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Bob Mackin

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum could have escaped a broken foot if he was run over in a Save-On-Foods parking lot, a Provincial Court judge heard Nov. 2.

Doug McCallum on Sept. 4, 2021 (Provincial Court exhibit)

McCallum’s defence team called expert witnesses who analyzed aspects of the Sept. 4, 2021 incident. McCallum complained to police that Keep the RCMP in Surrey activist Debi Johnstone drove over his left foot in her Mustang, but Mounties instead investigated McCallum for making false statements. 

The Peace Arch Hospital expert who analyzed McCallum’s x-ray said there was a “moderate degree of soft tissue swelling” of his left foot, toward his small toe. But Dr. Hamed Basseri said there was no evidence of fractures or malalignment of bones or joints. 

Under cross-examination, Basseri said he did not conduct a physical exam.

“You’re not able to say what degree of soft tissue swelling may have been present, the day before or the week before, anything like that, correct?” asked Special Prosecutor Richard Fowler.

“That’s correct,” Basseri replied.

“And, of course, you didn’t examine the right foot so you can’t tell us whether there was any moderate soft tissue swelling of the right foot, for example,” said Fowler, who also suggested McCallum may have had pre-existing fluid buildup in his feet.

Basseri replied: “That’s correct.”

Biomechanical engineer Dennis Chimich of Vancouver consultancy MEA Forensic estimated that if McCallum had been run over, his foot would have felt the weight of 413 kilograms from the rear of Johnstone’s slow-moving car. 

“Data do support, however, that feet can be run over by vehicle tires, with the expectation of an absence of fractures,” Chimich said.

Chimich based his report on images of McCallum’s shoes (Adidas size 10 with a padded tongue), the vehicle and the parking lot.

Surrey Provincial Court (Mackin)

“The contact between the right rear tire of the Mustang and that outer aspect of Mr. McCallum’s left forefoot provides an injury mechanism for that objective swelling that was identified by the radiologist,” Chimich said.

Collision reconstruction engineer Bradley Heinrichs of MEA Forensic testified that he conducted a site visit and produced a 3-D imaging analysis. 

Heinrichs detected McCallum’s head move down and arms move back as the vehicle turned. He also noted rear tires generally don’t follow the same radius as the front tires during a tight turn, but could not precisely pinpoint McCallum’s position. Shrubs in a traffic island obscure McCallum below his thighs, as captured by the Save-On-Foods outward-looking camera. 

“Did you come to a conclusion then about the rear wheel tire of the Mustang and whether it was possible that it could have contacted Mr. McCallum’s foot?” asked McCallum’s lawyer Eric Gottardi.

Heinrichs replied: “If you’re standing close enough, the rear tire would have tracked to the Mustang’s right but towards Mr. McCallum, compared to the side of the Mustang. So if you’d be standing close enough, yes, it could have.”

Crown witness Sgt. Andre Johnny of the RCMP testified Tuesday that police could not determine whether McCallum was run over. McCallum, he said, was not pinned by Johnstone’s vehicle, as he claimed to police. Video evidence also debunked McCallum’s claim that Johnstone sped away from the scene. The surveillance video shows him casually walk into the store where he shopped for more than half an hour. He later called police and went to hospital.

The trial is in recess until Nov. 8, due to scheduling of two more expert defence witnesses. It was not scheduled to sit Nov. 4 or 7.

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Bob Mackin Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum could have

Business, News

Bob Mackin

Outgoing Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum complained three times to the Surrey RCMP about protesters outside his house, including one dressed as a skeleton on Halloween 2021. 

Eight McCallum-related files since 2019 were summarized for investigators and submitted to McCallum’s Provincial Court public mischief trial, where McCallum’s lawyers have alleged he is a victim of criminal harassment.

Keep the RCMP in Surrey protester outside Doug McCallum’s house on Halloween 2021

The summary provides further details about friction with the grassroots group opposed to Safe Surrey Coalition leader McCallum’s drive to replace the Mounties with a municipal force. Brenda Locke, who defeated McCallum in the Oct. 15 civic election, has vowed to cancel the transition.

At 6:09 p.m. on Oct. 31, 2021, McCallum called 9-1-1 to report the costumed woman walking up and down in front of his Crescent Beach house with a Keep the RCMP in Surrey (KTRIS) sign. He also said there was a vehicle he could not describe with a Keep the RCMP in Surrey sign and people yelling “go home,” “retire” and “Keep the RCMP in Surrey.” 

No threats had been made, but it was not the first such occurrence. “McCallum stated he was tired of it,” said the summary and he asked police to identify the woman and ask her to move along.

“Police explained the female was not committing an offence, so they could not compel her to identify herself or move along, but they would ask,” said the police summary.

Police found the costumed woman carrying a sign which read “McCallum death of democracy.” She was cooperative, but said that she was aware of her right to protest under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

“Protester advised she would be leaving within the hour. McCallum was told to call back if there were further problems. No additional call was made,” said the report.

McCallum made similar calls to police about protesters outside his house on April 23, 2021 and July 24, 2021, but there was no wrongdoing and police made no arrests. 

The summary mentions allegations of two sinister, anonymous threats made to city hall.

Police were informed Jan. 4, 2021 that a supervisor in the engineering department received a photocopied letter that contained a swastika, picture of Adolf Hitler and various comments, including “It’s time for you to go”, “You are history” and “There is a bomb in your house ready for you.”

