OTTAWA – By rights, the twin glow of the G8/G20 summits should have been a shining moment on the world stage for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

But that moment in the spotlight risks being eclipsed by enduring economic woes, bank taxes, a push to discuss climate change and an eye-popping $1-billion security tab that has Canadians everywhere shaking their heads.

Not to mention that locking down Canada’s biggest city and disrupting the lives of thousands of residents on the June 26-27 weekend risks putting many Torontonians in a surly mood.

As Harper is learning, invite the world’s leaders to your doorstep and there’s a risk that the world will intrude on your carefully scripted gatherings.

His government’s policy on aid money for abortion has turned Harper’s hand-picked centrepiece initiative into an embarrassing source of division likely to distort efforts to galvanize global action to help improve the health of desperately poor women in the Third World.

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/819313--is-the-shine-coming-off-harper-s-summit-spotlight