Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure to rise today to speak to this motion.
We are building on the success of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and promoting Canada throughout 2010: our year in the global spotlight.
The summits will provide international media exposure for our country and are a great opportunity to showcase all that Canada has to offer as a gracious host and as a terrific destination.
Muskoka and Toronto are ready to host world-class summits.
The security plan has been developed by Canadian experts. By authority of the Foreign Missions and International Organizations Act and section 17 of the RCMP Act, the RCMP is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of all summit participants when they arrive in Canada to take part in the meetings.
As the House is no doubt aware, the RCMP has extensive experience in securing major events, such as the Sommet de la Francophonie, the North American Leaders Summit, G7 meetings and, most recently, the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
The RCMP is leading a G8 and G20 summits integrated security unit, also known as the ISU. It is comprised of partners from the Ontario Provincial Police, Canadian Forces, Toronto Police Service and Peel Regional Police. Each agency brings valuable expertise, as well as experience drawn from past major events or security operations to the ISU team. Integration has always been an important part of the planning components for the RCMP.
By bringing together partners from some of Canada's top security forces, the RCMP and its partners have fully integrated the planning process to ensure that seamless security and public safety services are provided.
The RCMP and its partners have extensive experience planning for major events like the G8 and G20 summits. They have had significant successes with major past events, such as the Olympics, the Sommet de la Francophonie and the North American Leaders Summit.
Members of the ISU have taken best security practices from these past events and they have developed a plan that specifically addresses the security needs for the G8 and G20.
A number of factors, such as location, threat level and stature of participants play a significant role in determining a security plan and subsequent security costs.
There is currently no major event comparable to the security planning being conducted by the ISU in preparation for the G8 and G20 summits.
In terms of costs, John Kirton, the director of the University of Toronto's G8 research group, said that the cost to host the G8 and G20 in and around Toronto next month is “within range”, of what similar summits cost, adding, also, “If you want to be at the G8 table, you can't go to the washroom when the bill comes in”.
Planning for the safest and most secure environment possible is the ISU's top priority. The preparations involve extensive planning and extensive coordination in the months leading up to the summit.
One of the largest challenges for the RCMP and its partners is the significant number of summit participants.
Known as internationally protected people, Canada will be welcoming some of the world's most influential leaders. Working closely with the Ontario Provincial Police, the police force of jurisdiction in Huntsville and the Toronto Police Service, which has jurisdiction in the city of Toronto, the ISU will be ensuring that these visiting dignitaries receive the best protection Canada has to offer.
These two major events represent a considerable undertaking for all agencies involved in security operations in the ISU. We are ready. And we are confident in the plan. All these preparations have been done so that the participants will be able to focus on the importance of these meetings, not on matters of security.
We have a great advantage by being able to draw upon RCMP members since they come to any situation with excellent training and experience, and are strategically positioned across the country to respond quickly and effectively wherever they are needed.
There has been a lot of criticism from the opposition about the cost of hosting these world-class summits. Let me assure members opposite that this government, working closely with security experts in the ISU, have taken the necessary steps to ensure security costs are effective and efficient.
The creation of the ISU itself is a cost-saving measure. Planning in a joint operational structure allows the RCMP to share assets with law enforcement partners and ensures there is no cost overlap on human resource requirements. The RCMP has also undertaken internal reviews of its security plans and adjusted cost and plans wherever it was able to without compromising the security for the events. The simple reality is security costs money.
As Ward Elcock, coordinator of the 2010 Olympic and G8 and G20 security has said, the reality is that many countries have not been as transparent as Canada has traditionally been. We were one of the first countries ever to have published the all-out number on security spending for the Olympic Games. He also warned against taking at face value all the figures that have been floated in the media about the previous costs for these summits. He said:
We have been much more transparent about total costs.
Canada's Auditor General has echoed that sentiment saying:
Obviously $1 billion is a lot of money, but I think we have to realize that security is expensive. There are a lot of people involved over a very long period of time.
We may think that the meetings only last for a few days, but all the preparations involve extensive planning, extensive co-ordination for months before that, and I think we have to be very careful.
I noticed in some of the media reports there was a comparison to another number of I think it was $179 million. I think we have to be very careful in those comparisons, because my understanding is that the $179 million is really partial funding, and the way government funds these things, it was not an initial estimate of what the costs would be.
When it comes to the costs, it is very important to get the facts correct. In March, $179 million was allocated as part of the overall security budget for the G8 and G20 summits. The recently tabled supplementary estimates (A) allocated a further $654 million. As we have always stated, overall costs will be finalized following the completion of the summits. However, based on a medium threat assessment, we have budgeted up to $930 million for security.
Global security begins at home. As hosts of the G8 and G20 summits, we will be prepared to respond to any possible situation or threat. We will take all measures necessary to ensure Canadians, delegates and international visitors remain safe. This also involves testing our plans.
The ISU and its partners recently tested the security plans in an exercise that was called “Trillium Guardian”. Through Exercise Trillium Guardian, the ISU confirmed a functional, integrated command and coordination structure with effective information and intelligence sharing in support of the Canadian national security and emergency management framework for the summits.
Virtually all summit plans and procedures were tested, and it should come as no surprise that there are solid security plans in place to meet a number of potential threats to the summits.
The reality is that Canada is hosting the G8 and G20 summits in less than a month and we are proud to be hosting the world leaders. Unlike the Liberal leader who never misses a chance to run down Canada, we are focused on showcasing Canada. While the Liberal leader said he is embarrassed of Canada, we are looking forward to sitting down with our friends and our allies. We are focused on welcoming the world once again this year to our great country.
Canadians know that. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, our government is proud of Canada's leadership on the world stage.
For example, when our Prime Minister had a successful and important visit to China last fall that also addressed the issue of human rights, the Liberal leader took the side of the Chinese and criticized the government for raising the issue. Typical of the Liberal leader who has criticized our government's principled position on human rights and instead said, in dealing with China, we should:
lower the volume...quietly.
When Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a hateful rant in the United Nations, the Liberal leader criticized the government for being absent. This is, of course, coming from the same Liberal leader who was absent from Canada for 34 years and only returned to Canada to be prime minister. It is the same Liberal leader who bashed our flag, calling it a:
passing imitation of a beer label.
It is the same Liberal leader who is embarrassed that Canada is leading on the world stage, but his failure to stand up for Canada once again demonstrates that he is not in it for Canadians. He is just in it for himself.
We are in it for Canadians. We are in it to show leadership on the world stage. We are in it to work with our friends and like-minded allies on issues of development, democracy, peace and security; and we are in it to address the gravest threat to world security: nuclear arms falling into the wrong hands.
The opposition does not get it. Global security begins at home. As host of the G8 and G20 security summits, we must be prepared to respond to any possible situation or threat. We will not be influenced by thugs who want to disrupt the summits and we are on track to host safe and secure G8 and G20 summits.
Participants have an expectation that we will provide the appropriate level of security. Canada deserves nothing less.