The Ontario government is defending spending nearly $700,000 to put Crown lawyers and judges up in luxury resorts for two conferences last year.

Premier Dalton McGuinty said the meetings at Blue Mountain and Deerhurst resorts were legitimate and "a good investment."

"I think the public understands it's important that we bring them together so that they can sharpen their skills and become more effective at conducting prosecutions and securing convictions," McGuinty told reporters on Wednesday.

Attorney General Michael Bryant said any criticism over the conferences is just "boneheaded."

Opposition parties say there is no reason for putting judges and lawyers up at luxury resorts when there is plenty of government-owned space in Toronto.

"Whenever we're doing conferences and we're trying to educate people that work for the provincial government, I think we need to take a look and see are there provincial buildings that could be used, at no expense to the taxpayers," said Progressive Conservative MPP Elizabeth Witmer.

Last year's three-day meeting of 600 Crown attorneys at Blue Mountain resort cost taxpayers almost $450,000 -- up from $174,000 taxpayers shelled out for a similar meeting two years ago.

Judges and justices of the peace racked up a bill of $246,000 at the posh Muskoka golf resort of Deerhurst last year -- up from $50,000 two years ago.

The province pays all the costs of the conference, including travelling costs.

Greg Crone, spokesman for Bryant, said the "long-standing'' meetings have been going on since the 1960s and are a rare chance for Crowns and judges to get together to discuss the profession.

With a report from CTV's Paul Bliss and files from The Canadian Press