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After the initial euphoria of Vancouver winning the bid to host the 2010 Olympics wore off,  I feel that several questions still need to be answered by all those involved: honestly and candidly. 

The question most asked is, when did we vote for this?  We did not vote for the Olympics in the true sense of casting a ballot.  A joint effort by developers and politicians shaped an ineffectually worded plebiscite (presented as an opinion poll). Approximately 12% of the population actually took part in this.  In order to bolster the numbers to the positive, mayors of Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver and North and West Vancouver were promised handouts to benefit their communities.  Originally, North and West Vancouver opted out of the referendum, citing a large increase in property taxes. The mayors of West and North Vancouver were pledged more money for transit in exchange for positive votes. When these mayors agreed to these assurances, they voted for thousands of people. Have these guarantees by the government been met?  

Also, who will ultimately pay for the Olympics?  What will be the final bill?  The government must be forthright, open and transparent about the costs.  In addition, the accounting must also be upfront, straightforward and easily accessible regarding the spending of public funds.  There also must be an open and honest evaluation of the sustainability of the costs after the Olympics. The multitude of cost-overruns and shoddy workmanship was finally admitted to when the media brought the information forth.  Even then, it took a considerable amount of effort among the reporters, political columnists and pundits to get a fragment of a truthful and direct answer. 

It is reasonable that if the monies for the Olympics are coming from the public purse, the public should be able to partake in what they paid for at a reasonable rate. When the tickets for the different events went up for sale, the average family of four was not able to afford the expense, even in the nosebleed sections.  This does not include the round trip cost of $28.00 for the bus to Whistler or $14.00 to Cypress. 

The means of buying tickets became complicated with direct buying, lotteries, bidding and scalpers.  Furthermore, the only credit card accepted is Visa. Then to add salt to the wound, the Liberal government spent almost a million dollars on obtaining 3,200 tickets for Liberal MLAs and cabinet ministers.  In addition, Crown Corporations; BC Hydro, ICBC, and BC Lottery Corporation also purchased 2010 tickets, at a cost of $1.5 million. 

Another question is, who will benefit or lose, directly or indirectly by having the Olympics here?  Many areas of British Columbia have already experienced loses caused by the Olympics.  The money from mental health services, childrens’ services, sports, education and housing has been diverted to cover shortfalls or overruns caused by the games.  This is in addition to previous cuts in the same areas. 

Several businesses will lose customers due to the rerouting of Cambie Street traffic and other road closures.  Many small businesses displaying the word ‘Olympic’ were forced to change the name of their operations.  The Olympic Pizza Restaurant in the west end of Vancouver fought a valiant battle against having to change the name of their restaurant, but in the end, they lost to the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VanOC). 

The Machiavellian manner of dealing with the homeless of Vancouver during the 86 Expo is being relived again as the homeless are forced out of their abodes, whatever they may be.  Instead of earmarking one billion dollars for security, that money could have staved off hardships, not just for the homeless, but the elderly, sick and unemployed. 

The Cariboo Connector is nowhere near completion as legal wrangling and discussions are still ongoing.  The Sea to Sky highway upgrade in anticipation of the Olympics still does not meet the needs of the traveling public. 

We need to be able to care for ourselves first, and then invite the world to visit us.  To insist that the world will be more open and accessible to us is a falsehood.  We have our Provincial and Federal leaders involved in creating business inroads with other nations.  We have entrepreneurs making deals in Russia, China and India, to name a few.  The cruise ship industry has introduced hundreds of thousands of people to Vancouver and British Columbia.  Many tourists consider Vancouver and British Columbia a desirable vacation local.  Expo 86 already opened the world to us, and we are benefiting from this---there is no need to repeat this again with the Olympics.  We arrived on the world stage over 20 years ago. 

By Jorunn Ivarsdatter
100 Mile House, BC