Is it really a family photo, if one member of the family isn't there?

At the G20 photo session, there was a Canadian flag on the floor marking the spot for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. It was right beside Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The throng of photographers, including one from Canada, waited for Harper to arrive.

At one point the crowd parted as if someone was approaching. But in the end, Harper never showed up.

He was getting briefed on the draft communique by officials. And the official family portrait was taken, without him.

— Susan Lunn