Hosting world summits to cost Canada $ 1.2 billion

The G8 and G20 Summits to be held in Canada in June will cost the Canadian tax payers a whooping $ 1.2 billion.

The world leaders, who will gather in Toronto on June 25, including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will have total 'sit-down' time of  24 hours in three days. That's what Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Director of Communications Dimitri Soudas revealed at the technical briefing June 18 in Ottawa.   

For Soudas, the cost is worth every penny: The leaders have 'daunting challenges with the global economy being on the top of their agenda and will include issues like tackling rogue nuclear satesbesides dealing with the situation in Afghanistan, the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East.'

There's always a dummy car in US President Barrack Obama's motorcade, so as to ensure his location is not known.  He generally travels even in Washington with a 30-car motorcade. A report in the Globe and Mail reveals that 5 other heads of states have demanded motorcades with at least 35 cars.

This report also reveals that the Canadian government put out a tender for 52 deluxe motor coaches, 24 passenger buses, 70 passenger vans, 12 sedans and 55 cargo vans.  

To ensure safety of the visiting leaders – 18 world leaders for the G8 Summit and  34 for the G20 Summit, The Canadian integrated security forces will have 4,000 extra police and intelligence officers working round the clock for four days in Huntsville and 5,500 extra officers in Toronto.