Toronto Police Bypassed Spending Procedures for G20 Summit

The force says there wasn’t time to spend money through normal channels.

According to an expense report submitted to the police board on Monday, the $13 million Toronto police spent on equipment, hotel rooms, and meals during the G20 summit was not submitted to the usual approval process. Police board chair Alok Mukherjee said the force had a relatively short timeline between the time it learned the summit was being moved from Muskoka to Toronto and the start of the conference, and had no choice but to rush the expenditures. The skirting of normal procedures was approved by both the city and the police board. The expenses are being forwarded to the federal government, in the hope that Ottawa will pick up the cheque. The Conservatives have been criticized for the high cost of the summit, which topped $1 billion.