Local wind energy project is dividing Thunder Bay residents

Ian Kaufman

Features Editor

To many people, the idea of opposing a wind energy development seems ludicrous. Wind farms, from their name up, conjure a compelling mix of pastoral and futuristic images: verdant fields and iconic, shining white structures often described as sleek and elegant. They are used to symbolize the growing sustainability and environmental movement. When Barrack Obama made wind energy a noticeable part of his platform during the 2008 election campaign, it seemed to epitomize his appeal: fresh, forward-looking, and idealistic, but practical and serious at the same time.

It is against this backdrop that a Toronto-based company, Horizon Wind Inc., recently announced their intention to build an 18-turbine facility in Thunder Bay. The company is looking to lease a 17,000 acre property on the Nor’Wester mountain range neighbouring the Loch Lomond ski hill. They say the development, named the “Big Thunder Wind Park”, will power 9,000 Thunder Bay homes.

A rough estimation of Thunder Bay’s energy situation puts the city’s potential generation around 1500 megawatts. Of that, hydro makes up about 700 mW, coal 525 mW, and natural gas 150 mW. With the McGuinty government’s plan to phase out coal by 2014, potential generation would be reduced to around 900 mW – still almost twice the peak energy use, which sits just over 500 mW.

The proposed wind project has divided many of the residents of Thunder Bay. While a facebook page supporting it has drawn over a thousand fans, but it has equally generated concerns and an organized resistance.

Wind’s green cred means that critics of wind projects often get pigeonholed as paranoid, anti-environment wingnuts. Meeting with some of the opponents of the Big Thunder project is enough to dispel this preconception. Anna Marchese, a member of the Nor’Wester Mountain Escarpment Protection Committee, lives near the proposed development with her family. Like many other critics of industrial wind power, she initially welcomed the idea.

“At first, neighbours called [with concerns], but I didn’t think anything of it. I thought, so? It’s a windmill. Nothing to worry about. After two or three phone calls, I thought maybe I should start digging around. I went on the computer, I started asking other neighbours, I started asking my husband’s doctors.” What Marchese’s digging unearthed was surprising. Wind farms face a slew of criticisms on financial, technical, political, health-related, and even environmental grounds.

Financial

Wind energy is certainly more expensive than conventional energy; the province pays producers 13.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to the average provincial cost of about 6 cents. “Wind and solar are great sources: they’re green, they’re clean. But they can be expensive,” says City Councilor Larry Hebert, who served as General Manager of Thunder Bay Hydro for 20 years.

“Ontario is very encouraging, under its programs, to get into those things, but there’s a cost to pay – and that’s starting to come home with the hydro bills that are coming out. It’s shown on the bills as ‘Provincial Benefit’ right now, and there’s a number of things that go into it, but one of them is the cost of green energy.”

Of course, factoring in “external costs” – the incalculable social and environmental costs associated with fossil fuels – may well justify this added expense. The city of Thunder Bay will receive $275,000 in taxes if the wind park land lease is approved. If so, it will be the first wind farm in Ontario on municipal lands – usually they are located on privately-owned agricultural land. On the flipside, critics counter that this sum will be counter-balanced by a drop in tax revenue with the possible devaluation of the homes near the wind farm.

Technical

The technical criticisms of wind power mostly focus on its unreliability. Birbal Singh, a Lakehead professor of Mechanical Engineering, explains the dilemma: “You cannot design a power plant for the normal demand;” rather, it must be designed for peak capacity. “The problem with wind is, if you want to guarantee 10 mW, you have to design for 100 mW, because sometimes it’s only running at %10 capacity. With oil and natural gas, if you want 10 mW, you get 10 mW, guaranteed.”

This unpredictability means that other sources of power will still be required as backups. Some charge that the resulting fluctuation in output on the part of the backup sources makes them less efficient, resulting in increased carbon emissions and energy use. In the case of the Horizon project, with its potential generation of 27 mW, this compensation would be minimal. This could, however, become an issue in the future.

