Cost of Saskatchewan pavilion at 2010 Winter Olympics hits $4.1M 
 
 
By James Wood, Saskatchewan News Network; Canwest News ServiceJanuary 
26, 2010
 
 
With less than three weeks to go before the 2010 Winter Olympics, the 
cost of Saskatchewan's presence at the games is jumping higher.
 
Last week, the Saskatchewan Party cabinet approved an additional 
$500,000 for the province's temporary pavilion at Vancouver, raising its 
cost to $4.1 million.
 
The funding boost comes at the same time the Sask. Party government is 
aiming for a spending freeze as it prepares a belt-tightening provincial 
budget.
 
"In a period like this, anytime you have to go back to your colleagues 
and say, 'I believe more funding is required,' I was concerned about 
that," said Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Dustin Duncan on 
Monday.
 
"But I think everybody feels that we've come so far with this and we 
want to make sure we have a very strong pavilion at the Olympics and 
that we're very competitive with the other jurisdictions. We don't want 
to take a back seat to anybody."
 
Saskatchewan's total expenditure for the games will stay at a previously 
announced figure of $7.2 million, but only by moving $700,000 that has 
been spent by Tourism Saskatchewan on high-definition photographs of the 
province out of the Olympics budget and into a different budget.
 
Duncan said the change makes sense since the photos will be used for 
other purposes besides the Olympics but the NDP's Danielle Chartier said 
the government is resorting to creative accounting to try and deflect 
from a total that now appears to be about $7.9 million.
 
"It's still an extra $500,000 that the people of Saskatchewan are paying 
(for the Olympics) when we're talking about fiscal restraint, when we've 
got a billion-dollar deficit, when things are being frozen and deferred 
and cut. Half a million dollars is a lot of money for a lot of 
communities," said Chartier, the Opposition's Tourism, Parks, Culture 
and Sport critic, who expressed concern the additional costs are only 
now coming to light.
 
Duncan said the increase doesn't come from any one particular area but 
rather comes from "a better sense of what our costs will be."
 
"It's not unusual that we've had some costs that have gone up that we 
weren't counting on."
 
Unexpected costs include a charge by CTV for a live feed of Olympics 
coverage into the pavilion, which Saskatchewan originally believed would 
be free.
 
The pavilion is also being permitted by the City of Vancouver as a 
permanent building even though it will only be in place for two weeks.
 
The Saskatchewan pavilion will consist of two structures -- an 
entertainment venue showcasing local performers, artists and food, and a 
business and reception centre with an air-supported stratosphere, which 
will be able to display 360-degree images of Saskatchewan.
 
As the Vancouver games approach there have been increasing concerns 
about everything from the British Columbia weather to the reception the 
Olympics will receive from locals to the extent of the economic spinoff 
from the games.
 
But Duncan said he's not concerned that Saskatchewan's bang for the buck 
from its presence won't match expectations.
 
"I think when all is said and done we're certainly hoping the Olympics 
as a whole are going to be successful and that the tourism numbers are 
going to be very high -- there's all sorts of factors that can't change 
or you don't have control over," he said.
 
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
 

James Wood, Saskatchewan News Network