page_title: 2010 G20 Toronto summit
section_title: Financial costs
hierarchical_section_title: 2010 G20 Toronto summit / Criticism / Financial costs
caption_attribution_description: English: Direct Energy Centre "Living Wall" - installed for G20 . Price tag: $246,000.
context_page_description: The 2010 G20 Toronto summit was the fourth meeting of the G20 heads of state/government, to discuss the global financial system and the world economy, which took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during June 26–27, 2010. The summit's priorities included evaluating the progress of financial reform, developing sustainable stimulus measures, debating global bank tax, and promoting open markets. Alongside the twenty-one representatives of the G20 major economies, leaders of six invited nations, and eight additional intergovernmental organizations also took part in the summit.
  Prior to the summit, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that the theme would be "recovery and new beginnings," referring to an anticipated economic stimulus from the impact of the ongoing world recession. Harper initially proposed to hold the summit in Huntsville, Ontario, where the 36th G8 summit was scheduled immediately prior. Organizers later deemed the town insufficient to provide hospitality for the large number of G20 delegates and journalists, favouring Toronto as the host location.
context_section_description: The financial costs of hosting the G8 and G20 summits was the topic of several political debates and the target of criticism by local groups. The reasons for the large price for both summits were questioned by some politicians and local groups. Members of Parliament Olivia Chow and Mark Holland labelled the initially claimed budget of $1.1-billion for hosting the summits as "obscene" and "insane" while others argued that the money could have been used for long-pending municipal projects in Canada, such as Transit City. The security cost for the two summits was believed to be more expensive than the combined security costs of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, which were $878 million.  However, according to final calculations from the House of Commons of Canada as of October 2010, the exact cost for holding both summits was $857,901,850.31, making it less expensive than the security costs for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
  It was initially claimed that the summits stand as the most expensive ever held, with security costs for the London and Pittsburgh reported as having been only $30 million and $18 million, respectively.  However, the Canadian Parliamentary Budget Officer, Kevin Page, stated in his official report on the costs of the Huntsville and Toronto gatherings that other countries had not been as open about the full price for the similar meetings held there and that the $18 million figure for the Pittsburgh summit was merely for overtime pay for local police and the cost of law enforcement brought from other regions.  Ward Elcock, former Canadian Security Intelligence Service director and the chief of the Integrated Security Units for the Winter Olympics and the G8/G20 summits, claimed that the security costs were in fact "comparable" with those of previous summits. Finance minister Jim Flaherty defended the security cost, claiming "it's necessary to spend substantially to have security. It's Canada's turn, and it's necessary that we either don't take our turn or pay the appropriate price to have the security that is necessary so that everyone is safe here in Toronto."
  The creation of the $23-million international media centre, which included the $1.9 million Experience Canada pavilion and $57,000 artificial lake, at the Exhibition Place was widely opposed and criticized by politicians as "a waste of taxpayers' money." Criticism mainly targeted Stephen Harper and Canada's Conservative government. Some protesting groups gave names to the artificial lake, such as "Harper's Folly". In a debate in the House of Commons, member Mark Holland said, "Instead of hosting world leaders, maybe the government should consider party planning for Lady Gaga." According to some critics, the spending misled the objective of the summits into showing off Canada's attributes instead of promoting the summits' agendas. New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton condemned the Harper government, saying, "we've got a government here that has to create an artificial lake when Canada has more lakes than just about any other country in the world. It is the taxpayers who are going to end up at the bottom of the fake lake." Transport minister John Baird defended the artificial lake, saying that the summits gave a "chance to showcase the very best that [Canada] has to offer." Foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon said it was "normal practice" for a country to showcase its attributes while hosting world events. Harper also defended by saying, "This is a classic attempt for us to be able to market the country." Upon its opening, the artificial lake received mostly negative reviews from Canadian reporters.
caption: $246,000 was spent on a Green wall for G20.[113]
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