The employee and McCallum gave statements. McCallum mentioned KTRIS, but “stated his experience with this group had never been threatening before, only harassing in nature.” Police found no links to KTRIS and reviewed surveillance footage, “but the person who delivered the letter could not be found. Investigational avenues were exhausted and the file was concluded.”

A separate anonymous phone message through the main switchboard to McCallum’s office indicated his “life might be on the line.” 

“Despite inquiries with the city and Telus, the origin of the call could not be tracked,” said the summary of the June 18, 2021 incident report. “Safety plan discussed and victim services was offered but declined. Investigational avenues were exhausted and the file was concluded.”

The summary also mentioned a letter received by McCallum’s closest ally on city council and personal companion, Allison Patton.

Coun. Allison Patton (left) and Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum.

On June 8, 2021, Patton reported an unknown correspondent told her to resign and made reference to personal matters.

“Patton described ongoing investigations she had been involved with at her place of work. There was nothing overtly threatening, or efforts to threaten or extort Patton in the letters.  Patton felt she was being targeted by the Keep the RCMP in Surrey group, strictly because of their opposing political agenda.”

Police followed-up with KTRIS founder Ivan Scott and members of the group, “who advised they had sent emails in the past, but had never sent actual letters. File was fully investigated, no suspect was identified and the file was concluded.”

Scott complained to Surrey RCMP Oct. 19, 2020 after McCallum cut his microphone during a public hearing and asked for a security guard to eject him from the chamber. Scott refused to leave. He complained to police that a security guard touched his arm and wanted the guard and city manager Vince Lalonde charged. 

Investigators closed the file when they determined it would not meet Crown counsel charge approval standards.

Debi Johnstone complained to Surrey RCMP on Sept. 17, 2019 against McCallum, after she said he came close to her face and made a comment similar to “I advise you to watch what you say.” Johnstone admitted to saying “SUC, SUC, SUC” in reference to “Surrey Unsafe Coalition.”

“No offence committed, file concluded.”

McCallum alleged that Johnstone ran over his foot in a Save-On-Foods parking lot on Sept. 4, 2021. Police instead accused McCallum of lying about the incident and he was charged with public mischief. McCallum pleaded not guilty on Monday. 

Johnstone and Scott are among seven KTRIS activists banned from attending city council meetings in September 2021. McCallum’s majority also hired a law firm to seek an injunction against the seven, but they hired a lawyer to contest the application on constitutional grounds. McCallum eventually rescinded the motion in December 2021. 

The same seven also challenged the city’s sign bylaw. While B.C. Supreme Court Justice Nigel Kent dismissed their application, he ruled last July that city hall needed to rewrite the bylaw. Kent said that limiting political signage on private property to election periods would infringe on the right to political expression. 

“These particular petitioners have been directly targeted by certain members of Surrey city council for special treatment; they were the subject matter of a (quickly and appropriately rescinded) bylaw prohibiting their attendance at council meetings and an injunction lawsuit seeking to enforce that bylaw,” said Kent’s ruling. “Their organization (KTRIS) has even been accused, wrongly it appears, of inflicting physical injury on the Mayor.”

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Bob Mackin Outgoing Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum complained

Business, News

Bob Mackin

Special Prosecutor Richard Fowler wrapped his case against outgoing Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum Nov. 1 in Surrey Provincial Court by playing a series of surveillance video clips showing McCallum at the Southpoint Save-On-Foods, Peace Arch Hospital and a Surrey RCMP interview room.

Doug McCallum on Sept. 4, 2021 (Provincial Court exhibit)

McCallum had originally alleged that a member of Keep the RCMP in Surrey drove over his foot on Sept. 4, 2021. Instead, he was charged with a single count of public mischief. 

Court heard McCallum’s 9-1-1 call in which he accused Debi Johnstone of driving over his left foot and said that it was very numb. He was treated in hospital during a two-hour stay.

In the video recorded interview, McCallum described to an RCMP officer how another driver suddenly appeared beside him after he parked his car outside his usual grocery store. 

“She pulled up in this convertible so tight and literally just about pinned me to the car, I was at the back of my car and stopped, just yelled at me, screamed and so forth,” McCallum said to the officer.

McCallum said she went “on and on with obscenities that I can’t even say here” before she sped away.

“Then she actually floored it, I thought she was going to peel rubber.”

McCallum told the officer more about their interaction and the moment that he claimed she injured him. 

“She even came closer to me, like she turned right into me and then when she turned, she ran right over my foot, my leg, right at the top of my foot, went right over it here and took off,” he said. 

McCallum said he was pretty sure it was Debi Johnstone, a member of Keep the RCMP in Surrey. “They harass my family. If you look there’s at least four or five investigations going on. It’s common for them to harass all of us.”

At one point, McCallum took his left foot out of his shoe and took off his sock as the officer bent down with a flashlight and took photos. McCallum consented verbally to provide his medical records from his hospital visit.

Video evidence showed that McCallum had arrived outside the Save-On-Foods at 9:08 a.m. Johnstone did not show up until closer to 10 a.m. After their argument, McCallum walked casually into the store and shopped for 35 minutes, with no apparent limp.

Surrey Provincial Court (Mackin)

Earlier Nov. 1, Sgt. Andre Johnny testified by video that he reviewed the surveillance video obtained from the store and the statements given to police by both McCallum and Johnstone.

Johnny said he also reviewed photos of Johnstone’s vehicle taken by McCallum, McCallum’s medical records and a photo of McCallum’s left foot. 

