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HERE'S THE RESPONSE TO OUR EFFORTS TO CANCEL THE WARMONGERS TRADE SHOW. NO SURPRISE. NOW IT'S LOOKING LIKE PROTESTS WILL BE NECESSARY. MEANWHILE, MORE MESSAGES TO LET THEM KNOW THIS DRIVEL IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE ANSWER.
STOP THE MILITARY TRADE SHOW
Aug 19, 2008
Sent on behalf of, Larry O'Brien, Mayor, City of Ottawa
Thank you for your email dated July 30, 2008. Mayor O'Brien has asked that I contact you on his behalf, to let you know that a number of inquiries have been received regarding a City of Ottawa motion dating back to 1989 whereby "Lansdowne Park and other city facilities not be leased to ARMX or other such arms exhibitions", and asking how that motion relates to the US Embassy Defense and Security Exhibition contracted to take place in the Exhibit Hall at Lansdowne Park, September 30 - October 1, 2008.
Staff consulted with Legal Services regarding the prohibition on hosting arms exhibitions that was approved by Ottawa City Council in 1989. The advice from Legal Services was that the previous motion by Council is no longer applicable, since Lansdowne Park was sold to the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton on December 31, 1999. The transfer agreement between the City of Ottawa and the RMOC did not provide any obligation for the continuation of such then-City policies by the Region at Lansdowne Park.
You may wish to know that Secure Canada 2008 focuses on technologies and products used for security, public safety and to a lesser degree, defence applications, including secure communications, surveillance, and command and control requirements and unmanned systems technologies for security operations - everything from critical infrastructure protection to border patrol and port security and first responder requirements.
The Mayor's Office has been reassured by the show manager that weapons and firearms are not included in these exhibits. It is the opinion of staff that given the range of products and services being marketed during this event, it does not meet the test of what one would reasonably expect to find in an "arms exhibition".
In furtherance of its due diligence, staff also consulted with both Corporate Security and the Ottawa Police Service for insights regarding the operation of these types of shows, and the feedback was very positive in terms of minimal threat to public safety and security.
Based on this due diligence, staff determined that there was no impediment to hosting these types of events, while recognizing the degree of sensitivity regarding activities that focus primarily on armaments and various weapons.
Accordingly, Lansdowne Park has contracted for Secure Canada 2008 as well as CANSEC 2009, a similarly themed exhibition of security and defence technologies.
It should be noted that both of these events have been successfully staged at the Ottawa Congress Centre in recent years. The imminent closure and reconstruction of that facility has forced its clientele to seek out alternate venues, even if only for the duration of new construction. There is an expectation that both of these events are likely to return to the brand-new convention centre when it opens, a project that includes a funding contribution of $40,000,000 from the City of Ottawa."
Should you have additional questions regarding this exhibit, please feel free to contact Doug Moore, Manager, Venture Properties, Business Transformation Services at (613)580-2424 ext. 41301 (office) or by e-mail douglas.moore@ottawa.ca.
Thank you for contacting Mayor O'Brien with your concerns.
Regards,
Colleen Gareau
Constituency Assistant
Mayor's Office110 Laurier Avenue
West Ottawa (Ontario) K1P 1J1
Tel : 613-580-2496Fax: 613-580-2509
Email: colleen.gareau@ottawa.ca
READ MORE: Mohawk Nation News: Sicko: Ottawa hosts warmonger trade show
http://www.mohawknationnews.com/news/singlenews.php?en=en&layout=mnn&newsnr=640&backurl=%2Fnews%2Fnews3.php%3Flang%3Den%26layout%3Dmnn%26sortorder%3D0&srcscript=/news/news3.php
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