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Our current Canadian Government is funny.  It campaigns to be tough on crime while cutting funding to women’s groups and trying to kill the Gun Registry.  Another ‘fixture’ in the Conservative platform is a strong sense of fiscal responsibility and wise money management.

Obviously, the best way to show Canadians about sound fiscal management going on under watchful Conservative government is to build a two million dollar fake lake.  I am not making this up, we are adding another two million dollars onto the millions we are pissing away on the G8 summit.

“Prime Minister Stephen Harper has defended building a $1.9-million tourism pavilion at the G8/G20 summit media centre in Toronto that includes an artificial indoor pool to simulate Ontario’s cottage country.”

One of the traditional ‘selling points’ about Canada is our abundant natural environment.  Apparently, Mother Nature fails in the Conservative play book.

Your Tax Dollars in Action!

So instead, lets build a fake lake.

“His comments[Harper] came as the government scrambled Tuesday to correct the price tag associated with the so-called fake lake at the $1.9-million G8/G20 “Experience Canada” pavilion in Toronto’s Direct Energy Centre.

During Tuesday’s question period in the House of Commons, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff asked how Harper could instruct other countries how they should manage their own funds amid the government’s “astonishing” waste of taxpayers’ money on the summits.

The Liberal leader also questioned how much the public could expect to see at the end of three days of meetings, with topics such as climate change not even on the agenda.

“Canadians wanted leadership, and all they got was a fake lake,” Ignatieff told the House.”

I think Ignatieff is being a little hard on Harper and the government.  I mean, for a 3 day meeting experiencing the (simulated) Ontario cottage country 1.9 million dollars is super cheeeep!  Only more outrageous things could cost more such as, oh say, actually going to cottage country?

Wait..no no no it can’t be just a lobe shattering grossly negligent abuse of the public purse.  It is a marketing opportunity!  Steven the Harper-Douche says so!

“In fact, it’s a $2-million marketing project,” Harper said, “We must not miss this opportunity.”

The mock lake inside the centre will actually be a 10-centimetre-deep pool, built at a cost of $57,000, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon told the House. It was initially reported the pool itself cost $1.9 million.

Liberal MP Mark Holland hit back, saying $57,000 is more than the annual income for 40 per cent of Canadian families.”

Amazing! I’m sure the ‘buzz’ generated will pay big dividends to the poor people of Canada, I can just imagine the dollars rolling in!

This government is anything but fiscally conservative when it comes to spending the tax dollars of Canadians.

Extra Bonus!

The Liberal Party does Fake Lakeing on the Thrifty-Side!

“OTTAWA – Creating fake lakes for the amusement of reporters appears to be turning into a cottage industry.

Liberals have installed their own water feature in the garden at the Official Opposition leader’s residence in Ottawa.

And, they’ve done it for just $19.95 _ a fraction of $1.9 million the Harper government is spending to recreate the look of Muskoka cottage country in a Toronto media centre for the G-8 and G-20 summits.

In the middle of Liberal Leader Michel Ignatieff’s yard was a blue plastic children’s wading pool. A cardboard plaque proclaimed it to be “Fake Lake Harper” and warned “No Diving.”

Another sign declared the pond to be a project funded by the federal economic action plan, “supporting Canada’s fake lake industry.”

Obviously some political hay is being made at the Conservative Governments’ expense.  I’m okay with that.

“Reporters were invited to lounge on vinyl Muskoka chairs and watch plastic ducks and tiny boats bobbing in the pond, while recorded loon calls played in the background. Life jackets were available for anyone who wanted to venture into the three-inch deep waters.

One boat _ carrying muppet Ernie and his rubber duckie _ was dubbed the “Captain Tony,” after Industry Minister Tony Clement, whose Muskoka riding has been flooded with cash in advance of the G-8 summit.

A remote controlled craft with a plastic action figure glued to its deck was dubbed the “Stuntwell Day” — a reference to Treasury Board president Stockwell Day, who once famously arrived for a press conference wearing a wetsuit and riding a personal watercraft.”

This will end badly for the Conservatives.  Probably not as bad as their leader arriving to a press conference on Jetski, but close.

I miss the days when the Conservatives could actually display how batshite crazy they actually are. Thanks to the Harper 'Muzzle on the Crazy' we'll have to be happy with the Fake Lake-Gate scandal.