Toronto Denied Compensation for G20 Summit

The Muskoka region received $50 million for the “inconvenience” of hosting the G8, while Toronto got nothing.

At a Commons committee yesterday, federal officials were unable to explain why Ottawa gave communities near Huntsville, ON millions of dollars to build sidewalks, bandshells, and bridges as compensation for hosting the G8 summit in June, but Toronto received nothing. Toronto’s downtown core was virtually shut down by the G20 summit as police tightly controlled who could enter a large security zone surrounding the meeting, and clashed with protestors who smashed windows and burned cop cars. As part of the generous G8 “legacy fund” North Bay, 100 km from Huntsville, received $10 million to revamp its airport, which was never used by G8 leaders. Hunstville is part of Industry Minister Tony Clement’s riding.