Singh brings up a neglected angle in the wind debate: our energy expectations. Growing up in India gives him a different perspective on the issue. “Back home, we get electricity for three hours a day, and that’s not even guaranteed. People are used to that. Here, if you supply people three hours of electricity – first thing, they will freeze to death. But even in the summer, nobody will tolerate that. Wind power in India is increasing, and it’s a great idea. People are happy to get three hours a day.”

Political

The recently-passed Ontario Green Energy and Economy Act (usually referred to simply as the Green Energy Act) has stirred some controversy, especially with municipal authorities. The Act gives the province increased power over energy issues, at the expense of municipalities.

“They took away meaningful local input from the community,” says City Councilor Linda Rydholm. “So now we’re in a situation where the province has changed the rules; now approval for this energy project rests between the company and the province.”

Health-related

Health concerns surrounding wind farms may be the most divisive of the criticisms of wind farms. People who have lived in close proximity to wind turbines sometimes claim effects including heart arrhythmia, headaches, stress, and loss of sleep; however, there is a paucity of scientific evidence to back up these claims. Wind’s critics say that there simply has not been sufficient time to study these issues; defenders counter that anecdotal evidence is insufficient, and that health complaints are either psycho-somatic or attempts for fiscal compensation from wind companies.

Horizon is unequivocal in its dismissal of this anecdotal evidence. In a 2008 Media and Councillor Information Kit, they state: “In over twenty-five years and with more than 68,000 turbines installed around the world, no member of the public has ever been harmed by wind turbines.”

The health effects, if valid, stem from the noise generated by the rotation of the propellers. In the case of large turbines, like those proposed at Big Thunder, low-frequency sound is generated – often low enough that it falls below the human level of audibility. It is possible that the repetitive vibrations from the turbines disturb human health.

Says Marchese: “Doctors are not agreeing; some are saying it can’t make people sick, some are saying it can. Our position is that, if you don’t know, then you invoke the precautionary principle and you do a third-party study to find out.”

Currently, Ontario requires turbines to be a minimum of 550 metres from residences. Other jurisdictions have pegged the distance (known as “setback”) anywhere from 300 metres to 1.5 km. Marchese calls the legitimacy of the province’s number into question. “Ontario studied [setback distances] 18 months ago, but noone knows what reason they have for that distance.”

Environmental

The Nor’Wester Mountain Escarpment Protection Committee believes the proposed Big Thunder wind park is not as eco-friendly as it is marketed to be. They allege that the $75 million project will devastate the landscape with access roads and construction, threatening the structural integrity of the mountain and the health of the watershed, as well as posing a danger to birds and bats.

In a letter to the Chronicle-Journal, Lakehead President Fred Gilbert – never hesitant to voice an unpopular opinion – puts himself squarely in this camp. “The Nor‘Wester location is an ecologically sensitive area representing the northernmost extension of the Great Lakes Hardwood Forest, with attendant species not found elsewhere in Northwestern Ontario…

“The potential for habitat impact in an ecologically sensitive area is high with the Horizon Wind Inc. development and should have been considered seriously. It is now too late for sober second thought but city council ‘blew’ this one!”

However, some are more skeptical of these claims. Dr. Philip Fralick, professor of Geology at Lakehead, dismisses the concerns about the Nor’wester’s structural integrity, pointing out that the weight of the turbines is miniscule compared to that of the mountain, even considering that it is made up of relatively “light” rock.

Notwithstanding the numerous concerns brought forward by its opponents, Big Thunder wind park Project Developer Nhung Nguyen believes that the proximity of the turbines to people’s homes is the real sticking point. “I think all of the concerns about wind projects really boil down to setback distances,” she says. This is one thing upon which Horizon and its critics can seemingly agree.

“That’s our concern,” Marchese . “If you move [the turbines] away from people, it doesn’t interrupt their view-shed, it doesn’t interfere with their health, they’re not going to [contaminate] the water, they’re not going to destroy the mountain. If you put them further back, it’s problem solved.”

So is there any chance Horizon will compromise on this decisive issue? The company is set to make an announcement on Wednesday, April 7^th that Nguyen hopes will satisfy those who are concerned about the project.

“We’ve been really thinking about all of people’s comments. So next week, we’re going to be making an announcement,” she says. “We think that this will be a good response to people’s concerns.”

