Relaxing on the Shores of the G-8. Well, Sort of…$57,000 Fake Lake Created at G-8 Summit for Media

Ah, the peacefulness of it all. Relaxing by Lake Muskoka in Canada. Birds singing. Cool breezes. Paddling a canoe around the lake taking in the scenery. It certainly takes the edge off of dealing with world leaders from eight different super powers who have descended upon the area, including President Obama.

Oh wait, the birds are piped in via audio speakers and there are no cool breezes inside the Toronto media center, and there actually isn't enough water for the canoes to float. And the background scenery, well it's a jumbo-tron screen showing video of others enjoying Lake Muskoka. But at least the Adirondack deck chairs are real!

The total for this idyllic scene which was made for the media and dubbed the "fake lake" by outraged members of Canada's parliament is $57,000.00 -- down from the original price of $2 million.

Showcasing one's country doesn't come cheap. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has come under scrutiny for the expense of hosting both the G-8 and G-20 summits back-to-back. With costs coming in at $1 billion for security alone, the three day weekend summits surpass the bill for the winter Olympics Canada hosted earlier this year.

Harper never actually asked for the lake and the media center was put together by the organizing team. But as the leader of the country, he's taken the brunt of the blame for the costs by Canadians and members of parliament.

Canada's New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton told reporters shortly after the price tag was announced for the “fake lake,” "If there was one thing that we didn't have to create artificially in Canada, it would be a lake." Layton questioned Harper's judgment for sinking $23 million into a media center. "I thought this government prided itself on good economic management. Well, they're certainly not putting it on display right now," Layton added.

The Canadian Press reported protestors Friday panning the lake, unveiling their version which was a children's splash pool with a deck chair accompanied with a sign, "Community organizers provide media lake for $12.99."

World leaders have gathered for the G-8 summit about two hours north of Toronto in the lake region known as Muskoka where they will discuss a number of issues including global economy, health care for women and children in developing countries as well as security issues involving Iran, North Korea and Middle East peace. The G-8 leaders will leave the lake setting Saturday morning to join the rest of their G-20 colleagues in Toronto where the second summit will take place during the remainder of the weekend.

But if they miss Lake Muskoka, they know where to find a deck chair to relax.

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Fox News' Ed Lewis contributed to this report.