“My conclusion was that we could not determine whether or not his foot was run over by Debra Johnstone,” Johnny told court.

However, Johnny said that video evidence disproved McCallum’s claim that he had been pinned against Johnstone’s vehicle. 

“The video review indicates that McCallum walked away from his vehicle and approached the crosswalk at Save-On-Foods, at which point Ms. Johnstone believed to have called out to Mr. McCallum, and then he turned around and approached Ms. Johnstone’s vehicle,” Johnny said.

“He stated that the vehicle at that point was pressed up against him, however video review indicates that Ms. Johnstone did not drive her vehicle into McCallum. Video footage indicates that it was Mr. McCallum who approached the vehicle and therefore had control over how close the vehicle was in proximity to his body.”

Under cross-examination, Johnny admitted to McCallum’s lawyer Richard Peck that the investigation team had considered, but rejected, various techniques. Those included surveillance of McCallum to test his claims of an injury and limp, and an undercover operation to gain access to his phone. Johnny said the ideas were discussed at a brainstorming meeting and did not gain management approval. 

The investigation was later transferred from the Surrey RCMP detachment to major crimes in E Division, to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. McCallum ran on a 2018 platform to replace the RCMP with a municipal force. 

McCallum, who lost the mayoralty to Brenda Locke in the Oct. 15 civic election, pleaded not guilty when the trial began Oct. 31.

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Bob Mackin Special Prosecutor Richard Fowler wrapped his

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Bob Mackin

A court sheriff handcuffed Bob Birarda and led him out of North Vancouver Provincial Court Nov. 2 to begin the journey to Ford Mountain Correctional Centre in Chilliwack.

Bob Birarda in 2005 (CSA)

The former women’s junior national soccer coach and head coach of the Whitecaps’ women’s team was sentenced to almost 16 months in jail, four months house arrest, four months under 8 p.m. to 6 p.m. curfew and three years probation. 

Birarda was charged in late 2020 and pleaded guilty last February for crimes that occurred between 1988 and 2008 — specifically, three counts of sexual assault and one count of touching a young person for sexual purpose. Crown prosecutor Linda Ostry had proposed a two years less-a-day jail sentence, while Birarda’s defence lawyer Bill Smart sought a one-year sentence — eight months in jail and four months of house arrest. 

Judge Deanne Gaffar said Birarda exploited a power imbalance and his crimes impacted his victims long after the offences. She said the degree of physical interference was more aggravating for one of the victims, “whose bodily integrity was sexually violated with acts leading up to and including oral sex and sexual intercourse.” 

“The stress, emotional and psychological detriment experienced by each victim,” Gaffar said in her ruling. “This pressure caused them to doubt themselves. In some cases, at least two of these teenagers felt compelled to apologize to an adult, Mr. Birarda, for their own reluctance to respond to his overtures. Due to Mr. Birarda’s reactions and interactions with them, it is both troubling and untenable. As adults, they continue to experience anxiety, self-doubt, and, in some cases, depression. Their ability to trust others, particularly men, has been impacted.”

North Vancouver Provincial Court (B.C. Courthouse Libraries)

Gaffar weighed the impact on Birarda’s victims with his acknowledgment of wrongdoing. He had no prior criminal record, followed his bail conditions after arrest, demonstrated profound personal guilt and expressed apology to his victims. 

“In addition, his guilty plea has saved court resources. Most importantly, entering guilty pleas means that the victims do not have to testify and relive their trauma. I accept that Mr. Birarda feels tremendous remorse.”

Gaffar said Birarda attended extensive counselling to treat mental health issues, including depression and impostor syndrome. He had been admitted to hospital in 2019 for three or four days due to depression and suicidal thoughts, certified under the Mental Health Act and placed on medication. 

She said he had received 30 letters of support, showing respect from people who knew of his charges but spoke highly of him anyway. Some of the letter-writers were players, their parents and fellow coaches.

However, mitigating factors were diminished by his abuse of players’ trust. 

Birarda did not speak in court. He already gave an emotional 10-minute statement two months earlier, admitting that his conduct was “selfish, irrational and delusional” and it disgraced the sport he loved.

CSA and Whitecaps

“I’m truly sorry, to each of you for the pain, the upset and the trauma my behaviour has caused you,” Birarda said on Sept. 2. “I cannot find the words to adequately express the depth of my regret, sorrow, shame and even self-loathing I have been filled with for all these years. I have read the victim impact statements, and I feel so horrible for how much pain I have caused each of you.”

Birarda was originally investigated by police after former Whitecap and national team member Ciara McCormack blew the whistle in February 2019 about his return to youth coaching with Coastal FC in South Surrey.

McCormack’s “Horrific Canadian Soccer Story” blog post went viral. A dozen players from the 2008 Whitecaps and national team issued a public statement, alleging “incidents of abuse, manipulation, or inappropriate behaviour” by Birarda in 2007 and 2008.

FIFA VP Montagliani and president Infantino (Twitter)

Birarda coached the Whitecaps women’s team to the 2006 W-League championship. He also headed the under-20 national women’s team and assisted on Canada’s team that played in the quarter-finals of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics.

Behind the scenes, Birarda was the subject of sexual harassment and sexual assault complaints. Rather than firing Birarda outright and reporting him to police in October 2008, the Canadian Soccer Association and Whitecaps jointly agreed with Birarda for what they told reporters was a “mutual parting of ways.”