Will this mysterious response involve changes to Horizon’s contentious plans, or simply a rhetorical volley with the company’s critics? “It will be a modification of the plans,” Nguyen confirms. “With this change to the proposal, we hope that we’re being very accommodating. As to whether [those opposed to the project] will be satisfied with it, I can’t speak to that. But I can certainly say that we’ve tried our best.”

Although Nguyen could not reveal what that “modification of plans” will entail, the most obvious possibility is to move back the turbines closest to homes in the area – some will be within about 600 metres. This week could see the resolution of the conflict over this energy development – stay tuned.

A food-lover’s guide

Ian Kaufman

Features Editor

There are many reasons to take stock of how we eat, ranging from the grandiose to the personal: an interest in combating the environmental and social destruction that so often accompany the production of our food, health concerns, or simply a penchant for deliciousness. An answer to many aspects of these issues is the relocalization of food. Local food is by no means a cure-all for environmental or social ills, and it is not necessarily any healthier or more delicious – but it certainly tends in all of those directions.

Localization can create stable regional employment, as well as reducing dependence on fossil fuels used in food production and distribution. Aside from the economic advantages, it also means forging relationships in the community. Buying food from a local farmer (or growing it yourself) is far different from grabbing packaged goods at Safeway or Walmart. It affords us an awareness of the food’s quality and its social and environmental impacts – and it can be a lot more fun and satisfying.

Realistically, though, it can also be a lot harder. The siren song of convenience, in the form of fast food and well-stocked, 24-hour grocery chains, makes it difficult to stick to resolutions of local, healthy diets. With the right information and a little planning, however, you can steer clear of the neon glow of the Metros and McDonald’s of the world, eat better, and help foster a sustainable local economy. This guide lays out some of the best ways to go local in Thunder Bay: visiting farmer’s markets, frequenting stores and restaurants that stock local food, participating in CSAs and community gardens, and growing and preserving some of your own food.

Farmer’s markets

Country Market

The first and easiest stop for local food is the Country Market. If you do it right, you can pick up a significant portion of your groceries here. If it can be grown, raised, or made in the region, you will likely find it here: fruits and veggies, cheese, meat and fish, flour, bread and other baked goods, jams and preserves, honey, and a lot more – all produced within a few dozen kilometers of Thunder Bay.

In the summer, Derek Lucchese of Both Hands Bread serves pizza, freshly baked out of his innovative wood-fired oven/trailer; you can sit and enjoy breakfast from Nature’s Choice and a coffee from the Great Northwest Coffee Co. all year round. The market additionally hosts local potters, woodworkers, knitters, and other craftspeople.

Where: Dove building on the CLE grounds (Memorial St., beside Silver City theatre)

When: Saturdays 8am-1pm, Wednesdays 4pm-8pm

Downtown Artisan and Farmer’s Market

A relative newcomer, this market has quickly made a name for itself, helping to add some spice – literally and figuratively - to downtown Fort William. “You can see the front door of City Hall,” points out market owner Jim Garriock. “When towns first started, that’s where farmer’s markets were, in the hub of the city.” The market brings thousands of people through the downtown core, says Garriock. Although its focus is more on local craftspeople and artisans, it hosts its share of local food producers as well – mainly small farmers and bakers.

Where: 507 Victoria Ave. E

When: Saturdays 9am – 3pm

Community Supported Agriculture

Boreal Edge Farm CSA

Based out of Nolalu (40 km west of Thunder Bay), Boreal Edge has brought the increasingly popular Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model as an option to area residents. Members buy a share in the year’s harvest and receive 14 weeks of produce, which conveniently enough is dropped off at the university every Wednesday. Shares cost $600, which breaks down to just over $40 per week. Boreal says that shares comfortably provide a week’s vegetables for a family of four. But for those looking to save money, there is the additional option of a work share, which substitutes a weekly four hours of work for the cost of a share.

The farm offers a smattering of other options: they are partnering with other local food producers to provide bread and eggs with their shares for those who want them; for students who leave for the summer, there are “fall shares” that provide $100 worth of food at their Country Market booth for $85; there are also “storage shares” at that time including preserves, honey, and crops like potatoes, carrots, and onions for winter storage. There are still shares remaining for this year – check out their website (http://sites.google.com/site/borealedgefarm/home).

