B.C. and federal government officials knew in July 2007 that the RCMP budget for securing the 2010 Winter Olympics would cost taxpayers at least $466 million.
RCMP Access to Information documents obtained by the Work Less Party show a new estimate was presented by the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit to a joint federal-provincial security committee on July 6, 2007. Then-B.C. 2010 Winter Games Secretariat CEO Annette Antoniak was in attendance.
A July 12, 2007 RCMP update for Treasury Board Secretariat set mid-November 2007 as the "target date for public disclosure of validated security costs."
An urgent July 16, 2007 e-mail from RCMP financial management executive director Marty Muldoon to officer in charge of protective operations Peter Henschel said: "The worry is that if a media inquiry comes, we want to be prepared to soft-cell (sic) the numbers."
A July 16, 2007 briefing note informed new RCMP commissioner William Elliott that "the new and largely preliminary estimate is up considerably from the approved $175-million security budget."
It said the budget ballooned because of rising accommodation costs and other inflationary pressures, an increase in police personnel from 4,500 to 6,321 and an estimated $100 million for private security screeners, X-ray machines, fencing, lighting and accommodation fees.
The briefing note also said "key personnel" from VANOC, V2010 ISU and RCMP headquarters "will meet during the week of July 23."
The security committee heard Nov. 6, 2007 from Asst. Comm. Roger Brown, V2010 ISU chief Bud Mercer and B.C. RCMP chief financial officer Robert Jorssen that the total RCMP costs would be $490.3 million. When the overall $900-million budget was finally published on Feb. 19, 2009, it included $491.9 million for the RCMP.
Const. Bert Paquet said Mercer was not available for an interview. VANOC did not comment. A request to interview B.C. Olympics minister Colin Hansen was not fulfilled by deadline.
"This is a pretty crummy way to run a democracy and it highlights the utter lack of transparency when it comes to the Olympics," said WLP representative and 2010 Watch's Chris Shaw.
Bob Mackin reports for Vancouver 24 Hours.
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DPL
2 years ago
Heck why tell the folks
Heck why tell the folks about to get stuck with the bill? People have been saying since the beginning that the low ball figure was simply dumb. VANOC kept taking phot ops to say "Don't worry everything is correct, as we know what we are doing. Your present Premier made similar noises. what fools we BC citizens are to even listen to those liars, and worse re elect or support such people.
dave49
2 years ago
What about the cost of the Canadian Armed Forces?
What about the cost of the Canadian Armed Forces? They will be providing perimeter security and patrols up at Cypress.
The Blackbird
2 years ago
... plus American Military Air Support!
Are the Yanks doing us a neighbourly NORAD turn or are we outsourcing their Air Force and/or Navy fighter jets? If it's the latter, what's the price?
And who is it for? It surely isn't to protect the rights and freedoms of the ordinary Vancouver resident who couldn't dream of laying out $2,200 for a pair of Opening Ceremony tickets. The international elite will soon arrive and the streets will belong to them. It is they for whom we have handed the keys to our tax coffers. But are they really so special or is it that so many have pasts to be answered for? What I really want to know is, why aren't we charging them for the service?
Everyone knows we've had the worst child poverty rate in the country five years running at the same time as we are one of Canada's two "have" provinces. Making social legacy promises to win the Games and then allowing homelessness to triple while the economy was in a medium-long boom phase was abhorrent. I wonder sometimes if the Liberals and their supporters don't take pleasure in stomping on the poor. The evidence points to it.