View of the Canadian pavilion promoting the 2010 Winter Olympics which will be held in Vancouver 09 February 2006, in downtown Turin.

(John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images)

Preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics are already generating controversy, thanks to construction boom-inflicted cost overruns, environmental concerns and Olympic committee's secretive accounting practices.

VANOC, the committee responsible for the Olympics, announced recently that venue construction costs have jumped $110 million dollars, from $470 million to $580 million. To make up the shortfall, VANOC has asked the federal and provincial governments to pitch in $55 million each, which includes a contingency allowance of $26 million to cover future potential cost overruns.

"It's a lot of money and we don't take it lightly," VANOC CEO John Furlong told a news conference. "We believe that we have done everything in our power to deliver cost efficiency and value in every facet of our construction program and that effort continues."

While VANOC is "determined" not to ask for any more money from taxpayers, NDP Olympics critic Harry Bains accuses VANOC and the government of mismanagement and a lack of transparency. With a substantial portion of the costs incurred by the games exempt from the freedom of information law, Bains says it's "regretful" that the B.C. Liberals rejected a proposal in 2003 to have the auditor general to monitor Olympics-related spending.

"The secrecy that the government has surrounded the Olympics with is disturbing," says Bains. "It's very frustrating that since 2002 the minister hasn't come clean with the public in advising them how much it will actually cost them by 2010."

In December VANOC warned that a major construction boom in B.C. could drive the cost of the games up by as much as 50 percent. Venues that have been affected by higher construction costs include the Olympic athlete's village, and the expansion of Vancouver's convention centre to accommodate the world's media. The speed skating oval being built in Richmond at a cost of $180 million - $120 million of which will be paid by Richmond taxpayers, according to Bains - has also incurred overruns.

Critics believe there will be more announcements of cost overruns between now and 2010.

The 1976 summer games in Montreal landed taxpayers with a $1.5 billion debt that will finally be paid off this year. The 1988 Calgary winter games, at a cost of $1 billion, cost more than twice what was initially estimated.

Still, Calgary did better than most. The 1988 Olympics were the first Winter Games to make a profit. The revenue generated by those games has helped maintain Calgary's top-of-the-line winter sports facilities and help train future Olympians.

The 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, the biggest and most expensive winter games ever at the time, cost $2 billion, $625 million of which fell on the shoulders of the taxpayer. Those games also turned a profit, but largely because facilities came in under budget. The Mayor of Turin, on the other hand, recently stated on CBC that the city lost $80 million on the 2006 Winter Olympics. An anti-games spokesperson claimed the actual loss was much higher, at $250 million.

The total budget so far for the Vancouver games is set $2 billion. Some of the events, like hockey, curling and figure skating will be held in Vancouver while alpine skiing, bobsled, luge, and others will take place in Whistler, two-and a half hour north of Vancouver.

Two hikers walk through Eagleridge Bluffs, West Vancouver, Canada, the site of a proposed highway expansion for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. (Cathryn Atkinson/AFP/Getty Images)

One of the major controversies surrounding the Vancouver games is the expansion of the Sea to Sky Highway that connects Vancouver and Whistler and runs through the scenic Eagleridge Bluffs.

Dennis Perry, President of the Coalition to Save Eagleridge Bluffs at Horseshoe Bay, a group opposing the freeway, says two fragile ecosystems will be destroyed if it goes ahead: the Larsen Creek wetlands and an arbutus forest. Perry says the wetlands are home to two endangered species — the Red-legged Frog and the Alligator Lizard.

"Both of these ecosystems have been referred to in the Ministry of Transportation's own reports as the most sensitive ecosystems on the entire Sea to Sky corridor from Horseshoe Bay to Whistler," says Perry. "Now they're ignoring their own data."

Perry says alternatives such as widening the existing highway and building a four-lane divided tunnel underneath the land that includes Eagleridge Bluffs were rejected by the government. The Mayor and Council of West Vancouver, North Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver Regional District all support the tunnel option and oppose the overland highway.

"Why would you ignore sustainability and destroy all this when there are viable routes that don't have a negative impact?" says Perry. "This is just going to totally destroy the western portion of West Vancouver and destroy one of the busiest tourist spots in British Columbia."

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon wasn't available for comment, but a 2004 Ministry of Transportation news release stated that the overland highway was chosen over the tunnel because it will cost $40 million less and will be safer and cheaper to maintain. The release also states that the Highway Improvement Project has conducted an environmental assessment and received provincial and federal approval under the Environmental Assessment Acts.

Perry, who calls the government "ego-driven and arrogant," says his group will continue fighting for the tunnel.

Gwen Barlee, Policy Director for the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, says the habitat of one of the most threatened birds in Canada, the Northern Spotted Owl, is also "within the range of the Olympics" and by the government's own estimation will be extinct by 2010. Yet no steps have been taken to protect the bird as B.C. doesn't have any endangered species legislation, says Barlee.

"When they got the Olympics they said it would be the greenest ever, but it's starting to look like that was just lip service."

Barlee also points out that, due to global warming, there's a "real risk" that there won't be enough snow for some events. A 2003 United Nations study focusing on ski resorts in many countries, including Canada, found that melting snow at lower altitudes is forcing the alpine skiing to move higher and higher up mountains. The International Olympic Committee said the findings may affect how they choose host cities for future winter games.

VANOC spokesperson Ailie Somerville says the committee's contingency plans in the event of a lack of snow include stockpiling snow in other areas and moving it to games locations. Artificial snow, which weighs about five times more than real snow and requires millions of litres of water, will also be used if necessary.

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