Community gardens

Every spring, Thunder Bay residents have the option of participating in a community garden. While some of these gardens operate on a principle of work-sharing and harvest-sharing, most prefer to allot individual plots within the garden. Some are free, and some charge a marginal cost. Here at the university, we have the campus community garden, a Food Security Research Network (FSRN) project. The campus garden offers over a hundred plots on a first-come, first-serve basis and is already booked for this year. If you are interested in an on-campus plot for next year, you would be well-advised to sign up early! The garden welcomes beginners as well as experienced gardeners.

Other community gardens are springing up more or less informally across the city. More information on these emerging opportunities for urban agriculture can be obtained through the city’s Community Garden Collective on the Thunder Bay District Health Unit website.

Grow it yourself!

Of course, there is always the option of starting your own impromptu vegetable garden in a backyard or a planter. Herbs like basil, mint, and parsley are a good place to start for beginners; tomatoes and beans are also relatively low-maintenance, and can be grown indoors by a windowsill.

Grocery stores

Despite paying lip service to organic and local food, large grocery chains have yet to really follow through. Smaller local operations are a little more open to the idea. George’s Market, for example, distinguishes itself by carrying local produce in the summer as well as local cheese, meat, and eggs. Baking is done on the premises. Maltese grocery, meanwhile, features some local meats, including lamb, rabbit, and beef. You can also find herbs, Thunder Oaks cheese, and baked goods.

Eating out

Thunder Bay’s restaurants, like its grocery stores, have yet to catch on to the growing demand for local food. There are a few exceptions, however. Partnerships between Thunder Bay’s farmer’s and some of its more imaginative restaurants have begun springing up.

The Growing Season Juice Collective

Don’t let their name fool you – The Growing Season offers a lot more than juice. They offer fresh, local pizza and bread courtesy of Both Hands Bread. Other baked goods are provided by Renate Nitsche of Nature’s Choice, who is also behind the Country Market Café and The Study’s baked goods. Local cheese and veggies are supplemented by sprouts grown in-house, and sometimes, local elk sausage.

The Organic Garden Café

A well-kept secret mostly known for their Friday veggie burgers, the Organic Café also serves a fair amount of local food. Besides a partnership with Both Hands Bread, the café apparently grows much of their own produce. Worth a visit, especially for the vegetarians and vegans walking amongst us.

Caribou Restaurant & Wine Bar

Although its higher prices mean students usually reserve their visits for special occasions, Caribou finds itself among the handful of restaurants making an effort to incorporate local produce into their menu. In the summer months, they use produce from Belluz farms and Debruin’s greenhouses, while Thunder Oaks’ famous gouda graces some dishes, including their popular mushroom crepes. They have also recently added beef from Terrymore Farms (located in South Gillies) and local maple syrup for desserts.

The Good News Café

Another good option for local dining is the Good News café, located in downtown Fort William. With a cozy atmosphere and a moderately fancy tone, it’s a comfortable compromise between fine and casual dining. It’s also vegetarian-friendly.

Photo by Cole Breiland

Thunder Bay Roller Derby League kicks ass, takes names, and is ready for more

Stacey Goyan

News Editor

It doesn’t take long for derby to evangelize you. Surrounded by drama props and music stands, fifteen women skate in a taped oval in the basement of the old Eaton’s Centre. They zip past in an intense blur of fishnets and stripes.

Two skaters come up from behind, wearing “panties” on their helmets marked with a star—they are the jammers. These women fight through the pack of “blockers” to get through and eventually score a point for their team – that is, if they’re not knocked out by members of the opposing team. They hit each other, they fall flat on their faces, and they laugh uncontrollably while doing it. This is roller derby.

The Birth of Derby

Roller derby is said to have been birthed by Leo Slatzer in 1930s Chicago. It began in the form of marathon roller skating, in which a team of one male and one female would take turns skating 57,000 laps or 4,000 miles.

Once it was suggested that body contact would boost audience attendance, Slatzer revised the sport to look more like what is seen today. Despite this, the sport experienced a decline during the ‘70s, but saw a resurgence with the introduction of aggressive all female teams.