The CSA board in 2008 included Victor Montagliani, who is now a vice-president of FIFA representing the North and Central American and Caribbean zone. Peter Montopoli had joined the CSA as its general secretary in April of 2008. Last year, he moved to the 2026 FIFA World Cup organizing committee as the head of operations for matches in Toronto and Vancouver. 

A July 28-released investigation by world-renowned University of Western Ontario sports law professor Richard McLaren found the CSA allowed Birarda to operate with too much power and too little oversight. 

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Bob Mackin A court sheriff handcuffed Bob Birarda

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Bob Mackin

In one of his first public appearances since losing the Oct. 15 election, outgoing Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum pleaded not guilty on Oct. 31 in Surrey Provincial Court to a charge of public mischief at the beginning of a trial scheduled to last seven days.

Surrey Provincial Court (Mackin)

McCallum accused a pro-RCMP petitioner of running over his foot in the Southpoint Save-On-Foods parking lot on Sept. 4 last year. The RCMP investigated McCallum and Special Prosecutor Richard Fowler laid a single charge against the mayor.

Debi Johnstone, the woman McCallum accused, was the first witness before Judge Reginald Harris.  

Fowler showed outward-facing surveillance footage obtained from a camera inside the grocery store’s entrance. The sequence, beginning at 9:54 a.m., showed Johnstone driving around the parking lot, through empty parking spaces and stopping. McCallum stood next to the passenger side of her vehicle and they exchanged words before Johnstone drove away. 

The video then showed McCallum walking into the grocery store, not appearing to be injured in any way. 

Another camera, with a fish-eye lens, showed McCallum and Keep the RCMP in Surrey founder Ivan Scott speaking to each other near the volunteer tent and table, where the campaigners were seeking signatures in a bid to force a referendum on whether to proceed with the McCallum-promised Surrey Police Service. 

Johnstone’s car went out of the frame. She said she went to park and made her way to where the volunteers were set up, so she could start her shift.

“We were supposed to be there until 2 o’clock, but with all the kerfuffle that was created, the store manager made us leave between 12:30 and 1,” Johnstone said. 

She said she was not privy to McCallum and Scott’s conversation, but shot a photo on her smartphone of them facing each other.

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum on Oct. 31 (Mackin)

Afterward, she said, Scott came to her. “Mr. Scott said to me ‘did you run over Doug McCallum’s foot? And I laughed, ‘of course not’.” 

Johnstone said she received a phone call from Surrey RCMP around 4:30 p.m. on the same day and an officer asked her to come to the station, because “there’d been an incident.” 

“I wondered if it was to do with Mr. McCallum saying that I ran over his foot,” she said. “He told me that I would be investigated for assault with a weapon and criminal harassment.”

Johnstone said the officer told her she did not need to go to the station and did not need to provide a statement, but “I went on my own free will.”

Under cross-examination by McCallum’s lawyer Richard Peck, Johnstone said she hoped that McCallum would quit the mayoralty and considered her sighting of McCallum in the parking lot to be her “lucky day.”

Johnstone said that she had voted for McCallum in 2018, on the basis of his plan to replace the planned light rail transit system with a SkyTrain extension and because of his Safe Surrey Coalition party’s emphasis on public safety. But she began to disagree with the way McCallum and his caucus rammed through bylaws, developments permits and budgets.

“How did it make your day lucky?” Peck asked.

She had explained that civic bylaw officers had consistently appeared at locations the pro-RCMP petitioners set-up their table and believed they had been dispatched by McCallum to harass them.

Debi Johnstone of Keep the RCMP in Surrey (Mackin)

“Instead of bylaws there, he was coming in now to have us sent off the property,” she said. “Now he’s going to have to confront all of us on a day off.”

Peck asked if she wanted a confrontation with McCallum.

“It was never the intention to get out of my car and have a fistfight with him, if that’s what you mean, but I sat in my car and told him to resign,” she said.

Peck accused her of “vilifying him for one minute” and that she had demeaned McCallum’s skin condition by calling him a “scaly faced motherfucker.”  

“I swore at Mr. McCallum, quite a few times,” she admitted. “Using language very unfitting of a lady.” 

Peck noted that Johnstone had previously protested on the street in front of McCallum’s house in Crescent Beach and had called members of the Surrey Police Service “whores” and “scabs” while protesting outside the new force’s headquarters. 

Later, she told Peck that it had “been a long four years” under McCallum and that she tried to have her voice heard. 

“I’m disrespected, I’m cut-off, I’m ignored,” she said. 

Johnstone said she also felt harassed and most-recently complained to the RCMP after someone had spray painted “you’re dead” on her garage door. She assumed supporters of McCallum were responsible for a string of incidents, because nothing like that happened before she began going to council meetings after McCallum’s 2018 election.

As he left the court, McCallum said nothing to reporters. 

When she left the court, Johnstone was smiling and said: “I’m glad it’s over, but it’s good to tell the truth.”

McCallum is represented by Peck and Eric Gottardi, two downtown Vancouver lawyers who represented Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in her extradition hearings at B.C. Supreme Court from 2019 to 2021. 

McCallum has refused to say how much Surrey taxpayers are spending on his defence. 

Coun. Brenda Locke, who won the election by fewer than 1,000 votes, has promised to send the bill to McCallum and to end the Surrey Police Service.

