Opening ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games (photo by Reuters)

After years of painstaking planning, construction, advertising and anticipation, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics finally opened on Friday February 12.

Athletes, the media and sports enthusiasts from around the world gathered at B.C. place for a nearly 3 hour spectacle that showcased the unique, multicultural element these games have vowed to represent.

Unfortunately for the city of Vancouver and its Olympic Organizing Committee, the games have been subject to a slew of criticism.
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Premier Gordon Campbell with a bad case of Olympic fever.

A friend of mine recently used her Facebook status to pose the following question: Can some one please explain the harmonized sales tax in layman’s terms? The first comment she attracted was a sincere attempt to explain the details of BC’s newest tax structure without any criticism of the hike. My irritated brain immediately commanded my fingers to type – “Everyone in BC starts to pay 12 percent tax on everything. The government gives themselves raises with the extra money and the rest of it gets mismanaged on things like useless projects that lines the pockets of their friends who own big development companies.” There, I thought to myself after posting my contribution, that should incense a few people, perhaps prompting some serious discussion on the topic and awareness of how little taxpayers know of what is actually going on with their money behind the proverbial closed doors. My self-satisfaction lasted as long as it took for two more comments to appear after my own. The first one read “I like glitter and bunnies.” The second? “I like glitter and bunnies too!”
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"R.C.M.P. Stare Down Protest"

Senior R.C.M.P. Officials can deny harassing Vancouver Olympic protesters all they want and Pat McDonnel can sit and feint innocence as long as he can legally cover it up or maintain deniability, but lets look at the truth – the R.C.M.P.’s actions, not statements, and I.S.U. security behaviours for the 2010 Olympics.

Danika Surm, friend of open anti-Olympic protester Chris Shaw, claims she was approached by two plainclothed Olympic security officers and questioned about her friendship with an anti-Olympic protester. Surm said “she was on her way to class at a south Vancouver campus when she was approached by two plainclothed police officers with the Integrated Security Unit, the force in charge of Olympic security. The two officers questioned her about her friendship with Chris, who teaches neuroscience at the University of British Columbia, and what she knew about his plans to protest against the Olympics in February. The R.C.M.P. then did the same thing to Chris Shaw’s ex-wife, even though the two haven’t been married for 15 years.
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Ross Rebagliati is preparing for a new kind of competition

Constituents in the British Columbia riding of Okanagan-Coquihalla may be in for a good old-fashioned Western showdown leading up to the next federal election.

That’s because on Monday snowboarding’s first Olympic gold medalist, British Columbia Sports Hall-of-Famer and Kelowna resident Ross Rebagliati, was officially nominated the new Liberal candidate for the riding.
His Conservative opponent? Veteran politician Stockwell Day, a former leader of the Official Opposition, current Minister of Foreign Trade, and a nine-year incumbent whose political popularity in the Okanagan speaks for itself.

And there ain’t enough room in this town for the both of ‘em.
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One thing that seems to come up when the spotlight shines is the question of how one wants to be seen. The spotlight is only a few short months from shining on Vancouver during arguably the most impressive show of athleticism in the world. The pressure of hosting the Olympics comes from a need to showcase the country’s personality and promise. But what is the image that Canada has chosen, and more importantly who has defined it?

The Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) has been guided through the process by 20 individuals nominated by the Federal Government, the Province of Vancouver, the City of Vancouver, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paraolympic Committee and the local First Nations. The Chair of VANOC is Jack Poole, a prominent Vancouver businessman who is involved in everything from marinas to golf courses, malls and car dealerships. The remaining members of the board of directors are in business, finance, politics and athletics. Our elected politicians have entrusted these people to make decisions that will determine how the world views this country.

VANOC has set its values as Team, Trust, Excellence, Sustainability and Creativity. This reads like a list of most corporate values, values which one cannot help but wonder what would happen if the choice came between making a profit or having environmental sustainability – a look at Alberta’s oil and gas industry would seem to indicate a clear answer.

VANOC has chosen to showcase the multiculturalism that Canada has been famous for. Canadian musicians, dancers and artists have been slated to perform their various acts at locations around the city during the Olympics. From rappers, to Ugandan Dance troops to Jazz musicians – Canada is hoping to prove that they can offer a lot to the international artist community.
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