[Cowperson]

Part of the backwash from these summits is a one-time opportunity for tourism branding on a global scale.

So, I guess it comes down to how cost-effective building this lake will be in that regard. Is the lake and the overlooking media centre worth the $2 million global exposure?

Will it make taxpayers money in the end? Did taxpayers get their money's worth in the end out of the large exposure of Calgary and Kananaskis for a previous G-8 Summit.

Hard to say.

I think that's where the real debate should be instead of focussing on a very simplistic argument that "building a $2 million lake is a dumb idea."

Cowperson