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Bob Mackin In one of his first

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For the week of Oct. 30, 2022:

It’s the most wonderful time of year for sports fans in North America: NHL and NBA regular seasons are still young, NFL and NCAA football are nearing mid-season, the World Series is here, Canadian Football League playoffs are nigh and Major League Soccer’s final is coming.

What better time than now to hear from Vancouver sports radio legend Dan Russell, the newest member of the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame’s media wing?

Russell joins host Bob Mackin Jr. for part 2 of an interview about Pleasant Good Evening, Russell’s memoir of 30 wild and turbulent years hosting Canada’s longest running sports radio talkshow.

Plus the sounds of the end of B.C.’s 2030 Winter Olympics bid and headlines from the Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest.

CLICK BELOW to listen or go to TuneIn or Apple Podcasts.

Now on Google Podcasts!

Have you missed an edition of theBreaker.news Podcast? Go to the archive.

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For the week of Oct. 30, 2022:

Business, News, Sports

Bob Mackin 

Officials from the Canadian Olympic Committee and Four Host First Nations weren’t willing to admit Oct. 28 that their bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics was over, despite the NDP government’s refusal to underwrite another Olympics.

Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith (left) and Four Host First Nations executive director Tewanee Joseph (second from left) at the Dec. 10 bid exploration announcement (Twitter/Tewanee Joseph)

But, hours later, the office of Lisa Beare, the Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Minister, reiterated the decision that was announced the previous day.

During a news conference at the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame, where the bid exploration was originally announced last December, Squamish Nation council spokesman Wilson Williams said “our canoe is stalled for now.” Musqueam Indian Band Chief Wayne Sparrow hoped the NDP would flip-flop like it did with FIFA for the 2026 World Cup. After not agreeing to bid demands in 2018, the NDP government reopened negotiations in 2021 and B.C. Place was named a host venue last June.

Unlike FIFA, the International Olympic Committee doesn’t have the luxury of time. It wants to begin negotiations with bidders as soon as December and decide the 2030 host by next October. It originally wanted to name the host in May 2023. Salt Lake City and Sapporo, Japan remain in line. 

A statement attributed to Beare said the COC gave a November deadline for a funding decision. Cabinet decided it could not afford to approve spending time or money on another Games, “while there are many competing priorities and challenges to be addressed.”

“Cabinet reviewed the proposal carefully with these timelines in mind before coming to a decision to decline our support for the 2030 bid, given the significant investment and risks involved,” said Beare’s statement. “I met with the host First Nations and the COC virtually on Monday to relay that decision on behalf of cabinet as I am the Minister responsible for sport. I understand the Nations are disappointed in this process and for that, I am truly sorry.”

COC president Tricia Smith said the bid team wanted one more chance to make its case to provincial and federal officials. 

“That’s all we’re asking for, let’s get in a room,” Smith said. “If it doesn’t make sense at the end of the day. I’m with everyone at the table here, it doesn’t make sense and we don’t go forward.”

She said the reconciliation-themed bid relied on revitalizing venues from the 2010 Games, except for building new athletes villages which could have provided much-needed social housing stock.

Tourism Minister Lisa Beare (BC Gov)

Williams didn’t dismiss the possibility of regrouping to bid for the 2034 Games, but Smith said there would be more competition. Germany, IOC president Thomas Bach’s home country, has already announced it is exploring a bid for winter 2034 or summer 2036. While Salt Lake City is in the running for 2030, it had expressed preference for 2034 due to Los Angeles already hosting the 2028 Summer Games.

Beare’s predecessor, Melanie Mark, had ordered a business case from the COC and Four Host First Nations in mid-August. A government source who reviewed the most-recent version said it fell short of expectations because many questions were unanswered and it suggested municipalities shoulder more costs than originally contemplated.

There were also differences between what the feasibility team made public in July with what was on the desk of politicians and their staff earlier this month. 

For instance, the July estimates said the 2030 Games would cost taxpayers $1 billion to $1.2 billion to help pay for venues, villages and security. The organizing committee, funded by broadcast rights payments, sponsorship, ticket sales and merchandise, would be responsible for $2.5 billion to $2.8 billion to plan and stage the Games.  

The latest version of the budget, however, said $1.309 billion would be needed from taxpayers plus $384 million for contingencies, for a total of nearly $1.7 billion in public funding. 

The new budget also included $150 million for legacy endowment funds and $277 million worth of in-kind land contributions from First Nations and municipalities. The grand total: $2.12 billion, which was estimated to be worth $2.715 billion by 2030. 

The federal government was asked to pay a 50% share of the public-funded portion and B.C. 35% plus a guarantee to cover any deficits. Federal sport minister Pascal St-Onge said Thursday that she respected the B.C. decision because an Olympics would require all levels of government to approve.

Snowboarding at Sun Peaks near Kamloops (Sun Peaks Resort)

The COC proposed reusing most of the Vancouver 2010 venues in Vancouver, Richmond and Whistler, with the exception of the Agrodome for curling, Hastings Racecourse for big air skiing and snowboard jumping and Sun Peaks resort near Kamloops for snowboarding and freestyle skiing. The proposal did not attach individual cost estimates for venue upgrades, but included long lists of needed and wanted works. 

The June-released proposal said the Vancouver Olympic Village could be built on MST Development’s Jericho lands or Heather lands. But the latest, unpublished version proposed a third option, the former Liquor Distribution Branch warehouse property on East Broadway near the Rupert SkyTrain Station — just over 4 kilometres from the proposed Olympic Park on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds. 

