Bob Mackin
VANOC banker RBC sponsored the Vancouver 2010 torch relay. (RBC)
“Just in time” loan deal
VANOC struggled with the aftermath of the 2008 Great Recession. As the RBC-sponsored Olympic torch relay criss-crossed Canada, the bank and VANOC were in negotiations about reinstating VANOC’s borrowing agreement to $95 million, said minutes of a Nov. 18, 2009 board meeting. A crucial meeting was scheduled in Toronto on Nov. 27, 2009.
“The key challenge is ensuring that a credit facility sufficient to meet operational needs is in place. This is not currently the case,” said VANOC chief financial officer John McLaughlin’s risk report.
A crisis was averted, albeit temporarily and with help from taxpayers. Minutes for the board’s last pre-Games meeting on Jan. 20, 2010 state “the payment guarantee requested by RBC has been delivered by the Province of B.C.”
After the Games, VANOC faced another credit crunch, solved with a credit facility on April 19, 2010 that would last until the end of the calendar year. It included a $59.5 million line of credit secured by an indemnity of $62 million from the province, in favour of RBC, at an RBC prime interest rate.
“This agreement came just in time as the facility has been utilized to make payments to suppliers and meet other obligations,” said McLaughlin’s May 17, 2010 update to the board.
Don’t say a word
McLaughlin continued: “We are asking that the existence of the indemnity and its nature be kept strictly confidential as it could prejudice our ongoing negotiations with third parties and/or encourage potential claimants or litigants who might believe there is a financial opportunity for them arising from the Province’s indemnity of RBC.”
An official Muk Muk mascot key fob outside the City of Vancouver Archives on Oct. 1, 2025. (Mackin)
IOC negotiations
McLaughlin said he and finance vice-president Carey Dillen were progressing in talks with the IOC, hoping to resolve issues by mid-June.
“Our objective was to resolve all matters except the final $57 million contribution from the IOC. The IOC has asked that this be addressed in a later meeting when our financial results are known with more certainty,” McLaughlin’s memo said.
More time to wind down
VANOC finally dissolved in July 2014, claiming it balanced an operating budget of almost $1.9 billion. That included nearly $200 million in additional subsidies from the federal and B.C. governments.
VANOC was a federally incorporated, not-for-profit beyond the reach of B.C.’s freedom of information law. Its board never held an open meeting and B.C.’s auditor general did not conduct a post-Games audit.
Bob Mackin covered the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, beginning with the domestic bid phase in 1998. He is the author of Red Mittens & Red Ink: The Vancouver Olympics.
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