[LabComm] Campbell Putting Olympic Cart Before Horse

[Carole James]

Campbell Putting Olympic Cart Before Horse



VICTORIA—Before Premier Gordon Campbell approves cost overrun spending on Olympic venue construction, he should present British Columbians with the promised business plan, BC NDP Leader Carole James said yesterday.

"B.C. taxpayers are making a significant investment in the 2010 Olympic Games," said James. "And the B.C. Liberal government has a responsibility to spend those dollars wisely. But unfortunately for taxpayers, the government has failed to provide any transparency or public accounting of dollars spent to date."

The B.C. Liberal government promised taxpayers that the Vancouver 2010 Games would cost $600 million, and not a penny more. Since that promise was made, the Opposition has uncovered over $130 million in additional spending and $110 million in cost overruns.

Notably absent from the planning process is a business plan for the 2010 Games, which would provide taxpayers with a detailed financial plan including cost and cashflow projections. The business plan is required by the Multi-Party Agreement for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and has yet to be completed.

"This business plan is a key guiding document in the rollout to the 2010 Games," said James. "We are hundreds of millions of dollars into cost overruns, and yet we still don’t have a plan in place for transparent and accountable spending. The B.C. Liberal government must explain why the have not held up their end of the bargain and released this plan to the public."

"At the heart of this issue is the integrity of the process," said James. "Public accounting for the Olympic Games must be beyond reproach. The B.C. Liberal government continues to evade public scrutiny of dollars spent, and the public is losing faith that we will ever get a real answer about the true cost of the Games. They just can't trust the government to give them the real story."

"The B.C. Liberal government's Olympic legacy has been unaccountable spending, a lack of transparency, and a denial of responsibility for dollars spent. I'd like to see them take a step in the right direction - commit to public transparency for Olympic spending, beginning with the release of a real business plan to the public," James concluded.

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