Two distinct forms of derby emerged: flat track and bank track. Bank track, a form of derby on a slanted elevated surface, has been popularized through films like “Whip It,” and televisions shows such as “Rollergirl.”

Flat track is considered the more athletic of the two, requiring skaters to rely more on their own abilities than the track. As well, flat tracks can be set up anywhere and involve very minimal start-up costs. This means that sponsors aren’t necessary, giving more control to the individual skaters on how their team is run.

In 2004, a small number of flat track teams gathered to form the United Leagues Coalition. By 2005, the league had amassed over 30 teams and changed its name to the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. The WFTDA coordinates games and provides insurance and resources for flat track teams.

Thunder Bay got its first taste of roller derby in November 2008 when Judzilla, a new girl in town, decided she wanted to make some new friends. She gathered a group of women and held some meetings. After teaching themselves the sport, they shared their experiences with new skaters, spawning the Thunder Bay Roller Derby League. Once they had honed their skills, they formed the Babes of Thunder, their first full competitive team.

Recently, the Babes competed against Winnipeg’s Murder City Maidens in a “First Blood” bout. Despite losing the match, the Babes say they are happy with their performance. “We made them work for their points,” says Brandy Poulice, a.k.a. Brandy Brews.

Home, not-so-sweet home?

It’s not easy coordinating derby in Thunder Bay. The girls found a home this summer at the Penalty Box, but once the rink was flooded for winter, they retreated to the basement of the old Eaton’s centre in downtown Port Arthur.

The track is formed with tape around three cement pillars that threaten to painfully halt a distracted skater in her tracks. As well, because the floor is tiled, the surface is much more slippery, making control more difficult than on a regulation surface. This makes holding games a challenge during the winter months. It’s a safety issue that the girls have to keep in mind; as one skater put it, “it’s frankly dangerous.”

So why not go somewhere else? Because no one will have them. The skaters are turned down from better facilities because owners fear damage from the skating and the rough play they see in Hollywood movies.

The girls say these ideas are misconceptions. Most roller derby skates are designed to not cause marks on surfaces, thus preventing damage. As well, there are no WWE style fights in this form of derby. The Babes of Thunder emphasize strategy and skill over crude blows and flat out violence. Regardless, finding sufficient practice space has proven a lingering challenge for the league.

This is not “Whip It”

Ladies looking to deliver a solid blow to the face will not find what they are looking for in Thunder Bay’s roller derby scene. While the league acknowledges the general accuracy of Drew Barrymore’s directorial hit “Whip It,” they are quick to point out the differences between the two different styles of derby.

First of all, forget throwing blows to the face. Babes of Thunder play a distinctly different type of roller derby called flat track, as opposed to the bank track featured in Barrymore’s film. In a flat track game, tripping or hitting with the arm is considered a minor penalty. A player who accumulates too many penalties will get sent off the track for a one-minute time out. Fighting or gross misconduct will get a player thrown out of the game.

Second, it’s not just about fashion and attitude. As Jolene Desbiens, aka Snach Drag’n, points out, “people forget we are athletes [and that] this is an athletic sport.” By the end of the practice, the girls’ hair is matted and their makeup starts to mingle with streams of sweat. Some Facebook pictures even boast markings from where fishnets have dug into their legs and left lingering marks. Despite this, women just old enough to drink play alongside middle-aged moms in the league, often with equal ability.

Third, and most importantly, derby isn’t a one-size-fits-all sport. Virtually every skater in “Whip It” fits the slender Hollywood female stereotype, as exemplified by Ellen Paige. Derby welcomes women of all shapes, sizes, ages, and fitness levels. “This is the only sport… that is all female, where it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, or what you look like,” says Desbiens. “Nothing matters here; Everybody’s accepted equally.”

Derby girl culture

While it is first and foremost a sport, derby culture emphasizes individuality and camaraderie as much as it does beating other girls up. While “Whip It” emphasizes the glamour and fashion of derby culture, Brandy says that each girl brings their own expectations and experiences to the sport, ultimately resulting in a very unique manifestation of their derby girl persona.

