Officials block out fiscal implications of hosting big athletic events

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Re. Sim and Eby must come clean about FIFA World Cup costs.

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Carson Binda’s March 13 column is a stark reminder of the misguided government decisions to host extraordinarily expensive athletic events. He poses questions of the fiscal, moral and ethical kind.

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Leadership is often lacking in systematically assessing the potential impacts of World Cup and Olympic events because they’re grand and draw attention. In short, hosting a series of Cup games is seductive, irrespective of cost. And the elected officials can’t help themselves in their enthusiasm, completely blocking out the fiscal implications for undermining the improvement of community social needs.

One only has to remember the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, which overran a budget that took the city 30 years to pay off. For Vancouver in 2010 the cost overrun was reported as $110 million.

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Unfortunately, compromised or absent memory seems to be at play.

Bill Hubbard, North Vancouver

Re: Dan Fumano: Vancouver city council opts to not reprimand Mayor Sim for code of conduct breach.

Talk about seeming to make a mountain out of a molehill. Mayor Ken Sim apparently forgot or neglected to give park board commissioner Laura Christensen “reasonable opportunity to participate in an important meeting while she was at home with a newborn.”

Integrity commissioner Lisa Southern received a complaint from “a member of the public” on this issue and it was deduced that the mayor’s oversight created a “discriminatory work environment.” How and for whom wasn’t logically explained.

Add Coun. Pete Fry’s seemingly sanctimonious comment that the oversight also constituted a matter of integrity, discrimination and human rights and that now the whole of city council, according to his wisdom, should receive training on human rights obligations. Wow.

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It’s noted the mayor has four children. Is it possible that he wanted to give Christensen time to focus her energy on her new child? Let his apology stand and everyone move on to running the city.

Judy Lee, Langley

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