The latest version of the bid also suggested Whistler’s Olympic Village could be built at the golf club driving range near Whistler Village or at Cheakamus Crossing, near the 2010 athletes’ village. 

The 2010 Games are believed to have cost $8 billion, all-in. The true costs are unknown, because the Auditor General never did a post-Games study, the organizing committee was not subject to the freedom of information law and its board minutes and financial files won’t be open to the public at the City Archives until fall 2025. 

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Bob Mackin  Officials from the Canadian Olympic Committee

Business, News, Sports

Bob Mackin

The Winter Olympics aren’t returning to British Columbia in 2030, after the NDP government announced Oct. 27 it would not back another multibillion-dollar mega-event, even with many venues left over from Vancouver 2010. 

The International Olympic Committee will choose between 2002 host Salt Lake City and 1972 host Sapporo, Japan next fall, assuming one doesn’t drop out sooner.

B.C. Sport Minister Melanie Mark (BC Gov)

In late June, then-NDP tourism and sport minister Melanie Mark demanded the Canadian Olympic Committee and its First Nations partners provide a mini business case by mid-August for consideration by cabinet. 

Mark warned them not to assume taxpayer support and she indicated there was already a daunting list of socio-economic, geopolitical and environmental challenges facing B.C. She handed the portfolio to predecessor Lisa Beare in September and it was Beare’s job to be the bearer of bad news to the bid team earlier this week.

When the plan was submitted, according to one source, there were still many holes that could not be quickly filled in time to satisfy the bidders’ late November deadline to firm-up government support to be ready for “targeted dialogue” negotiations with the IOC beginning in December. 

What went wrong? 

Timing 

It was simply a bad time for a Games bid, with an ongoing pandemic and shortage of doctors and nurses in a year marked by rising interest rates and inflation. Not to mention the fear of a recession in the new year. 

A public backlash forced Premier John Horgan to scrap his plan to spend nearly $800 million on replacing the aging Royal B.C. Museum with a new Indigenous-themed institution. Horgan is handing the reins to David Eby on Nov. 18, just over a month after angry municipal voters dumped incumbent mayors, including 2030 bid booster Kennedy Stewart in Vancouver. 

Olympic Village site uncertainty 

The bid proposal revealed in June said that First Nations-owned MST Development’s Jericho Lands and the Heather Lands were candidates for athlete accommodation in Vancouver. 

Instead of choosing one or the other, the latest version added the former Liquor Distribution Branch warehouse site in East Vancouver, but suggested an unspecified other site could also fit the bill for an estimated 410 non-market units of varying sizes. 

The proposal suggested the Whistler Golf Club’s driving range and/or Cheakamus Crossing, the site of the 2010 Whistler athletes’ village, for 579 units. 

David Eby and John Horgan (BC Gov/Flickr)

Costs 

The bid sought $2.12 billion from governments in cash and in-kind funding in 2022 dollars, estimated to be worth $2.715 billion by 2030. Half of that from Ottawa and 35% from B.C., which would have doubled as the deficit underwriter — a role that the NDP ultimately rejected.

It also contemplated $1.6 billion in allowances for contingencies and cost escalation. 

“The proposal looks to the municipalities and [First] Nations to contribute land for the villages and in-kind essential municipal services,” said the latest version of the document. 

The budget bundled security with essential services totalling $756 million ($958 million in 2030), with the same low-ball estimates for public funding of venues ($286 million) and villages ($267 million). 

The proposal did not offer a site-by-site cost breakdown, though there is a laundry list of required upgrades attached. 

Governance 

The NDP’s checklist called for explanation of governance for an “Indigenous-led” Olympics.

Just like 2010, the organizing committee would be not-for-profit. This time a 25-member board of directors would include two members from each of the Four Host First Nations — in 2010, there was only one representing all four. Secwepemc, on whose territory Sun Peaks sits, would also get a seat. The federal, B.C., Vancouver and Whistler governments and COC and Canadian Paralympic Committee would get two each, plus a seat reserved for a recent Olympian and a recent Paralympian.

Whither Richmond? 

The showcase urban venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics was the Richmond Olympic Oval. When Burnaby balked at rising costs, Richmond enthusiastically jumped in and also found a way to pay its share by selling neighbouring land condo towers. The Oval is now a multisport community centre with an interactive Olympic museum, often criticized for its reliance on operating subsidies.

Richmond Olympic Oval hosted a temporary anti-doping lab in 2010 (Richmond)

Richmond was not a partner with Vancouver and Whistler in the 2030 bid exploration with the Four Host First Nations. Chief administrative officer Serena Lusk’s letter was included in a package of 100 endorsement letters, but it stands out from others. 

“However, while supportive of the bid effort, Richmond is not considered a partner city,” Lusk wrote. “As a result, our support for the use of the Richmond Olympic Oval is provided within the context that acceptable terms are negotiated and that the City of Richmond will not assume any share of the financial costs, risks or liability that the organizers will incur.”

The proposal did not indicate how much it would cost to retrofit the Oval to bring back long-track speed skating in 2030. The list of upgrades, however, is long. 

Required: Removal and replacement of all hard court and plastic flooring, batting cage, divider curtains, dasher boards and glass; Removal and reinstallation of elevator; Upgrade and replacement of ice plant and HVAC; Replacement of ice resurfacing machines. 

