I live in Vancouver, and I’m wondering about what the Olympics are going to do to our economy. Is it true, that they will be spending immense amounts of money for this? Are British Colombians going to have to pay for it with raised taxes?
See, I’ve only just turned 14 in September, and when I attempt to ask teachers they say, "The Olympics are great! Be proud of the Olympics! Be a proud Canadian!"
But I’d like some honest answers that I would understand.
Thank you :].
Vanoc has already been assured (by the IOC) at least breaking even for the games budget. That’s one big risk factor taken out since the governement was required to cover any losses from actually operating the games. The immense amounts of money spent are talking about mainly infrastructure costs. Depending on your opinion, those should have been done anyways. Such as the upgrades to the Sea to Sky highway which gets a lot of traffic and has a lot of accidents. The upgrade was needed anyways, but that $600 million is counted by some as an expense related to the games. Same for the Canada Line for the Skytrain. A similar amount was spent on that. We had no good way to get from the airport to downtown so it was needed, but many have considered it a games related expense. Same again for the close to $1 Billion convention center upgrade that may or may not have happened if not for the Olympics. Lastly is the Olympic village. The city has a huge amount that it spent on the village. It’s yet to be seen how much of that they can recoup when they sell off the units there but speculation at this point is that they will lose money.
Hopefully the above shows that losing money on the Olympics is not a straight forward question. Two completely honest people will give opposite answers just based on their opinion of what is an "Olympic Expense" and what was needed regardless of the Olympics. My opinion is that these projects were all long overdue and so if it took an Olympics to get them done – great!
As for the economic benefit, the predictions vary widely but it will be very substantial. A lot of entra money will be coming in over the years due to the new infrastructure and the new exposure that the Olympics brings. Definitely in the hundreds of millions over time.
. A pretty campground pretty much right in Valemount is called Swift Creek campground. There are also many hotel/motels & B & Bs available in that area too. Rear Guard Falls is a pretty walk. Between Jasper & Banff some nice little rest stop areas to check out are Honeymoon Lake, the water seems to be a little warmer than all the other glacier fed lakes & is even nice to swim in. You can camp here too. Bubbling Springs is a good place to stretch your legs & take a bathroom break. It is right beside the roadway – the water bubbles up from the ground & the sand is kind of pink – just a small spring. Horseshoe Lake is worth the little walk to find it. Very pretty & the water is so clear that from up on the rocky cliffside you can see the fish. The Columbia Ice Fields are worth a look & you can tour in an ice buggy if you want – there are some pretty campsites close by too. Num-Ti-Jah Lodge on Bow Lake is beautiful. I often stop there but have yet to spend a night. You can hike up on the glacier but may need to go with a group.