Flashdance: G20 style
by Pras RajagopalanThursday, Jun. 17, 2010
A group of around 30 protesters snaked their way through downtown Thursday morning and congregated outside Union Station. They were calling for more action by world leaders on dealing with climate change. Many were covered in fake oil to illustrate their outrage at the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
G20 conversations: No fixed address
by Pras RajagopalanThursday, Jun. 17, 2010
The City of Toronto and Toronto police are working to house homeless people living inside the security perimeter as the June 26-27 summit approaches. Police have said that homeless people and those without identification will not be allowed within the fenced security zone during the summit. As part of our series of G20 conversations, I spoke to Marty, who is homeless. Marty, who declined to give his last name, has been living in and around Union Station since around January.
The following transcript is a condensed and abridged version of my interview I conducted with him last week:
Saplings uprooted in the name of security
by Pras RajagopalanWednesday, Jun. 16, 2010
Workers have begun pulling small trees within the fenced G20 restricted zone in downtown Toronto out of the ground as a security precaution.
Several young trees near the Rogers Centre were removed Tuesday, and some on Front Street near the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the site of the G20 summit.
G20 conversations: working the crane
by Pras RajagopalanWednesday, Jun. 16, 2010
For the third instalment in our G20 conversation series, I spoke to Sean MacMillan, a construction worker who has for six months helped to build the Ritz-Carlton hotel/condominium complex within the inner fenced security zone. Crews at the site will stop work during the summit and possibly in the days before it.
G20 conversations: under the station
by Pras RajagopalanTuesday, Jun. 15, 2010
In the second instalment of our series G20 conversations, I speak to Naomi Ikonomou, who runs a dry cleaning business at Union Station with her husband. Union Station management has told her and other tenants that they can expect to be open the week leading up to the June 26-27 summit, but will have to close that weekend. But Ikonomou says she expects she will lose some business.
Businesses around G20 'cannot afford to close'
by Pras RajagopalanTuesday, Jun. 15, 2010
"We are operating regular hours. We are not closing [during the G20 week]," says Fred Luk, owner of two restaurants on King Street, Fred's Not Here and Red Tomato.
Luk and the Entertainment District Business Improvement Association are trying to spread the word that restaurants, stores and other attractions are open for business during the week leading up to the G20 summit.
Many of those businesses fear the security measures around the summit - like fencing off an area around the summit site - will hurt their bottom line.
G20 conversations: inside the fence
by Pras RajagopalanMonday, Jun. 14, 2010
This is the first in a series of conversations with Toronto residents directly affected by the G20 summit that will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from June 26-27. I spoke to Kay Takashima, who lives at 33 University Ave., a 27-storey condominium building at University and Wellington. The building is inside the inner security zone - which means you need a government-issued security pass to access it. Neither Takashima nor any of the other residents in her building have received the passes.
A blast from Toronto's summit past
by Pras RajagopalanFriday, Jun. 11, 2010
For those of us with short memories or were too young to remember, this summer's G20 summit is not the first time Toronto has hosted a major meeting of world leaders.
The 1988 G7 summit ran from June 19-21 and was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the site of this year's summit meeting.
After the jump is a piece by then-local Toronto reporter Havard Gould (now a national business reporter) previewing the 1988 summit.
No more G20 pass accreditation
by Pras RajagopalanFriday, Jun. 11, 2010
If you need a pass to gain access to the inner G20 security zone and have yet to apply, it looks like you're going to be out of luck.
The names of some 35,000 people have been submitted, but the Intergrated Security Unit is now not accepting any further requests.
G20: The Summit and the Street
- Flashdance: G20 style
- Flash mob protests G20
- G20 conversations: No fixed address
- What one homeless man is experiencing ahead of the summit
- Saplings uprooted in the name of security
- Action taken to ward off attacks by rowdy protesters
- G20 conversations: working the crane
- The summit halts contruction
- G20 conversations: under the station
- Union Station dry cleaner plans to remain open ahead of summit
- Businesses around G20 'cannot afford to close'
- Businesses offer deals to entice customers
- G20 conversations: inside the fence
- A downtown resident talks about the summit
- A week of G20 preparation
- Security measures affecting city life.
- A blast from Toronto's summit past
- A look at a Toronto summit from 22 years ago
- No more G20 pass accreditation
- ISU not accepting any more G20 pass requests
- Excuse me sir, this is a no-kite zone
- Most flights OK during summits, but kites banned
- Talking G20 at the chip truck
- Street vendors asked to take a break
- (Most) bike rings will stay during summit
- (Most) bike rings here to stay during summit
- A little clarity for pedestrians and cyclists
- Pedestrians and cyclists will have to navigate police checkpoints
- The media descends on a G20 protest
- Press outnumber demonstrators at event
- Our G20 Blogger
- Pras Rajagopalan is interested in city politics, urban planning, and your used Krautrock LPs.
When the opportunity came to cover the impact of the G20 summit on everyday life in Toronto, he jumped at the chance.
Canada hosts the world
- Main page
- G8 and G20 news and video
- Stories by day
- All the CBCNews.ca stories on the summits