Legacy upgrades: Contribution to the creation of additional meeting space and contribution to the roof replacement capital fund.

Public attitude

Bid team leaders must’ve known they were skiing uphill.

Their proposal includes an appendix with rosy economic forecasts by PwC, the same firm hired to help sell the 2010 Games. 

While PwC’s $5 billion estimate of economic activity before and during 2030 looks nice on paper, how well would it stand up in reality? B.C.’s Auditor General never did an audit of the post-recession 2010 Games, the organizing committee minutes and financial records are hidden until 2025 at the Vancouver Archives and the organizing committee was deliberately incorporated beyond the reach of B.C.’s freedom of information law.

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart on Dec. 10 (City of Vancouver)

There was a successful plebiscite in 2003 that played a role in the IOC choosing Vancouver for 2010. But, in 2022, no similar appetite for democracy, owing to the IOC and COC fearing a repeat of 2018, when Calgarians narrowly rejected a 2026 bid.

Third-place Vancouver mayoral candidate Colleen Hardwick included a bid plebiscite in her campaign platform after unsuccessfully asking her city council colleagues to put the question on the Oct. 15 ballot.

COC hired Delaney and Associates to gauge feedback from more than 4,500 people who participated in community events, focus groups and an online survey over the summer. Many comments were unflattering. 

For instance, there was a sense of “general skepticism.” Workshop participants felt the draft concept statement for the bid was political and abstract. It was also described as “greenwashing.” 

Another heading read “clarity required” about the meaning of Indigenous-led, including whether First Nations would help finance the event. 

Others were concerned about negative economic impact and misplaced spending priorities. Shouldn’t healthcare, addressing the cost of living and supporting Indigenous communities be at the top of the list? 

Some brought up the “corruption and diminished reputation” of the IOC and feared a repeat of the displacement of people and disruption to daily lives that occurred due to the 2010 Games. 

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Bob Mackin The Winter Olympics aren’t returning to

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Bob Mackin

The Canadian Olympic Committee’s bid to bring another Winter Olympics to Vancouver is over.

Bad actors? Premier John Horgan and Lisa Beare on the Riverdale set in 2019 (BC Gov/Flickr)

The B.C. NDP government announced Oct. 27 that it was declining to support the bid, which was sold as Indigenous-led, because of the COC’s partnership with Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Lil’Wat leaders. 

Federal sport hosting policy states that Ottawa does not underwrite major event deficits, a responsibility left to the host province. Without Victoria acting as guarantor to the International Olympic Committee, the bid is over. 

“I know that the prospect of hosting these Games is exciting to athletes and sports fans. However, the Province has the responsibility to weigh the benefits with the costs and possible risks of the project,” said Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Minister Lisa Beare in a news release. “There are billions of dollars in direct costs, and potential guarantee and indemnity liability risks on this project that could jeopardize our government’s ability to address pressures facing British Columbians right now. Based on careful consideration, the Province is declining to support a bid.”

Federal Sport Minister Pascal St-Onge said the Liberal government respected the local decision, but would look for other ways to fulfill Truth and Reconciliation calls to action.

“For a bid of this kind to go forward, all levels of government need to be in favour,” St-Onge said.

Beare, who replaced Melanie Mark last month, noted the province is already supporting the 2025 Invictus Games and 2026 FIFA World Cup. Mark had demanded a mini business plan in mid-August, including details on whether all the parties in the bid would share costs and risks of such an event. Mark had told COC president Tricia Smith not to assume provincial support. A source has confirmed that what the COC delivered did not answer all of Mark’s questions. 

Smith did not immediately respond for comment, but the COC issued a statement that said the COC feasibility team had been informed earlier this week of the B.C. government decision. 

“We are taking time to process this information today,” the statement said. COC, Canadian Paralympic Committee and Four Host First Nations leaders are expected to respond Friday morning. 

At a Greater Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon, Musqueam Chief Wayne Sparrow said he was disappointed by the way the province told the Four Host First Nations. He said “it sets us back a couple of steps” and shows “how far we have” to go with reconciliation.

Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith (left) and Four Host First Nations executive director Tewanee Joseph (second from left) at the Dec. 10 bid exploration announcement (Twitter/Tewanee Joseph)

Vancouver International Airport Authority  CEO Tamara Vrooman was also disappointed, saying that she was looking forward to the contribution the Games would have made. 

The decision came less than two weeks after the Vancouver civic election. Both outgoing Mayor Kennedy Stewart and incoming Mayor Ken Sim supported another Games. Third-place finisher Colleen Hardwick of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver promised a plebiscite on the bid. In 2003, a majority of voters supported the 2010 concept. However, the IOC earlier this year told any bidder to avoid a public vote in 2022. Four years ago, Calgary voters rejected a bid for the 2026 Games. 

Hardwick was pleased the provincial government approached the decision in a more-reasonable fashion than her colleagues on city council.

“They did go through a balanced exercise of looking at the pros and cons, didn’t respond just to the boosterism or to the fact that it was the First Nations bid, but rather, what its impact would be overall, and the risks that would be taken and looking at the larger economy,”Hardwick said. “So that was a responsible thing for the provincial government to do. When the city did it, through staff, the electeds overruled it. So this shows to me that the provincial government has taken a much more mature and balanced approach to assessing the opportunity.”

