Winnipeg police officers could be deployed to G7 meeting in Alberta

Winnipeg police officers could be deployed to Alberta this summer to serve as backup during an international summit of world leaders.

This year's meeting of the G7, an exclusive group of countries that collaborate on political and security initiatives, will be held in Kananaskis, Alta., just west of Calgary, in June.

On Tuesday, Winnipeg city council's executive policy committee approved a plan to send officers to support the Calgary Police Service. Calgary will serve as a staging area for the event. 

A city report did not specify how many officers would be sent, or what they would be doing. 

A spokesperson for the Winnipeg Police Service told CBC News as many as 28 officers could be deployed.

"If WPS officers are deployed, there would be no need to adjust service in Winnipeg as officers on their days off will be utilized," Ally Cox wrote in an email.

"There will be no vacancies permitted in WPS frontline response to meet this ask and officers from non-frontline assignments may also be used."

Mayor Scott Gillingham isn't worried Winnipeg could be strapped for officers if some are deployed to the G7 summit, saying he expects police Chief Gene Bowers to consider the operational needs of the police service here.

"In light of the fact that it's [during] a busy time of the year for the police traditionally, but find a way to make sure that, if he's going to accommodate this request and have officers support the the Calgary Police Service, that it would not come at the expense of public safety here in Winnipeg," Gillingham said in a news conference.

Any expenses associated with the deployment would be covered by the Calgary Police Service, using funding from the Canadian government.

Canada has hosted the G7 meeting a number of times, most recently in the Charlevoix region of Quebec in 2018. 

The annual event — which brings together the leaders of Canada, the United States, France, Germany, the U.K., Italy and Japan — has drawn large protests from anti-capitalist activists, leading to hours-long standoffs with police.

Kananaskis previously hosted the meeting in 2002.

The plan to deploy Winnipeg officers to Calgary still needs approval from council.