Self-definition plays a large part in derby. The skater name has become tied to the sport and the icon of the derby girl. Sometimes a skater will pick something significant from their past, emphasizing personal experience. Other names emphasize things that are specifically female (Clint Taurus), aggression (Juanna Piece), or just plain funny (Jamburglar). There are no rules about how a skater can name herself. While she may choose a name right away, she is also able to take her time and name herself later on.

The derby girl’s image is her own to create. While the girls do wear team shirts with names and numbers on the back, accessories, hairstyles, and any other form of dress are left to the individual. Some women wear studded belts, fishnets, and skulls, while others simply skate in something comfortable. Snach Drag’n, a spritely blonde woman, skates wearing her signature “snachie” underwear. She says she’s so attached to her fishnet stockings, she wears them under her pants at work.

Sometimes the derby girl doesn’t come out at all. While attitude and a kick-ass persona are hallmarks of the sport, they aren’t requirements. What’s most important about roller derby is the game – the rest is just a bonus.

Wanna be “fresh meat?”

Diane Meronyk, also known as Clint Taurus, wanted to get involved in the league but wasn’t into hitting. Sporting white-and-black derby skins, Diane referees the scrimmages, making sure the girls follow the rules.

“I think that there’s some misconceptions that we’re really violent,” says Meronyk. Even terrifyingly named techniques like the “triangle of death” involve little more than the type of shoulder checks you would see in a hockey game. Two skaters on either side knock the middle girl with their shoulders. The hits aren’t alarmingly hard, and are intended to get the skaters used to the contact.

Moreover, the “fresh meat” decide when they are ready to start hitting and taking hits. The first few practices for a newbie involve learning how to skate and take a fall. A new skater won’t be hit until she says she is ready to be. Pulice says the only pain you’ll feel after the first practice is from the workout.

But before that, a skater needs her derby gear. While the league has spare equipment in the back for those looking to try it out, adequate equipment can range from $200 and up. Skaters require derby style skates, protective pads, helmets, and a mouth guard. The safety of the skater is the main priority.

Once the newbie has her skating down, the girls take the rest fairly slowly. Most of the skaters on the Babes of Thunder are self-taught and share their knowledge with newer skaters. When the skaters feel like they need more practice on something specific, they break off into smaller groups to work on the techniques they feel they need to improve.

While the first group wants to practice snowploughing (a blocking technique), another moves to a darkened corner to work on their tomahawk, which is a quick turn, and a third practices hitting. Males are also welcome to participate in the league, but not in the sport. Men looking to help can serve as coaches, volunteers, or referees.

Looking to the future

Ask any skater and they will agree that what bonds the league together is a friendship that is quick to form, and persistent. Derby is more than just a sport, it’s a sisterhood. Someone without a clue about roller derby could walk in and instantly make fifteen new friends, which is exactly what they are hoping for.

With one bout under their belt, the Babes say they will be looking to improve their skills. Fresh meat coordinator Maarit Wolfe, aka “Kwik E Mart”, says that the league will also be focusing on recruiting more skaters, volunteers, and referees to fortify the team before their next bouts. While no dates are finalized, the Babes of Thunder are hoping to bring the Winnipeg team to Thunder Bay for a few bouts over the summer.

Individuals interested in participating in the Thunder Bay Roller Derby league can find more information on their website, www.tbayrollergirls.com, or come out to their fresh meat information session on Sunday March 28^th in the basement of the Eaton’s building.

