President Bush has arrived in Canada today for his two day visit to our country. Yesterday, DemFromCT posted a main page thread about the visit and, since that has now fallen off the page, I've decided to offer this diary as a vehicle to follow the happenings during the visit.
Please post links to stories with a brief description of the article, photos, and personal experiences.
Here are some of today's stories so far:
Emcee for state dinner dies of heart attack
OTTAWA - The man who was supposed to emcee Tuesday's presidential dinner at the Museum of Civilization has died of a heart attack. He was in his early sixties.
Pierre McNicoll was a former host on Radio-Canada. He also played a part in the popular french-language series, Lance et Compte.
Bush reporters race to get flu shots
OTTAWA (AFP) - Flu shots trumped Cuban cigars as the most sought-after items for a handful of reporters covering US President George W. Bush first official visit to Canada.
'Like visiting your in-laws'
Briefing? What Briefing? Besides the fact that Scott McClellen goofed and called Halifax a "province" (it's a city), WH correspondents were left scratching their heads about the visit:
"It is quite unusual not to have a briefing," said one senior White House correspondent who called yesterday, wondering if we had any idea why Bush was coming to Canada. (We had to say, sorry, can't help there.)
The best the White House press corps could make of it, she said, is "it's kind of like visiting your in-laws -- you go because it's what you do. It is sort of a perfunctory visit."
Friends and foes greet Bush on Hill
OTTAWA - Protesters staged a small but noisy demonstration on Parliament Hill Tuesday as Prime Minister Paul Martin greeted George W. Bush to kick off the U.S. president's first official visit to Canada.
American Secret Service agents and RCMP officers equipped with rifles and video cameras kept watch over the placard-carrying crowd of about 200 as they shouted "Go Home" and other slogans at the Bush entourage.
...
There were reports that as thousands more anti-Bush demonstrators arrive at nearby Confederation Park for an afternoon rally, they will topple a large papier mâché statue of Bush, a reference to the role he played in invading Iraq and toppling leader Saddam Hussein in the spring of 2003.
The Ottawa rally was one of about 25 planned across the country to draw attention to Bush's policies and politics during the visit.
This link also provides a schedule of events which I've borrowed:
Tuesday - Ottawa
10:20 a.m. - Air Force One arrives at the Ottawa Airport. President Bush to attend short reception with Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson and U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci.
11:05 a.m. - Bush arrives on Parliament for a photo-op with Prime Minister Paul Martin and a group of parliamentarians.
12:15 p.m. - Working lunch with Martin, followed by a meeting with Martin in the Pearson Building.
2:05 p.m. - Questions from the media at the Pearson Building.
2:55 p.m. - Tour of the National Archives.
3:55 p.m. - One-on-one meeting with Opposition leader Stephen Harper.
6:30 p.m. - Beef dinner at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
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Wednesday - Halifax
6:30 a.m. - Depart for the airport. Martin and Bush to fly in separate planes.
10 a.m. - Prime Minister Paul Martin arrives at the Halifax International Airport.
10:35 a.m. -Bush arrives at airport. Martin and Bush attend welcoming ceremony.
11:15 a.m. - Martin, Bush deliver speeches at Pier 21.
12:15 p.m. - Farewell party for Bush. Leaves Halifax.
Anyone interested in what's going on in Parliament today and tomorrow during Bush's visit should visit CPAC. You can watch our infamous Question Period online (political jousting where the government is put on the spot by the opposition parties - duration ~1 hour, time 2pm ET/11pm PT, rebroadcast 10pm ET/7pm PT).
Your turn. Post what you have. Thanks.
Update [2004-11-30 14:20:19 by catnip]: If you have a diary about the trip, covering it from a different angle, please feel free to link to it here as well.
Update [2004-11-30 15:28:10 by catnip]: Police and Protesters Face Off in Ottawa A crowd of protesters has gathered, est. 5,000, near Chateau Laurier Hotel close to Parliament Hill in Ottawa. At this time, police in riot gear are in full force. Three protesters have been arrested. One police member was injured (according to CBC news). Riot police have donned gas masks. Unidentified smoke arose from the crowd - unclear if it came from the police or a protester. The TV pool feed only shows a very limited view of the crowd. It appears to be diminishing but it's hard to evaluate from what they're showing on CBC.
Update [2004-11-30 16:58:20 by catnip]: A plea: If you think this diary is worthy of staying in the Recommended Diaries section (it keeps bouncing in and out), please recommend it. My only motive for this plea is to maintain this diary as a venue for news during Bush's visit, so I hope it can stay visible. Thank you.
Update [2004-12-1 0:9:25 by catnip]: Have I mentioned how great all of you are? Here are some more links for you:
CBC: The protests for and against
Speaker lineup. Organizations involved (w/links).
Bush/Martin Press Conference Video (33 minutes) (thanks ppr!) and Transcript
Update [2004-12-1 15:41:3 by catnip]: Canadian Democracy Stifled
Several of our MPs (Members of Parliament) today are very concerned about the massive security effort in Ottawa in response to Bush's visit because many were actually held back from free movement and their ability to participate in yesterday's parliamentary business, including voting on issues, was blocked by the police. It appears, at this time, that the culprits were not the regular police force (ie. RCMP) who usually take care of security on the hill.
One longstanding MP, Bill Blaikie, quipped that, although he was stopped by security from entering the Parliament buildings because he did not have a "security pass", protesters on the hill obviously hadn't been issued these vague "security passes" either - but they were allowed access to the area.
Procedurally, this is a question of privilege. In the larger scheme of things, this is a muzzling of our democracy. As some Ottawa citizens pointed out in my breaking news roundup thread, the security in Ottawa was unprecedented. This is a serious matter and there will now be an investigation.