With Cost of Fake Lake Harper Better Hope he Really Can Walk on Water

The G8 and G20 summits could very well become Harper's Waterloo, based on more than just the "fake lake" fiasco.

At a time when this government is telling Canadians they need to tighten their belts and that they can no longer provide free health care (at least that's what they told the American Christian Coalition. They wouldn't dare tell us that), the decadence and extravagance of these events is showing their hypocrisy.

A new poll reveals that the majority of Canadians do not support this:

With world leaders ready to descend on Ontario for the G8 and G20 summits, Canadians from coast to coast believe "it's not worth it." Echoing the criticism from opposition MPs about the ballooning costs of hosting the summits, more than two-thirds of Canadians said playing host to world leaders is a waste of money, according to an Ipsos Reid online poll conducted for Canada.com. Last year's G20 summit in Pittsburgh reportedly cost $18 million, while security costs at the meeting in London totalled $30 million.

By contrast, it is costing us 19 million just for flowers and dancers, 1 million for posters and almost a billion for security. And the Reformers are supposed to be fiscally conservative? They've turned this into a boondoggle, and we've become the laughing stock of other nations who are reporting this nonsense.

They can hardly wait to see a fake lake in a country known for it's beautiful genuine lakes. Or have the multinationals that Harper sold our water rights to forbid him to showcase their lakes? Will we have to pay them for the water to fill our "fake lake"?

Vinay Menon says it best:

By Tuesday, the Tories sensed they were sinking in the deep end with no political lifeguard in sight. So they took a breather from spending money like the Hilton sisters at a Louis Vuitton boutique to dam surging criticism. First of all, they clarified, it’s not a “fake lake.” It’s a “water feature.” And this thing that’s not a fake lake certainly will not cost $1.9 million, as was initially reported. That’s the total amount for the entire International Media Centre.

... Why are people freaking out? Simple. The fake lake has become a symbol of wasteful spending, of poor planning, of bureaucratic folly, of Harper hubris. With rising interest rates, HST and a job market still in critical recovery, this shallow “water feature” has captured the depths of our exasperation with politicians who seem to be peering through wet goggles as they ask us to tighten our belts. On the upside, I suppose, if they don’t have enough money left to truck in water, the fake lake could be filled with the tears of taxpayers. Stephen Harper knows where to look.

And they want to host Armageddon. What's that going to cost us?