Ian Kaufman
Features Editor

The party’s over. The tourists, athletes, journalists, and members of the International Olympic Committee’s prestigious “Olympic family” have all gone home, weighed down with medals, souvenirs, and other Olympic loot. And with last week’s closing ceremonies bringing the games to a conclusion that would have been laughable, were if not for the colossal squandering of resources it represented (around $40 million, together with the opening ceremonies), it’s generally understood that the media moves on to talk about something else – gender-neutral O Canada lyrics, anyone?
But although the medal count is already etched into the proverbial history books, for Vancouverites – and, to a lesser degree, all Canadians – the story of the 2010 Olympics is still playing itself out. This is something the citizens of Montreal, who finally paid off the debt on their 1976 Olympic stadium in 2006, know all too well: the full effects of holding the games often aren’t clear until long afterwards. It’s still early, but Vancouver’s Olympics look to have cost $6-9 billion. Meanwhile, BC has posted a record deficit and slashed social programs.
But some ask, isn’t hosting the Olympics like throwing a big party? Most of us unbegrudgingly spend money on booze, snacks, and maybe some decorations when holding a party – and we know that a few weeks later, a friend will do the same for us. Olympics boosters point out that two years later, another place bears the cost of holding the event, opening their city up for the world’s biggest party. This reasoning appeals to all the rosiest ideals of global community and reciprocity. But it’s worth asking: who pays for the party, and who pulls a profit?
The first nail in that metaphor’s coffin is that this is one hell of an expensive party: when was the last time you spent six or seven times your annual budget to show some friends a good time? This Magazine recently assessed the total cost of the 2010 games to be over $9.2 billion. To put this in perspective, Vancouver’s annual budget is around $1 billion, while BC’s total spending for this year is estimated at $40 billion. This may have highballed the tab a bit, depending on who’s counting, but it seems certain that the figure is at least $6 billion, and possibly much more – a far cry from the $1.76 billion official budget of the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC).
The crucial variable in tabulating the cost of the games is infrastructure, such as the expansion of the Sea-to-Sky Highway connecting Vancouver and Whistler. This Magazine factored the expansion into their estimate, saying the work would not have been undertaken if not for the Olympics. As one of the province’s most dangerous stretches of road, however, it was destined for some kind of renovation. But pressure from the IOC, who made the expansion an unofficial precondition of awarding Vancouver the bid, was related to speeding up the travel time to Whistler, not increasing safety. Without this pressure, work would certainly have proceeded at a more measured pace.
That might have saved the section of Eagleridge Bluffs that was blown up and paved over for the project. The Bluffs are a gorgeous chunk of BC’s coastline, home to a handful of endangered species and rare trees. The decision to build the highway over the Bluffs rather than running a tunnel under them (the lesser of two evils) might have been avoided, had Vancouver followed the twenty-year timeframe proposed for the expansion before the Olympic bid. Perhaps environmental activist Harriet Nahanee would not have had to spend some of her last days in prison after participating in a blockade of construction on the Bluffs. Nahanee, who was in poor health at the time, was sentenced with contempt of court, contracted pneumonia in jail, and died shortly after her release.
A less contentious example of Olympics-related infrastructure spending is the Canada Line, a high-speed rail project connecting Vancouver International Airport with Richmond and downtown Vancouver. The line is touted as a “green” project with the potential to save hundreds of thousands of car trips per day.
Both the Sea-to-Sky expansion and the Canada Line can be generously seen as projects which would have taken place regardless, albeit much more slowly and cheaply. Still, if we completely remove both projects from the Olympic ledger, as BC Premier Gordon Campbell insists, this leaves the total bill at around $6 billion.
The other notable slices in this multi-billion dollar pie are the original bidding process, venue construction and upgrading, the Athletes Village, expenses for government and IOC members, and security. In a remarkable example of teamwork, the three levels of government somehow managed to rack up $1 billion in security costs. Official projections had allotted only $175 million – but that’s the cost of holding the games in the “post-9/11 world”, according to the IOC.
So who pays for all of this? VANOC’s $1.76 billion budget is financed roughly equally by three sources: provincial funding, federal funding, and the %49 of sponsorship and television revenue not claimed by the IOC. Although that budget is technically supposed to cover the full cost of staging the Olympics, the extra four or five billion dollars will be made up by Vancouver, BC, and Canada. Governments must assume legal responsibility for overruns in order to be selected by the IOC, as well as granting the organization tax-exempt status.
While it’s all well and good to talk about the legacy of the Olympics in dollars, all of those zeros can obscure the real effects of holding the games. Government money may increasingly seem to come out of nowhere, but a week after the games wrapped up, some palpable effects of this diversion of funding can already be observed.
BC posted a record $2.8 billion deficit in September. This cash crunch made itself felt in the province’s social programs, while the province spared no expense for the upcoming Olympics. After featuring the arts prominently in the opening and closing ceremonies of the games, the BC Liberals are now reducing arts funding by at least a third. Post-secondary student aid was cut by $17 million, while an anticipated $110 million in school maintenance grants was scrapped. Healthcare funding was cut by $360 million. The province is also set to eliminate more than one tenth of government jobs over the next three years, which adds up to about 3,500 full-time position lost.
These cuts in social programs take place against a backdrop of swelling poverty rates and homelessness, a phenomenon much harder to quantify. The PIVOT Legal Society estimates that homelessness in Vancouver has more than doubled since 2002, largely thanks to evictions and the abandonment of affordable housing programs.
Neither Vancouver’s social issues nor BC’s economic problems are ultimately attributable to the Olympics. But what is certain is that the 2010 Olympic games leave Vancouver’s citizens, and to a lesser extent all Canadians, with a debt that will take years to pay off. As is becoming increasingly clear, this debt manifests itself in the exacerbation of existing problems, thanks to cuts to social programs.
What makes all of this especially infuriating is the culture of corruption that infamously surrounds the IOC. In their expose The Lords of the Rings, Vyv Simpson and Andrew Jennings portray the Olympics as they are experienced by the members of the IOC and their families. “All Olympic gatherings are a constant and glittering round of first-class travel, five-star hotels, champagne receptions, extravagant banquets, mountains of gifts and lavish entertainments. And frequently, not even an athlete in sight.”
With politicians, businessmen, IOC members and their families being wined and dined with Olympic money, citizens paying to attend the events and to use the facilities once the games are over, and our governments picking up the tab, the Olympics are looking increasingly like just another way to transfer public wealth to private hands.

