Olympic Retort IV: The End is the Beginning

This page attended yesterday's downtown rally to watch the closing ceremonies and the handover of the Olympic flag to Mayor Sam 'The Big Wheel' Sullivan. Italian sausage, pasta and pizza were served to simulate the Torino experience. A couple of bands played. Walnut Boat got to fire off a few rounds from a biathlon rifle. Much cheering, crying, and banging of those inflatable plastic thundersticks.

Now the real fun begins....or ends: If one takes a look at the plans for the entire local and regional public sector, pretty much everything has a 'best before' date of February 12, 2010 stamped on it. Given there will be a provincial election (2009), municipal elections (2008), and three or four federal elections before the torch is lit at BC Place Stadium, won't we be looking for a little more vision beyond the night of February 28 when that flame is extinguished?

We have heard that these are Vancouver's games, BC's games, Canada's games...but will they really be that way? Are these really are 'our' games if some of us can't afford to live here while City Hall takes away social housing? Are these 'our' games when organizers refuse to reach an agreement with local building trade unions and look to cheap foreign labour instead? If the powers that be refuse to answer those kind of questions, the elections that take place before 2010 might be needed to keep Vancouver's Olympic experience from going sour.