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Naming Agency Sinks “Harper’s Folly”
A federal government agency appears to have thrown a bucket of cold water over a Council of Canadians attempt to highlight what the Council believes is wasteful spending for the G8 and G20 summits.
The Council was particularly upset about the $1.9 million earmarked to build a lake inside the Direct Energy Centre, where the world’s media will be headquartered from June 25 to 27. The lake will come complete with docks, fake canoes—even a Jumbotron—and is meant to replicate a Muskoka vacation spot.
The Council wanted the Geographical Names Board of Canada to officially name the lake “Harper’s Folly.” But Council spokesperson Dylan Penner now says their attempt has been nixed by the board.
“The GNBC informed us that they don’t name fake lakes,” Penner said. “Our aim was to highlight how the G8 and G20 summits are a waste of money and should be scrapped. Spending $2 million on a fake lake is just one ridiculous example of how more than $1 billion is being wasted on these summits.”
Yesterday, the Council, well-known critics of the Conservative government, submitted an official application to the board to have the lake named after the Prime Minister as a mark of their opposition to the summits, which they believe aren’t worth the cost to taxpayers.
The attempt may have been turned down by the board, but Penner says the issue’s not quite dead yet. He points to a CBC poll asking Canadians for their name suggestions. So far, “Harper’s Folly” is the runaway leader in that poll, followed by “Boondoggle Bay,” “Lake Fake,” and “Whatever, Just Don’t Block the Jumbotron While the Rest of the Reporters Are Watching the World Cup.”