Calgary’s Olympic bid could depend on Ottawa’s eco-position
The federal government is waiting to hear from the City of Calgary’s Olympic bid committee about what it might look like to host alpine events at Banff National Park before deciding whether environmental risks outweigh the benefits of using the site.
Kyle Ripley, head of the city’s bid group, said Tuesday that the lack of a definite site for alpine speed competitions remains a question mark. The project team favours using Lake Louise, a regular site of World Cup ski events, for a potential 2026 Games bid.
But Ripley said that Nakiska in Kananaskis Country, which hosted alpine events in 1988 despite suffering numerous postponements due to high winds, remains an option.
Jonathan Wilkinson, parliamentary secretary to Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, didn’t rule out the possibility of using Lake Louise but said discussions can’t properly take place until the city submits a proposal to Parks Canada. Wilkinson said McKenna has asked Parks Canada to contact Calgary so that it can better understand what they’re considering.
“Without seeing a proposal from them, it’s very hard to determine whether or not it would actually fit,” Wilkinson said. “Whenever you bring large-scale events into a national park, you’ve got to be concerned that you’re not putting stress on the environment, including things like grizzly bear habitat. We would need to see, though, what exactly it is that they’re proposing to know whether the impact would be significant or not.”
Factors include whether an Olympics would bring significantly more people, and necessary infrastructure, than what World Cup events demand. Wilkinson said there needs to be a balance between providing an enjoyable event for the public and respecting the environment.
“It’s been very clear for several years that there will not be significant additional development within the parks because it starts to tip the balance away from the mandate that Parks Canada has in terms of protecting the natural environment,” he said. “But it’s an ongoing conversation, and I think Canadians are of the view that we should not see significant additional development in our national park system.”
Wilkinson added it was unlikely certain park restrictions would be waived to accommodate potential development.
Conservative MP Blake Richards expressed support for the idea of hosting Olympic alpine events at Lake Louise, which is in his riding of Banff-Airdrie.
“Lake Louise is a world-class ski resort, which hosts international World Cup races every year, and would make an excellent venue,” he stated in an email.
The City of Calgary has said it won’t move forward with the bid if other levels of government aren’t on board to help foot the bill of hosting the Games.
Calgary’s existing infrastructure would bring down the $4.6-billion price tag, according to Ripley, but the bid project still needs a commitment from the province and Ottawa of $1.2 billion each by early next month before the city decides whether to submit a bid by late March.
Kent Hehr, minister of sport and persons with disabilities, was noncommittal when asked Wednesday whether the federal government will make a commitment according to that timeline.
“Our federal government is going to work with city officials to make a decision that’s correct, that’s right and not rushed,” he said. “We have every confidence that we’ll be able to get the best information possible for us to make the responsible decisions that Canadians expect us to make.”
Hehr, the MP for Calgary Centre, said he remembers the excitement of hosting the Olympics in 1988, a Games that proved it could be done efficiently and on budget.
“So, of course, with that knowledge, I say I’m pragmatically optimistic,” he said. “And yet, I’m not eight years old anymore, I’m not 12 years old anymore, I’m 48. You have to look at this in the pragmatic realities of how they are and that’s what we’re doing.”