Guest Column: Damn straight we need a vote before bidding on Games

The release of premature information — or perhaps false figures — does nothing to instil confidence in the city's ability to take on such a large challenge as hosting the Olympics.Lyle Aspinall/Postmedia Network

Why is there even a debate about whether or not Calgary taxpayers deserve a vote on a 2026 Olympics bid?

It’s your money we’re talking about.

What kind of elitist sanctuary has council turned into?

If Calgary puts in an Olympic bid, and wins, Calgary taxpayers would have to pay a small fortune to host the games.

It would be nothing short of contempt for council to expect their citizens to merely handle the bill for putting on the Olympics without having a chance to vote in a referendum on the matter.

Note that Vancouver held a referendum prior to putting forward their bid to host the 2010 Olympic Games.

Are Vancouverites simply smarter than Calgarians when it comes to analyzing such matters?


If they were as smart as Calgarians, they would have rolled out a red carpet by now to welcome the Kinder Morgan pipeline to town . . . but that hasn’t happened yet.

In all seriousness, we need to go back to square one for a moment and ask the question — what’s the point of city hall?

Why do we pay taxes?

If you survey 100 different people, you’ll probably hear 100 different answers.

However, you’ll probably hear a large majority of people say the city’s job is to provide services like policing, fixing our roads, water and sewer services, etc.

Activities like “hosting international events that cost billions of dollars and often suffer from cost overruns” would not likely be a common response.

Proponents will claim the Games come with all kinds of economic benefits.

But note that University of Calgary Economics Professor Trevor Tombe was hired by the City of Calgary to analyze claims that the Olympics would create a lot of jobs. Tombe’s conclusion: such claims are out to lunch.

One has to remember that a lot of businesses and families are still struggling.

Many people are still unemployed or they’ve found work at a much lower pay level.

Raising their property taxes — to pay for Olympic expenses — is not going to help the situation.

Businesses that are struggling would also feel the pinch.

Sure, some may benefit eight years from now, if the Games go ahead, but in the mean time another property tax hike could be the nail in their coffin.

Others would likely never benefit.

As it stands right now, the City of Calgary has estimated the Games will require approximately $2 billion in taxpayer subsidies.

However, what if it’s more?

What would that do to property taxes?

The University of Oxford put out a study back in 2016 that found 19 of the 19 recent Olympics they examined went over budget.

Oddly enough, the City of Calgary hasn’t even put in their bid yet and they’ve already admitted their estimate is too low — we seem to have experienced pre-cost overruns.

If you like the idea of having some say in this matter, you better speak up and tell your councillor you want to vote in a referendum on the matter.

As it stands right now, some think your job is just to pay the bill.

— Colin Craig is the Alberta director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

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