A violent anti-G20 protester uses a hammer to smash the windows of a downtown Toronto office tower on June 26, 2010.Simon Hayter/Getty Images
The federal government is paying out less than $2-million in compensation to Toronto businesses affected by the 2010 G20 meetings, a fraction of the $11-million requested.
Normal business life in downtown Toronto essentially shut down during the summit as protesters moved in to fill the largely deserted streets. Some protesters vandalized storefronts, leaving owners to ask Ottawa for compensation.
New statistics tabled in Parliament this week reveal that Ottawa received 367 claims for compensation, totalling $11-million. However only 149 claims have been paid, for a total of $1.9-million. A total of 166 claims were rejected.
A further 47 claims have been deemed eligible, but have not been paid yet because the claimants have not signed a required waiver. The government's guidelines for compensation indicate that recipients of federal compensation must sign a waiver "releasing the Government of Canada from any liability in relation to the implementation of the Extraordinary Security Measures."