Effectiveness, Management and Operation of the Expenses Incurred for the G8/G20 Summits

HOUSE OF COMMONS CANADA EFFECTIVENESS, MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF THE EXPENSES INCURRED FOR THE G8/G20 SUMMITS Report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates Hon. John McKay, P.C., M.P. Chair MARCH 2011 40th PARLIAMENT, 3rd SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. Reproduction or use outside this permission or without authorization may be treated as copyright infringement in accordance with the Copyright Act. Authorization may be obtained on written application to the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons. 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Additional copies may be obtained from: Publishing and Depository Services Public Works and Government Services Canada Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0S5 Telephone: 613-941-5995 or 1-800-635-7943 Fax: 613-954-5779 or 1-800-565-7757 [email protected] http://publications.gc.ca Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca EFFECTIVENESS, MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF THE EXPENSES INCURRED FOR THE G8/G20 SUMMITS Report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates Hon. John McKay, P.C., M.P. Chair MARCH 2011 40th PARLIAMENT, 3rd SESSION STANDING COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND ESTIMATES CHAIR Hon. John McKay VICE-CHAIRS Pat Martin Chris Warkentin MEMBERS Diane Bourgeois Jacques Gourde Paul Calandra Ed Holder Ron Cannan Hon. Geoff Regan Siobhan Coady Robert Vincent CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Marc-Olivier Girard LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Édison Roy-César, Analyst iii THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND ESTIMATES has the honour to present its ELEVENTH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(3)(c)(iv) and 108(3)(c)(viii), the Committee has studied the effectiveness, management and operation of the expenses incurred for the G8/G20 Summits, and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS EFFECTIVENESS, MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF THE EXPENSES INCURRED FOR THE G8/G20 SUMMITS ................................................................ 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Security and Organization of the G8 and G20 Summits ............................................ 1 Expenses Incurred for the G8 and G20 Summits ...................................................... 2 G8 Infrastructure Fund ............................................................................................... 5 Impact of the summits on businesses’ sales figures and management of compensation to businesses ................................................................................ 7 Management of compensation to businesses ...................................................... 8 Observations on some G8 and G20 summit expenditures ....................................... 10 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 11 LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 13 APPENDIX A: LIST OF WITNESSES ........................................................................... 15 REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE ............................................................. 17 SUPPLEMENTARY OPINION OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA ......... 19 vii EFFECTIVENESS, MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF THE EXPENSES INCURRED FOR THE G8/G20 SUMMITS Introduction From October 19 to December 9, 2010, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (hereafter the Committee) held five meetings looking into the effectiveness of the expenses incurred for the G8 and G20 summits. The Committee’s observations and recommendations are set out in this report. Security and Organization of the G8 and G20 Summits Appearing before the Committee, the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated that planning a meeting of the political leaders of influential countries is a huge undertaking, beyond the scope of the government’s usual activities: The host must shepherd the process of setting an agenda, must ensure all delegates will be housed and fed when they arrive, that media will be able to cover the event, and, most importantly, that all who participate are safe and secure. Hon. Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Evidence, No. 43, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, 8:35. Mr. Alphonse MacNeil, Division Operations Commander 2010 of the G8 and G20, Integrated Security Unit, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), told the Committee that the RCMP was responsible for security during the G8 and G20 summits: Guided by a number of acts and regulations, the RCMP was mandated to ensure the safety and security of all internationally protected persons during the summits. Additionally, we had primary responsibility to ensure the security for the proper functioning of the meetings. Mr. Alphonse MacNeil, Division Operations Commander 2010 of the G8 and G20, Integrated Security Unit, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Evidence, No. 33, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, 8:45. Mr. MacNeil stated that confirmation that the G20 would be held on the same weekend as the G8 led to a radical shift in approach and a substantial change in the budget. Over 20,000 officers were mobilized, the biggest mobilization of security personnel in Canada, he said. Although the summits lasted just three days, Mr. MacNeil said most of the security officers arrived at the venues 10 days before the summits. He stated that this increased security costs because food and accommodations had to be provided for the officers from the time they arrived. Mr. MacNeil stressed that the RCMP worked closely with its security partners and Public Safety Canada to develop and implement exhaustive, comprehensive security 1 plans. With regard to the command structure, he told the Committee that the City of Toronto was divided into four quadrants: [T]he RCMP had responsibility for the internationally protected persons and the venues. That’s the simplest way I can explain it. If you think about the MTCC and draw a circle around it, inside that circle was RCMP responsibility. If you draw another circle all the way around the hotels in downtown Toronto, that was RCMP responsibility, so even though it was within the city of Toronto, the RCMP had jurisdiction for that period of time, and Toronto had given us the authority to go ahead and look after it. Everything outside that circle—the interdiction zones and everything else in the city of Toronto—was Toronto Police Service jurisdiction, and they were responsible for command decisions on the ground at that level. Mr. Alphonse MacNeil, Division Operations Commander 2010 of the G8 and G20, Integrated Security Unit, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Evidence, No. 33, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, 10:10. Mr. Sylvain St-Laurent, Vice-President, Comptrollership Branch, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), stated that the CBSA processed more than 604 heads of state, foreign ministers, royalty, and heads of world organizations: Over the four-day period leading up to the summits, the CBSA processed over 604 heads of state, foreign ministers, royalty, and heads of world organizations, as well as approximately 2,000 people in their immediate entourages. In addition, the CBSA also processed over 250 individuals via ministerial level courtesy clearances for the over 90 preparatory visits in the six months preceding the summits. Mr. Sylvain St-Laurent, Vice-President, Comptrollership Branch, Canada Border Services Agency, Evidence, No. 33, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, 8:50. Expenses Incurred for the G8 and G20 Summits During its study, the Committee heard from various departments and agencies to examine how they spent their budget and to determine the total costs of holding the G8 and G20 summits. Appearing before the Committee, Mr. Ward Elcock, Former Coordinator of Olympic and G8/G20 Security, Privy Council Office (PCO), stated that the Government of Canada had set a total security budget of $930 million in view of the moderate risk of holding the two summits in Canada: Based on a medium threat assessment and a review of the business cases brought forward, the Government of Canada budgeted

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