THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER -- More than 1,000 soldiers, police officers and other security staff are converging in the Vancouver area for a massive security planning exercise for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Residents will see military planes overhead and soldiers on the ground as security personnel train for everything from earthquakes to terror attacks.

But as the Canadian Forces and police practice their response to possible threats, Canada's privacy watchdog warned Monday that hosting a mega-event like the Games in the aftermath of the 9-11 terror attacks in the United States will test the country in many ways.

Federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said Olympic officials and security experts must find the right balance between protecting people from security threats and protecting individual privacy rights.

Stoddart said there is a concern that the security systems Games will remain in place afterwards. Many of the closed-circuit cameras used during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens stayed in use long after the event concluded, she said.

"People who spend a lot of time thinking about the privacy of our citizens are worried that once the Games are over, the surveillance may not disappear and there may be new ways that are thought up to justify keeping the security apparatus with us, and that's very worrisome," Stoddart said at the privacy conference in Victoria.

Stoddart suggested the higher the security costs, the more pressure there is to ensure the system remains.

"I don't think ordinary citizens in Vancouver, B.C.,need the kind of high-tech, intense security system that a special event like the Olympics might justify," she said.

The security budget for the Olympics has not yet been released but it is now estimated to be just under $1 billion.

B.C. privacy commissioner David Loukidelis said Olympic Games are huge events that come with heightened security risks, but that should not give law enforcement officials a "free pass" to monitor citizens.

As they undertake the second of three test runs being held ahead of the Games, security personnel say they want to be ready for everything from weather, terrorism, earthquakes and other possible threats.

"This is a challenging environment ...," said Rear Admiral Tyrone Pile, the commander of Joint Task Force Games, the military's Olympic planning unit.

"It is no surprise therefore that securing the Olympic Games is often described as the largest and most complex peacetime security operation in the world."

People attending Olympic test events in the coming days will be asked to take part in voluntary screenings as part of Exercise Silver, but officials say it won't impact the day-to-day life of area-residents.

In addition to police and the military, emergency operations centres in the province are being activated for the test as are emergency plans for health authorities, utilities and the Vancouver airport.

"These exercises provide an unprecedented opportunity for the province, and our security and public safety partners with local and federal governments and agencies to exercise their plans to ensure we are ready to respond," said John Oakley, director of the Integrated Public Safety program for Emergency Management B.C.

The military's contribution to the Games -- Operation Podium -- will involve about 4,000 Canadian Forces personnel, as well as Griffin helicopters, Sea King helicopters, patrol aircraft, destroyers and frigates, Pile said.

The U.S. military is also involved in planning for air and border security and the on-sea part of the exercise will involve some American ships, but no soldiers on the ground.

The entire security operation for the Games is being overseen by the RCMP in an integrated security unit. Altogether, about 8,000 security personnel will be involved in policing the Games, not including staff from various government agencies like health authorities or utilities who will have their own security procedures.

-- With files from Dirk Meissner in Victoria