As Canadians express their disgust over the borrow-and-spend Conservatives’ $1.1 billion in G8/20 waste – which is only the tip of their $54-billion deficit iceberg – more examples of “fake” projects are popping up which look absurd next to their very real counterparts:
Fake TSX: As part of the $208,187 “cityscape sector” is a fake Toronto Stock Exchange – a mere 376 metres from the real Toronto Stock Exchange. (Toronto Star)
Fake Lake: The Conservatives have desperately tried to spin that their “fool’s pool” cost only $57,000 – but that figure accounts for only the water and the plastic liner. Also part of the costs are:
- Included in the entire $1.9 million “Experience Canada” alley is $407,000 in design and $398,000 in labour costs – much of which went towards the fake lake.
- The “northern oasis” Muskoka section around the fake lake – including a deck, Muskoka chairs and canoes – will cost $208,187.
- A jumbotron TV screen and sound system featuring loon calls around the fake lake will cost $147,000. (Toronto Star)
Meanwhile, the very real Lake Ontario is a mere 850 metres away from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Fake Lighthouse: The Conservatives spent $186,000 in G8 money for a fake wooden lighthouse carved from a tree stump in Rosseau, 40 km away from the G8 site. Today it was revealed that 976 real lighthouses – including the iconic Peggy’s Cove and Cape Spear lighthouses – were declared “surplus” by the Conservative government – which means they might be shut down entirely. (CBC’s The National)
Fake security clearance: Despite spending $930 million on security – a full $710 million more than the next most expensive summit security bill, for Japan’s 2008 G8 meeting – the Conservatives neglected to ensure that the security company they hired was licensed to operate in Ontario. In yet another sign of poor planning for this summit, the Conservatives are scrambling to get the security firm licensed within two weeks – a process that normally takes four to six months.
Fake G8/G20 policies: Stephen Harper’s top priority going in to the G8/G20 meetings was a global bank tax – a fake issue with no real momentum. At the same time as he was making a big deal out of it during his recent trip to Europe, it was killed at the G20 Finance Minister’s meeting in Seoul. Meanwhile, Stephen Harper has a pitiful record on the real issues that need to be resolved at the G8/G20: mounting deficits, bank regulations, climate change, and maternal health.
