Toronto Mayor David MillerDella Rollins
Toronto's happy to host the G20 summit - really. As long as Ottawa's happy to pay for it.
City council renewed its call for Ottawa to formally commit to shoulder the financial burden of what a briefing note described as "the largest security event in Canadian history," and to compensate anyone detrimentally affected by the security-heavy event.
"One thing we've learned is, you want to get it in writing," Mayor David Miller told reporters. Similar summits in Quebec City and Pittsburgh lacked such formal agreements, he said, and those cities are still waiting to see the last of their compensation cheques.
"We can't reach an agreement with Ottawa because Parliament is prorogued. … We want to make sure we have a written agreement that covers all these issues."
The motions passed in council Monday authorizes the city to secure funding for extraordinary policing and other costs associated with the summit, "predominantly funded by the Government of Canada." The major exception to this, the report notes, is a radio communication system that was in the works earlier but will be fast-tracked to be ready in time for the June summit.
Details of the city's demands and estimates on just how much it will cost to police the international gathering were kept under wraps in an in-camera session.
Last Friday the federal government confirmed the June 26 and 27 summit will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, in the heart of the downtown core and abutting condominiums, banks and major transit thoroughfares. Since Ottawa first hinted last fall it would move the G20 summit to Toronto, away from the original G8 location of Huntsville, the city has made clear its preference for Exhibition Place as the preferred venue because it's further from the traffic-heavy downtown and is easily cordoned off.
Councillor Adam Vaughan has said he's worried the federal government doesn't appreciate just how much work it will take to secure the area, or how disruptive that might be for residents and businesses. The summit itself will last for 24 hours, but businesses in the area have been told it will require weeks of setup.
"Nobody in my ward is under any illusion this isn't going to be a significant issue to deal with," he said. "We're being given months to prepare and virtually no firm commitment that we're not going to be on the hook for this."
Mr. Miller emphasized that the city is looking forward to hosting the summit as its chance to shine - and he made it clear to councillors he expects a positive attitude and co-operation with Ottawa in preparation for the event.
"Members of this council, appropriately, have concerns about the costs of hosting the G20, the security aspects and also the disruption," he said. "I urge you to rise above those concerns, allow staff to deal with them and think of the opportunity that this city has this summer when we host the world."
Press secretary Sara McIntyre said the Prime Minister's Office is working in "close collaboration" with different levels of government and is still at the event's planning stages.
"We are developing a compensation plan that would address concerns raised by residents and businesses that might be affected by security arrangements."