A few years ago, Toronto made a serious bid to host an Olympic Games. Now, it is Vancouver's turn to pay homage to the Greek gods. Toronto failed to muster enough support but Vancouver, with its appendage of Whistler, feels it has the upper hand and will be selected to host the 2010 Olympics. Time, as with all things, will tell. In the meantime, the roar that Victoria hears is the voices of those in the province who are not supportive of the province's bid.
In a province where the Liberal [conservative] government has slashed public spending and where opposition to Victoria's actions is gaining momentum, the question most asked is why is there money to bid to host the 2010 Olympics but there is not enough money to keep open hospitals and schools? It is a question that is on the minds of many of the province's four million plus citizens.
One of the drawbacks to Vancouver's bid is the "Sea to Sky Highway" [part of Highway 99] that snakes along Howe Sound north of Vancouver on its way to Squamish and ultimately Whistler. The Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation told the IOC that the highway would be "upgraded significantly before 2010, to accommodate the growing needs of communities in this area." Victoria has proposed a widening to four lanes [although Premier Campbell recently has hinted that a three-lane affair might suffice] from the current two and straightening the roadway where possible. The price tag is estimated to be $1.3 billion with an additional $318 million from Squamish to Whistler, total $1.6 billion.
Four other routes were floated as alternates: Capilano route - 59 km - from North Vancouver along the east side of Capilano Lake through one of three regional watersheds. Price is estimated to be $2.3 billion. A second alternative is the Seymour route - 55 km - from North Vancouver through the Seymour watershed on the east side of Seymour reservoir to Squamish; $3.85 billion. The third route is the Indian Arm/Indian River route - 67 km - along the east side of Indian Arm, through Indian Arm Provincial Park, then along an old logging road to Squamish; $3.9 billion. The final alternative route is the Hybrid-Seymour Seymour-Indian River route. This route combines parts of both the Seymour and Indian Arm routes. It includes an eight-kilometre tunnel through mountains north of Mount Seymour. The estimated cost of this route is $3.9 billion. None of these routes is likely to see the light of day as strong opposition has been gushing from environmentalists and others who see any one of the alternates as an infringement on Nature.
Talk in the coffee shops, on the golf courses and in the hallways of business, centres around two salient points: one, can the province afford the 2010 Olympics, and two, if so, why cannot the province provide basic educational and medical facilities. Many British Columbians agree that this is not the right time to make a bid for the 2010 Olympics. They want their educational and medical facilities upgraded before money is spent on a highway that many consider a route for the rich to travel to Whistler to stay and play. A one-night stay in Whistler is well beyond the means of many 'ordinary' British Columbians.
Unlike the citizens of Bern, Switzerland - once considered the primary obstacle to Vancouver's bid - where by law they have a vote whether or not they want the Games, British Columbians are at the mercy of the Liberal government in Victoria; and Victoria wants the Olympics in 2010. Incidentally, the good citizens of Bern decided that the Olympic Games were just too rich for their taxpayer blood and voted to withdraw their 2010 bid. Wise people, those Swiss.
Bob Orrick is a private tutor of English grammar, literature, poetry and Canadian history to off-shore youngsters. His pupils hail from such places as Taiwan, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Venezuela. He was previously in international marketing, was a ministerial assistant to a provincial cabinet minister, spent a few years as a reporter then editor of a community newspaper and enjoyed a career in the Royal Canadian Navy.
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