TORONTO – Canada’s Conservative government came under fire Monday for spending nearly $2 million on a simulation of the small-town site of this month’s G-8 and G-20 summits, complete with an artificial lake inside a temporary media center.
The display, which cost $1.8 million, is called The Experience Canada Corridor and will include canoes, trees, deck chairs and a fake dock.
Only a small pool of reporters will be allowed to cover the G-8 summit in Huntsville, because of the small venue size, so the majority will cover it from Toronto, 140 miles to the south, where the G-20 summit will be held that same weekend.
Opposition lawmaker Mark Holland ridiculed the government over the expense.
“For the use of media only, the government is splurging on a $2 million fake lake in downtown Toronto complete with a sprawling dock, bar, canoes and a giant jumbotron,” Holland said.
Opposition parties had earlier decried the nearly $1 billion the government has said it plans to spend on security for the two summits.
The government had originally planned to host both summits in Huntsville, but the G-20 venue was changed to Toronto, Canada’s largest city, after concerns surfaced that Huntsville, with a population of around 20,000, lacked sufficient infrastructure for the larger event.
Copy the Story Link
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.