G20 summit might move to Toronto area

Next year's G20 summit slated to be held in Ontario's Muskoka region might be moved to the Toronto area because of the logistics of holding the meeting at the popular cottage destination.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is leading the push to relocate the summit to Toronto or the Toronto area, but the final decision rests with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, sources told CBC News.

But Flaherty's office later denied that the finance minister was behind the charge to change locations.

The Prime Minister's Office said on Wednesday that no final decision on location has been made.

The G8 had already been scheduled to be hosted in the Muskoka regiontown of Huntsville in 2010. Butat the G20 summit in Pittsburgh in September,Harper announced Huntsville would also host the 2010 G20 summit.

Planners had been looking at holding both meetings at the same Deerhurst resort in Huntsville around the same time, with the G8 summit being held first, followed by the G20.

But a federal official told the Globe and Mail newspaperthatsecurity andlogistics might make it too difficult forthe resort to accommodate the large delegations that accompany the G20 leaders.

Now organizers are looking into holding the G8 summit in Huntsville, with the leaders heading to Toronto for the G20, the Globe and Mail reported.

A spokesman for Industry Minister Tony Clement, whose riding includesHuntsville, said no decision has been made yet.

"We are still examining the feasibility of hosting this in Muskoka,"Darren Cunningham told the Globe. "We've done the hotel room count and now it's a matter of making sure we look at things like securing off the roadways."