression, violence and infringements on rights and freedoms.
We must continue to mobilize and build greater solidarity among our communities- an important part of this is supporting all those arrested during the G20 summit, including our allies still in detention, and those released on bail.