The 2030 bid was originally hatched by former Vancouver 2010 CEO John Furlong at a February 2020 Greater Vancouver Board of Trade breakfast to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 2010 Games. The pandemic delayed the bid exploration until fall 2021, when Stewart, Whistler Mayor Jack Crompton and leaders of the Four Host First Nations announced a memorandum of agreement to explore the bid. The COC came on board in early 2022 and acted as the de facto bid committee and liaison with the International Olympic Committee. 

Salt Lake City, the 2002 host, and Sapporo, Japan, the 1972 host, are also exploring bids. The IOC was expected to take official applications and begin closed-door negotiations later this fall, and require completed bid questionnaires in early 2023, in anticipation of a decision at the annual general meeting in late May 2023. However, that was delayed to September or October 2023. 

The COC estimated Vancouver 2030 would cost $4 billion, including at least $1 billion from taxpayers. It proposed reusing most of the Vancouver 2010 venues in Vancouver, Richmond and Whistler, with the exception of the Agrodome for curling, Hastings Racecourse for big air skiing and snowboard jumping and Sun Peaks resort near Kamloops for snowboarding and freestyle skiing. 

The 2010 Games are believed to have cost $8 billion, all-in. The true costs are unknown, because the Auditor General never did a post-Games study, the organizing committee was not subject to the freedom of information law and its board minutes and financial files won’t be open to the public at the City Archives until fall 2025.

—with files from Kirk LaPointe

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Bob Mackin The Canadian Olympic Committee’s bid to

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Bob Mackin

Incoming Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC Vancouver party is already walking back the timing of one of the campaign promises that earned him a record number of votes and his party a majority in the Oct. 15 civic election.

ABC website, post-election: no links to platform, news releases (ABC Vancouver)

During the campaign, ABC promised that “on his first day as mayor, with an ABC majority on council, [Sim] will be requisitioning for the hire of 100 new police officers and 100 mental health nurses.” 

Nov. 7 is Sim’s first scheduled day as mayor, when he will be sworn-in along with the 10 city councillors, seven of whom ran on the ABC Vancouver ticket. Following the ceremony, city council’s inaugural meeting. 

But the first step in tackling the city’s street crime and addiction crises will not be on the agenda.

Near the end of Tuesday’s final scheduled meeting of the 2018-elected city council, the three ABC incumbent councillors took turns notifying city council of upcoming motions for the Nov. 15 meeting. 

Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung said she would table motions titled “Urgent Measures to Uplift Vancouver’s Chinatown” and “Adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Anti-Semitism.” 

Coun. Rebecca Bligh followed with notice of her “Transport Pricing: Stopping the Road Tax,” motion, before Coun. Lisa Dominato with “Enabling the Requisitioning and Hiring of 100 New Police Officers and 100 Mental Health Nurses” and “Accessibility Audit of All City-Owned Assets.”

Outgoing Mayor Kennedy Stewart reminded them that the motions must be submitted in-writing to the clerk’s office before the meeting.

ABC Vancouver’s campaign ad with Ken Sim and co-star Laura Appleton (ABC Vancouver)

The hiring of police officers and mental health nurses was a cornerstone of the ABC campaign and often a cause for confusion. ABC sometimes pledged on social media and in broadcast advertising to hiring the officers and nurses on day one of a Sim-led ABC majority, even after the original news release said Sim would begin the process to requisition on day one. 

The allocation of funds and actual recruitment, training and onboarding could take considerably longer. It took the Surrey Police Service just over a year to announce the hiring of its 100th officer in September 2021. If new Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke successfully shuts down the fledgling municipal force in favour of keeping the RCMP, experienced officers could come available sooner.

That it was Bligh who mentioned the anti-road tax measure was a moment of irony. She was one of six councillors who voted for the Climate Emergency Action Plan. The plan included exploring a tax on driving in downtown and triggered $1.5 million of spending to study the measure. 

ABC used the proposed road tax as a wedge issue against Stewart, who repeatedly denied that city hall would impose such a tax if re-elected. Stewart accused ABC of U.S.-style disinformation and complained to radio stations that carried ads carrying Sim’s anti-road tax message. 

Meanwhile, the rest of ABC’s platform has disappeared from the party’s website. Its campaign promises, news releases and candidate biographies were no longer visible on Oct. 26. They had been replaced with a headline reading “Thank You, Vancouver” and buttons to donate to council/park board candidates, school board candidates and to sign-up as a party supporter. 

Neither Sim nor transition team head Kareem Allam responded for comment.

Near the end of the Oct. 25 meeting, Stewart remarked on the challenge of governing through the pandemic. Despite the political differences on council, he estimated there were more unanimous votes than not.

“I look forward to interacting with you in different ways after this is done,” he said vaguely, while looking around the chamber. “I’ve enjoyed my time, and it’s really been the honour of my life to serve here, but I look forward to serving the city in some other way.”

The city council meeting ended with city manager Paul Mochrie debuting a five-minute video montage of images and headlines about civic policy and program achievements since 2018.

“This has been a term unlike any other,” said Mochrie, who succeeded Sadhu Johnston in early 2021. “I think it’s probably fair to say that you didn’t sign up for this job in 2018 thinking you were going to be governing Vancouver through the biggest catastrophe since World War II, but those were the cards you were dealt.”

He also gave gift bags containing commemorative medals to Coun. Michael Wiebe and Stewart, the only outgoing council members remaining in the chamber.

“So the loot has been divvied up!” Stewart exclaimed, before formally adjourning the meeting.

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Bob Mackin Incoming Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC

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