OTTAWA - The RCMP is looking for some essential equipment to help flush out problems at this summer's G8 summit near Huntsville, Ont. -- almost 600 outhouses.
The Mounties want to have 596 porta-potties, each with minimum two-ply toilet paper, distributed around the posh Deerhurst Lodge resort, where leaders of the world's biggest economies gather for talks June 25-26.
But the single-seaters, which include disposable seat covers, are not for any of the world's leaders. Instead, they're reserved for the thousands of government workers who will need washroom breaks as they prepare for the event throughout June.
And in a gesture of conciliation, 10 of the comfort stations have been set aside for the anti-G8 protesters expected to gather in the designated "free speech area" near the meeting site.
The official, cordoned-off location for such protests has not yet been chosen, and RCMP won't say how many demonstrators they expect.
Detailed specifications issued Friday by the RCMP say "each portable toilet must have a lockable door with an occupancy signal latch, anti-slip flooring, ventilation near the top, a translucent roof, a stovepipe vent for the holding tank and a hook capable of supporting 20 kg."
Prospective suppliers have until May 13 to bid on the project, which includes cleaning the privies overnight.
The tender includes 90 handwashing stations, as well as an option for another 200 outhouses for Toronto, where the G20 summit is being held immediately following the G8 talks, on June 26-27.
The porta-potty notice was issued the same day as another for an unspecified number of "utility terrain vehicles" to handle the rough ground of the Muskoka region around Deerhurst -- suggesting not all RCMP security personnel will be mounted on their traditional steeds.
Another notice issued Friday is for two rented passenger aircraft to remain on standby at the airport in Muskoka, Ont., on June 26. They're needed to transport up to 120 guests of Canada -- presumably the G8 leaders or their entourages -- to the island airport in Toronto, where they'll head for the nearby G20 summit venue. No beverage or meal service is required for the short trip.
A spokesman for Porter Airlines, Brad Cicero, said his company is likely to put in a bid. Porter already operates from Toronto's Billy Bishop airport, on the Toronto islands, and its fleet of Bombardier Q-400 aircraft are fitted for 70 passengers.
The latest tenders come on the heels of recent requests for dozens of buses to transport about 5,600 personnel in and around G8 and G20 summit facilities, 1,030 private security guards to augment the Mounties, two-way radios and printing and construction work.
An RCMP official defended the flurry of tenders coming less than two months before one of the biggest international events ever hosted by Canada.
"We're still convinced that we're going to be able to do what is required of us," said Sgt. Leo Mombourquette of the integrated security unit based in Barrie, Ont.
"We have no concerns at the moment about the fact we're two months away. ...
"We're still in the middle of the planning process and as we move forward and we determine that there are goods that are required, we're putting out the tenders."
An estimated 10,000 police are expected to provide security for the G20 meeting in Toronto.
