With 31 days until the 2010 Winter Games, local Member of Parliament John Weston joined a panel of Olympians and government officials to boost anticipated Olympic legacies during a meeting at West Vancouver's Park Royal Shopping Centre on Tuesday (Jan. 12).
Former Olympic alpine skier Steve Podborski, who as a "Crazy Canuck" gained fame in the 1970s and 80s, acted as MC, introducing the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky MP, Minister of State for Sport Gary Lunn, former Olympic skier and Senator Nancy Greene Raine, Olympic swimmer Annamay Pierse and Paralympic track and field star Andrea Holmes before the 150 people in attendance.
Weston gave a speech promoting the Olympics as a means of improving economy and fitness. He said the event is going to attract the international spotlight and, in so doing, boost tourism throughout the corridor.
"3.5 billion [television viewers] will conclude that, from West Vancouver to Whistler, lies the recreational capital of the world. 3.5 billion people will conclude that Canada is everyone's dream and our reality," he said.
Athletic excellence and improved fitness is a significant part of the Olympic legacy and new venues like the Nordic centre in the Callaghan Valley will help support up-and-coming athletes.
When asked about the proposed Squamish Legacy Sports Park, which would see all-season ski jump and biathlon training facilities established on crown land near Brennan Park, Weston admitted he was unaware of the plan. He did show interest, however.
"That would be great," he said. "This is not a bunch of straight lines but I see it as a whole bunch of interacting things and the more ties that can be made like that one, the better."
Weston also took the opportunity to defend his Conservative government's decision to prorogue parliament throughout the Olympics. The prorogation, which will last until March 3, allows MPs to better represent their ridings by leveraging the benefits spinning off the Olympics, he said.
"In fact, I'm probably the one MP with the best reason to work in my riding rather than Ottawa over the next few weeks," he said.
Lunn, meanwhile, admitted the security costs of the Games are much higher than originally expected after an audience member asked why the federal government hasn't acted to lower the cost. The estimated cost of security has risen to $900 million after an original budget of $175 million.
However, Lunn complimented VANOC for smart planning through a struggling global economy.
"By in large, with the downturn in the economy we've seen this year, I actually think it's been pretty good," he said. "We're going to make sure we welcome the world and have the safest Games."
And with unseasonably warm weather creating alarm, Greene Raine, who was instrumental in developing the Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort and is known as Canada's most decorated ski racer, said the Whistler race courses would be competition ready. She said maintenance crews to improve the snow around this time of year by adding water To some areas anyway.
"So mother nature is doing it for us. Those of us who have been around the coast and the ski world know that if we get a good thaw in January we almost always have spectacular weather in February. So relax. Don't worry," she said, adding that the success of the 2010 Olympics can be measured beyond medal counts and logistics.
"In the end when I sit back and I say, will we win the Olympics as a country, it will be if we've changed our attitudes toward sport and fitness and lifestyle at every age level," she said. "That will be the legacy from these Games."
