From Susan Munroe,
Your Guide to Canada Online.
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Dateline: 06/20/02

Canada is hosting a 2-day summit of world leaders in Kananaskis, Alberta from June 26-27, 2002. Here are the basics on the 2002 G8 Summit.

G8 Member Countries

• The G8 is an informal group of eight countries. Member countries of the G8 are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States,

• The European Union also participates in the economic and political talks of this group.

G8 Summit in Kananaskis 2002

• The G8 Summit is the yearly meeting of the leaders of the G8 member countries to discuss world issues.

• The President of the European Commission and the President of Spain, which holds the European Council presidency, are also attending the Kananaskis Summit.

• The presidents of Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria and Algeria and the Secretary General of the United Nations are scheduled to attend the discussions on Africa.

• For the Kananaskis Summit, delegations of G8 member countries are limited to 40 essential aides, compared to the delegation of 1000 the Americans brought to the last G8 summit in Genoa.

G8 Summit 2002 Agenda

• Strengthening global economic growth

• A self-help plan for Africa. The proposed plan was developed by the Canadian government in consultation with African leaders and would commit G8 countries to help increase growth, investment and health care assistance to the more democratic countries in Africa.

• Fighting global terrorism.

Kananaskis, Alberta

• Kananaskis Country is about an hour's drive west of Calgary, Alberta and part of the Rocky Mountains Natural Region. It includes Alberta provincial parks, an ecological reserve, wildlands and recreation areas. Kananaskis Village itself is in the Evans Thomas Recreational Area and is an Alberta tourism spot.

• Most of Kananaskis Country will remain open during the G8 Summit. A security area around Kananaskis Village will be restricted, and some areas outside the radius will also be used for security purposes.

Security at Kananaskis

• A 6.5 km (4 mile) radius area around Kananaskis Village has been designated a security area for the G8 Summit.

• Airspace restrictions will be in place between June 25 and 28. Any unauthorized aerial activity will be considered a high-level threat.

• There will be some restrictions and delays to both services and road access in Calgary during the G8 Summit.

Cost of the Kananaskis G8 Summit

• The total cost of the Kananaskis G8 Summit is estimated at $300 million, much of which goes to security.

• The cost has been scaled back dramatically from the 2001 Genoa G8 Summit which cost $1 billion.