A ‘No’ vote on Games is a ‘Yes’ vote for Calgary

IOC not the kind of outfit you want to do business with, Erin Waite says.

The NoCalgaryOlympics campaign has, unsurprisingly, been called negative and naysaying. But those who follow our campaign and have joined us know that we are committed to respectful conversation and sharing accurate, relevant information. It was the search for this very information that led me to take a No position, even as my passion for our city has only grown stronger.

I love cheering on our Calgary teams and athletes, and being part of a city that is quick to say Yes! I don’t wear the No cloak very easily.

But the more I learned about the International Olympic Committee and the raw deal that is the host city contract, the more concerned I became.

No matter how Olympic hosting costs are shared, the host city contract makes Calgary solely responsible for cost overruns.

And if we have a change in provincial government and their financial support goes away, can Calgary taxpayers pick up the tab?

Our council’s missteps and lack of transparency added to my discomfort. At the end of the summer, a councillor asked, pointedly, why we were pursuing an Olympic bid, and neither his peers nor the bid committee staff could answer. After pouring millions of dollars into a bid development process, there was no clear — never mind compelling — reason “why.”

Watching the process over the summer, the problems continued. Are we confident in a process when every deadline has been missed? We already have cost overruns for creating a bid document — what are the chances there will be more? So far, 150 city employees have been working on the bid. Can we afford this cost and distraction?

But as my worries grew, I realized something: saying No doesn’t come from a negative place at all.

We’ve come together, and thousands of Calgarians are joining us, because of our confidence in Calgary.

We believe in our capacity to retain and build on our position as a great place to live. We know who we are: a city that has initiated and innovated a successful, world-renowned energy sector. We have created the nationally significant and envied Calgary Exhibition and Stampede.

We aren’t saying No to the Olympics because we question our ability to take on a major, multi-year, billiondollar project. We have the capacity for just about anything.

We simply don’t want the IOC as the counterparty.

Ironically, the negativity comes from the Yes side. We are hearing from Yes proponents that if we don’t host the Olympics, we’ll crumble as a city. Their leader says that short-term, low paying jobs are “better than nothing.” This pessimistic take isn’t worthy of our fine city. It’s frankly insulting to think of hosting the Olympics again as a way to “help us figure out who we are.”

Calgarians who love their city will vote No. Calgarians who are confused by the city setting an austerity budget that cuts basic services while spending billions on the IOC will vote No. The Calgarians I know aren’t fooled by false claims, understated costs, and risks that we can’t afford —they are voting No.

Saying No to the IOC’s party tells our city council, provincial and federal governments more about the heart, energy and focus — the identity — of Calgarians than the IOC will ever understand.

By saying No, you’ll be saying to council: Let’s shape our future, build our economy, and grow our city so that it works for all Calgarians, not just a few who would benefit from hosting the Games.

The plebiscite is an opportunity for Calgarians to say No.Why?

Because we can do better.