Vancouver View: Money Woes; Fakes Expected

Despite $113 million cash in the quarter ended April 30, VANOC offered a dose of pessimism on the June 16 financial release.

"While some experts are suggesting the worst is behind us, we don't believe we'll see a marked improvement in the 240 days left until the Games begin,” chief financial officer John McLaughlin said. "All of our partners and stakeholders are being impacted.”

McLaughlin said the worldwide credit crunch hit VANOC procurement efforts. He did not identify specific contracts or companies, but said financing troubles forced companies to withdraw and caused VANOC to pay higher prices in some cases.

“We're really happy with the companies we do have,” he said. “Sometimes we don't have as many to choose from as we had hoped.”

The unaudited report said VANOC has spent $483.7 million of its overall $516 million taxpayer-funded construction budget. It received $82.38 million from the IOC and $32.3 million in sponsorship payments and sold $52.9 million in Olympic family tickets. Deferred revenues to date exceed expenses by $162.2 million.

B.C. Place Budget Triples

The VANOC rainy day fund is just $1.15 million after $7.38 million was withdrawn for a secret cost increase at the Olympic stadium.

VANOC spent just $267,000 of the original $3.38 million budget at B.C. Place through April 30. The increase to $10.76 million was approved at the May 20 board meeting, but kept secret until June 16.

McLaughlin denied any connection to B.C. Pavilion Corporation’s $324.7 million pre and post-Games stadium renovation.

Cobb called it a capital cost with a legacy and “directly tied to the show that our executive producer wants.”

“We like to keep what we're doing secret until the ceremonies happen.” Cobb said.

“They need to be transparent on what’s going on and be honest with taxpayers,” said NDP Olympics critic Kathy Corrigan.

Meanwhile, Vancouver city council is expected to add another $19.48 million to the Vancouver Olympic Village on June 18 so that the $978 million project doesn’t fall behind.

“There remains a risk of unanticipated work and construction schedule challenges which could still result in additional costs, delay claims and/or acceleration requirements,” wrote project manager Bill Aujla.

Handover to VANOC is scheduled for Nov. 1. Cobb said he is “very confident we'll take over those units when we need them.”

International Criticism for 2010 Olympic Security

An international sports conference in England denounced the tactics of the RCMP-led Vancouver Olympic security force on June 12.

The Coventry Declaration was issued at the end of the sixth Play the Game conference at Coventry University. It condemned "any action in Canada that in any way, shape or form harasses, intimidates or threatens any writers or individuals who express ideas through words.”

The declaration proposed by Toronto journalist Laura Robinson was in reaction to a June 3 incident involving Chris Shaw, author of the Five Ring Circus: Myths and Realities of the Olympic Games.

Shaw was approached by two plainclothes police officers from the Joint Intelligence Group of the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit near his Vancouver laboratory. He declined their request for a private meeting to talk about opposition to the 2010 Games. Fourteen other members of the Olympic Resistance Network said they were either visited at their homes or near their workplaces by plainclothes officers on June 3 or 4.

Shaw, who spoke at Play the Game, was detained by United Kingdom customs officers when he arrived in the country for the conference.

"V2010 ISU is committed to and will continue to uphold and respect individuals Charter rights in accordance with Canadian laws all the while ensuring safe and secure Winter Games for Canadians and visitors to Canada," said RCMP S. Sgt. Mike Cote in an emailed statement.

No Richmond Olympic Expo in 2010

A $2 million, 20-day exhibition of Olympic memorabilia at Richmond city hall was canceled June 8 when city council voted 5-4 against spending another $444,000.

Mayor Malcolm Brodie, who voted with the minority, said it “would’ve been the icing on the cake” for Richmond’s city centre celebration site. Attendance was forecast at 80,000.

The council also decided to reconsider more than $622,800 of Games-related spending on fire services, VIP-hosting and decorations.

2010 Fakes Found

A Toronto intellectual property lawyer working for VANOC seized counterfeit toques bearing Vancouver 2010 and the Olympic rings in a suburban store.

“This is the first time we’ve seen this type of product here in Vancouver,” said Lorne Lipkus.

Lipkus forecasts the market will be flooded with fake Olympic souvenirs right before and during Games-time when VANOC hopes to sell much of its authentic inventory.

No link between Olympics and Sexploitation: Study

Vancouver won't experience an explosion of prostitution or human trafficking during the 2010 Games, says a report released June 11.

Human Trafficking, Sex Work Safety and the 2010 Games by Frontline Consulting for the Sex Industry Worker Safety Action Group said academic studies and media reports linking Athens 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup with increases in “sexploitation” were an "unsubstantiated assumption."

The report conceded Vancouver has a street prostitution problem in the Downtown Eastside and recommended a public information campaign, more crisis housing and training for emergency and law enforcement personnel.

(Prices reported in U.S. dollars unless noted. Exchange rate: USD$1=CAD$1.123)

With reporting from Bob Mackin in Vancouver.

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