Who Called the Troops Out?

Click on each image for a closer look!
.
Earlier this week, two military helicopters dropped in very close to the Roundhouse as can be seen in these images. They were there as part of the planning for the G20 Summit to be held on June 26th and June 27th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre whose facilities lie right under Roundhouse Park.
.
The G20 is a group of twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from different countries and was established in 1999 to bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy. They meet twice a year. They were to meet in Huntsville along with the G8 Summit but supporting facilities were insufficient.

The G8 Summit is described by Wikipedia as follows:

“The 36th G8 summit is to be held in Huntsville, Ontario, from June 25-27, 2010. The meeting will take place at the Deerhurst Resort. It will be the fifth G8 Summit hosted by Canada since 1976, the previous four being at Montebello, Quebec (1981); Toronto, Ontario (1988); Halifax, Nova Scotia (1995); and Kananaskis, Alberta (2002). The G8 Summit has evolved beyond being a gathering of world political leaders. The event has become an occasion for a wide variety of non-governmental organizations, activists and civic groups to congregate and discuss a multitude of issues.”
.
These Summits will have two impacts on the local railway scene.
.
In Huntsville, rebuilding a community centre to support caused the Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway (See our earlier TRHA News posting) to suspend operations as their station was moved to the other side of their railway yard and the yard taken up until the construction is completed. They likely will not resume operation until after the Summit has ended.
.
In Toronto, security will be incredibly tight around the Roundhouse Park premises and we will likely suspend all TRHA and museum operations for a period around the dates of the G20 Summit. Please also note that Derek Boles “last Saturday of the month” Union Station tour at the end of June will be cancelled due to the Summit. So if you want to take the tour soon, catch this month’s tour this Saturday or one of the shorter tours during Doors Open on May 29th and 30th.
.
Posting by Russ Milland; Pictures by Norm Betts