Olivia Chow, MP

G20 Compensation

November 4, 2010

Ms. Olivia Chow (Trinity—Spadina, NDP):  

    Mr. Speaker, after sinking a billion dollars into gazebos and fake lakes, not a single penny has been given out to the downtown Toronto businesses who suffered huge losses from the Conservative G20 photo ops.

    There is nothing for broken windows, nothing for damages, nothing for lost sales, absolutely nothing for these business owners and their workers, not even an apology.

    When will the government pay up and apologize for the mess it created in downtown Toronto?

Hon. Peter Kent (Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas), CPC):  

    Mr. Speaker, there is a compensation policy in place and it is exactly the same as used by previous governments in past summits.

    This is on the website. All claims must be submitted by November 18 of this year to be eligible.

    The assessment of these claims will be made in close co-operation with Audit Services Canada, and payments will be administered in accordance with Treasury Board policy.

Ms. Olivia Chow (Trinity—Spadina, NDP):  

    Mr. Speaker, the so-called process the Conservatives have set up is slow, complicated, expensive, bureaucratic and does not even guarantee anything. Many business owners just gave up. Ninety-three per cent of downtown businesses suffered staggering losses in sales.

    They tell me that the boundary for compensation must be expanded. They want a fast, fair and transparent application process. They want to be compensated.

    When will the government cut the red tape and get the compensation done?

Hon. Peter Kent (Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas), CPC):  

    Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that my hon. colleague get the complaining companies to get those claims in the next two weeks. There are still two weeks.

    For the member’s benefit, I think that she and any other Canadians who have questions about the mechanism or who feel they may be eligible for compensation should consult the g20.gc.ca website.