NDP promises funding details 30 days before plebiscite
The NDP government says it will provide full details of its financial commitment to a potential Calgary Olympic bid at least 30 days before city residents go to the polls on the issue this fall, though the city is hoping for quicker delivery on those numbers.
A plebiscite on whether to support or turn down a bid for the 2026 Winter Games is slated for Nov. 13.
An Olympic hosting plan that includes capital and operating costs will be revealed at a Sept. 10 meeting.
That is when city council will decide whether to continue the bid for the Games, but it won’t contain details on provincial and federal funding.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi raised concerns at a committee meeting Tuesday that not enough information will be available for Olympic opponents and proponents, as well as voters, during the campaign.
Culture and Tourism Minister Ricardo Miranda, who is the province’s point man on the Olympics, was not available for an interview on Wednesday.
In a statement, Miranda’s press secretary, Marion Nader, said the province has had “productive discussions” with the city and the federal government and is working toward an all-party funding agreement.
“Our government has committed to Calgarians that all of the necessary information, including a budget and cost sharing breakdown, will be available to them 30 days before a plebiscite,” Nader said in an email, later clarifying that the information will be released “at least” 30 days before the vote.
Evan Woolley, the Ward 8 councillor who chairs council’s Olympic assessment committee, said Wednesday the city had originally hoped for those details by June.
He said he understands the difficulties facing senior levels of government on the issue but, ideally, the province — and the federal government — will make their commitments known well ahead of Oct. 13.
“I think we need to give Calgarians as much time as possible, so the sooner we can have the information the better,” said Woolley.
“The devil is in the details in terms of who is paying for what.”
Coun. Sean Chu expressed concern that not enough information has been made available leading up to the plebiscite vote.
“It’s very frustrating because we were initially promised to have consultations start in April, now we are in August,” Chu said.
“Can the citizen actually trust what’s going on? When are we going to get the information we need?”
Chu cited a recent city survey that showed for 73 per cent of voters, the No. 1 reason for opposing a bid was because of the potential costs and taxes.
“At the end of the day, taxpayers are going to pay it. If we don’t learn from history we are doomed to fail.”
There is no official price tag for the Olympics at this point.
In the past, the city estimated the cost of Calgary hosting the Games at around $4.6 billion, with the province and Ottawa expected to kick in about $1.2 billion each.
Nader said in her email that Alberta is working with the other levels of government to determine funding levels and is weighing economic benefits against the potential financial hit.
“We continue to explore what is feasible given Alberta’s recovering economy and other competing priorities like health care, education and infrastructure,” she said.
The provincial government mandated the plebiscite as a condition of providing $10 million in funding for the creation of the Olympic bid corporation.
It is giving $2 million to cover the cost of the vote, with half that amount already in the city ’s hands.
City solicitor Glenda Cole told council’s Olympic committee Tuesday that funding for the plebiscite is contingent upon the city conducting a minimum of 30 days of public engagement, “with facts,” ahead of the Nov. 13 vote.