Toronto Councillor Slams Federal Government Over G20 Summit

New arena built in Huntsville after G8 Summit

Toronto Councillor Adam Vaughan, is very frustrated with the Government's money disposable during the G20 Summit. He feels it isn't fair that many local businesses lost money during the Summit protests while millions of dollars was being given to Muskoka for the G8 Summit. Vaughan stated "The federal government has let down businesses in this city in a way that I just think that are beyond shameful." It was a day after a draft was leaked of Auditor General Sheila Fraser that Vaughan spoke up about this. According to the Canadian Press, Minister of Finance, Tony Clement, headed the entire G8 operation and picked the 32 projects which collected over 47 million dollars to operate. Tony Clement is the MP for the Muskoka-Parry Sound region.

Apparently his projects had no bearing on the G8 Summit. According to Conservative candidate John Baird stated that the money funnelled for Muskoka was their way of saying thank you for hosting the G8. With all that went on last year during the summit, many businesses were shut down for days and suffered physical damage due to the protests. So far, there has been 371 claims which totalled in $10 656 869. According to Vaughan, no businesses are getting near the amount of money that they had lost. One business made a claim for $300 000 and received $6000. The government stated that there will be no compensation for any physical damage inflicted during the protests. Business such as restaurants and others that stayed open were allowed to apply for compensation.

In a situation like this, I think it's a learning lesson for the government and for the local businesses. With regards to the damage done to the local businesses, I believe that there should be some more compensation for the damages caused from the G20 protest. The revenue loss should without a doubt be accounted for by the government. If the government did not have the money to pay for the damages that would be one thing but there is millions of dollars being given to Muskoka. I believe a majority of that money should be given towards fixing the damages that are still lingering from the G20.