Politicians often get away with broken promises. When officials fail to deliver on a pledge, it is usually taken by many citizens as additional proof that most politicians just can’t be trusted.

When Vancouver voters were courted to support the city’s Olympics bid in the 2003 referendum, they were assured by politicians like then-mayor Larry Campbell that they wouldn’t have to pay a penny more than the estimated cost of hosting the Games. According to the supporters, the provincial government had guaranteed to cover all cost overruns.

But as events have shown—and as is currently being driven home by concerns about cost overruns in the $1.1-billion Olympic Village—such promises turned out to be empty.

Is this another instance wherein citizens should shrug their shoulders and say, “Well, that’s just too bad”?

A Vancouver lawyer says he plans to research this question. Christopher Nowlin told the Georgia Straight that he wants to determine if politicians who misled voters about Olympic costs can be sued or charged criminally.

Nowlin said that this kind of legal action appears never to have been taken in other Olympic cities, even though taxpayers often end up paying more than they were promised.

“The question I’m interested in is why there tends to be no accountability in that respect from the people who held out or estimated what the cost is going to be,” Nowlin said in a phone interview.

He cited a hypothetical civil case to illustrate his point. A man agrees with a contractor to have his fence constructed for $100. The builder puts up the structure for $500 and demands full payment. They end up in court.

“There’s still an application to this much broader picture where, arguably, for example, at some point citizens are being asked to pay this colossal [Olympic] bill,” Nowlin said. “The question could still be, ‘What if nobody wanted to pay for it?’ Does the government just have a free hand and they get to raise taxes?”

Full and official details have yet to emerge regarding the $100-million financial package that Vancouver councillors approved behind closed doors for the completion of the Olympic Village at the Southeast False Creek site. On November 12, the Pivot Legal Society filed a complaint with the provincial ombudsman’s office, alleging that the City did not have legal authority to keep the public in the dark about the $100-million loan guarantee.

The construction of the athletes’ village was, in fact, one of four last-minute deals approved by the city two days before the 2002 election. The three other contracts with the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation involved a curling facility, an ice-hockey practice facility, and figure-skating and short-track speed-skating venues.

The Straight reported in 2003 that the agreements may leave city taxpayers liable for cost overruns.

As of 2007, the ice-rink-replacement project at the Trout Lake Community Centre, which was the subject of one of the agreements, was already three times more expensive than the estimated $5-million cost taxpayers were told prior to the 2003 Olympic plebiscite.

Nowlin will be undertaking his legal research on behalf of the Work Less Party, and he conceded that his study may conclude that politicians may yet again get away from any responsibility.

Work Less Party spokesperson and Olympics critic Chris Shaw told the Straight that his group wants to proceed very deliberately after the November 15 civic election in going after officials who he said lied to the public about the cost of the Games.

On the matter of security costs alone, Shaw noted that the $175-million estimate was a lowball figure. He pointed out that then–public safety minister Stockwell Day admitted last month that the security budget will be more than double the original estimate.

Shaw has filed freedom-of-information requests with the Vancouver Police Department to find out how much the city’s police force will be spending on Olympics-security-related duties. The VPD, according to Shaw, has refused to release information.

“We’re interested in white-collar crime,” Shaw said, referring to deception over Olympic costs. “It’s the biggest one ever pulled in Vancouver.”

Olympic Village key dates

> July 2, 2003: Southeast False Creek (SEFC) chosen as future site of Olympic Village.

> July 2005: SEFC Official Development Plan enacted by Vancouver city council.

> January 2006: Site preparation begun.

> March 10, 2006: Groundbreaking ceremony held.

> October 17, 2006: Olympic Village rezoning approved at public hearing.

> January 2007: Excavation for building foundations started.

> October 2009: Olympic Village construction set for completion.

> November 1, 2009: City to hand over site to Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

> April 7, 2010: Vanoc to return Olympic Village to the City of Vancouver.

Source: City of Vancouver