The Cost of Vancouver's Olympic Legacy

The Olympics, in theory are a great way to showcase the greatest athletes a nation has to offer, and promote a sense of patriotism and nationalism. However, hosting the Olympics comes with a great price. In Vancouver that price will be paid by the residents in the Downtown Eastside. Named, "Canada's poorest zip code", the social effects that the Games will do to this area are devastating. One of the effects we have seen so far is the displacement of low-income residents out of single occupancy hotels that is forcing more people out onto the street. Developers are buying the hotels, ripping them down, and building condos, in hopes that the area will become another "Yaletown". Thus, the homelessness population in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has doubled between 2003 and 2005. This year alone another 500 rooms have been lost, and with no affordable housing to replace these rooms more people are ending up on the street.

The most frustrating thing about this whole situation for me is that in the Olympic “bid book” there was a promise to the people of Vancouver that "no one would become homeless as a result of the Winter Games". So how is the local government getting away with this? The Council of Concerned Citizens have approached the City Council on many different occasions begging them to provide housing for the hundreds of people living on the streets. This was answered with a resounding "no" from the City Council, stating that if they built affordable housing then "private enterprises" wouldn't be able to fund housing projects. This, quite obviously was a lie to ease the conscience of the Council as no such projects have been funded to date. Sam Sullivan's blatant lying, and ignorance about the growing problem of the lack of low-income housing is enraging. It has already prompted numerous rallies, and protests, and so far, it has all been peaceful protesting.

However, I will predict that will change the closer we get to the Winter Games, and the more people are forced out onto the streets. It's fairly obvious that Sullivan is merely pushing the issue aside, and somehow can allow millions and millions of more dollars to be poured into the Games. My fear is that Sullivan will follow Atlanta's idea of rounding up all the homeless and giving them a one way ticket out of the city. Which doesn't solve the problem, but sweeps it under the carpet when "the world comes to Vancouver". I am left with this sense of rage and frustration that this is allowed to happen. The fact the poor and marginalized have been exploited over and over is disturbing. What cost are we willing to pay for an “Olympic Legacy”?