Violent confrontation could harm Canada’s rep – Ottawa Sun

Byline: Kathleen Harris
Publication: Ottawa Sun
Date: Sunday June 27th, 2010
Source: http://www.ottawasun.com/news/g20/2010/06/27/14535566.html

TORONTO – Canada’s global reputation as a peaceful, orderly and clean country could take a hit as images of burnedout cruisers, smashed windows and clashes with cops are beamed around the world.

As blaring headlines and television images captured the nastiest confrontations outside the gates of the G20 summit, NDP MP Paul Dewar said the violence will sideline Harper’s pricey plan to showcase Canada as a nation rich in natural beauty and serenity.

“The images are not the ones that Harper was looking for,” he told QMI Agency, adding Canadians will be asking tough questions about the value and results for event’s $1-billion-plus price tag.

But Fen Hampson, director of the Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, said mass mobilization of anti-globalization protesters has become par for the course for international gatherings of wealthy world leaders. He doesn’t think it necessarily reflects poorly on the host country.

“Everyone expects it. It has become the rite of summitry and the real question becomes how well we handle it,” he told QMI.

A “travelling road show” of anarchists should not detract from the value of the meetings, which provide an important and useful forum for leaders to hammer out solutions to pressing problems behind closed doors.

Alan Alexandroff, co-director of the G20 research group at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, said the media attention to the violent demonstrations can distract the public from the substance of the meetings.

But he said holding the summit at a remote location is the only alternative, as there is great value in powerful leaders talking “frankly and openly” in an informal setting.