Olympic bid teetering on collapse

Calgary council’s Olympic committee will be asked Tuesday to withdraw from negotiations for a cost-sharing agreement to fund the 2026 Winter Games, cancel the Nov. 13 plebiscite and end any further work on a bid.

Following an intense weekend of negotiations, a recommendation is expected to come forward at Tuesday’s meeting of the Olympic committee to kill the bid.

“There were some last-ditch efforts happening (Monday) morning to salvage the bid, but it’s over,” said a senior municipal source with knowledge of the negotiations.

Committee members will be asked Tuesday to immediately terminate the bid and cancel the plebiscite — assuming a deal isn’t reached at the 11th hour to rescue the bid.

The decision won’t be final, however, until a full vote of council can be held Wednesday.

Talks between the parties continued Monday following a fraught weekend of negotiations that saw confidential correspondence from Mayor Naheed Nenshi published by Postmedia and accusations from the province that Ottawa isn’t bargaining in good faith.

Approximately $3 billion is required to cover the public portion of the Olympic bill.

Postmedia revealed late last week the federal government’s financial commitment would come with strings attached, including a condition the province and city match federal dollars.

While the condition appears to be in line with Canada’s host city funding policy, it came as a surprise to provincial and municipal officials who have been urging Ottawa behind the scenes for months to agree to take on more than 50 per cent.

In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Friday, Nenshi said the city had been “clear and consistent” that if the government of Canada required a dollar-for-dollar match, “this project cannot proceed.”

Nenshi went on to say with the plebiscite fast approaching, “citizens do not know what kind of a deal we are talking about despite our promises that they would have plenty of time to analyze the deal before voting.

“This is untenable,” Nenshi wrote, warning he would ask council to terminate the bid if a deal could not be reached.

Now council appears poised to make good on that threat Wednesday, less than two weeks before Calgarians are poised to head to the polls to vote on the Olympics.

The mayor’s office declined to comment Monday.

Calgary 2026 Bid Corp. also declined to comment on the possibility that council could kill the bid, but reiterated its position hasn’t changed and negotiations continue.

Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci told reporters the $700 million put forward by the province this month is “all we can do.

“The fact of the matter is the province isn’t in a position to put any more money in,” Ceci said.

If the feds can commit $1.75 billion in 2018 dollars to this project and drop their 50-50 funding rule, then we have what we need.

But he also said there is a glimmer of hope for the bid to proceed — at least as far as the plebiscite — though it depends on the federal government coming to the table.

“If the feds can commit $1.75 billion in 2018 dollars to this project and drop their 50-50 funding rule, then we have what we need and the bid can go ahead to plebiscite,” Ceci said.

“That is what was originally committed to during the negotiations and we hope they’ll follow through with.”

Coun. Ward Sutherland said committee members are expecting to learn Tuesday the outcome of negotiations between the different levels of government before they vote.

Sutherland said it’s been a “frustrating process” waiting for an agreement to emerge.

“We’re running out of time for Calgarians. It’s not fair,” he said.

Responding to public statements made by the federal Sport and Persons with Disabilities Minister Kirsty Duncan in an interview with CBC Monday, Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart tweeted that the “terrible” interview was emblematic of what the city “endured” in negotiations with Ottawa.

“Sunny ways. Hazy Days,” she wrote. “And now we pull the pin.”