Fakelakegate: Canada accused of not living up to its claim of fiscal prudence for summits

Canada derided for plan to build costly fake lake

TORONTO — Canada’s spending of a mind-boggling $900 million to protect the two global summits it’s hosting this month was bad enough.

Now, planners of the the G-8 and G-20 summits are running into howls of derision for trying to showcase Canada’s tourist appeal by building a $2 million media center that includes an artificial lake with canoes, trees, deck chairs and a fake dock.

Supporters say the costs are justified by the summits’ prominence and security risks.

The more than 3,000 journalists expected at the June 25-27 events can’t all fit into picturesque, tourism-friendly Huntsville, and most will cover the proceedings from Toronto, on Lake Ontario. The display called “The Canadian Corridor” is supposed to make up for what the media are missing by being shut out of Huntsville.