Callan Main

As I watched the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics, I couldn’t help but be conflicted in condemning or condoning the spectacle. The ceremonies are supposed to draw on the ancestry and heritage of the country that is presenting the games to the rest of the world. They are an invitation to catch a glimpse into the host nation’s culture.
From the torch relay to the opening ceremonies to the Olympic logo, there has been a distinctive “Aboriginal brand” to these games. Alongside this, most of the Olympic venues are located on traditional lands of the Lil’Wat, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh, who together make up the Four Host Nations Society. The society is an official partner of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) in the hosting of the games. This partnership has been a component of the games since the bidding process began, and has generated millions of dollars for the four Aboriginal bands. Yet it’s worth asking what this branding and so-called partnership has done in regards to indigenous people within this country.     Native arts and culture were a prominent presence at this year’s games. The use of Aboriginal culture and symbolism was conveniently placed in the entertainment components of the Olympics. When it comes to actual Aboriginal participation, however, the games were largely lacking. Canada’s Olympic team had only one Aboriginal athlete: snowboarder Caroline Calvé from Quebec. Close to 4 percent of the Canadian population identify as Aboriginal; if the team were to truly reflect the face of Canada, we would have had 7 or 8 Aboriginal athletes on the 200+ Canadian team.
Thanks to the prominence of Aboriginal imagery at the games, Canada’s Indigenous peoples are experiencing unprecedented international exposure. The Vancouver 2010 Aboriginal Licensing and Merchandising Program marks the first time an Olympic organizing committee has partnered with Indigenous people in creating an official licensed merchandising program — a program that showcases excellence in Aboriginal arts, culture, and enterprise in Canada. Some say this will bring global attention to Aboriginal artists and businesses.
Chief Leah George-Wilson of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation (TWFN) believed that, if the Olympics were going to occur in Aboriginal territory no matter what, a partnership with VANOC – which meant having a direct say in the implementation of the games - would have the greatest positive effect on their communities.
We only have to look as far as the controversy between the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) and the Cowichan tribe over the Olympic sweater to see the complexity of Aboriginal involvement in the games. HBC won the bid to produce Canada’s clothing line for the 2010 games. Their Olympic sweater, which features a design very similar to the iconic maple leaf and elk featured on the traditional Cowichan hand-knit sweater, has been one of the clothing line’s most popular items.
The Bay says it considered using Cowichan knitters to produce its sweaters, but felt they could not meet its strict standards. Cowichan Tribes general manager Ernest Elliott revealed in an interview that HBC wanted the knitters to produce 700 to 800 sweaters in a 10-month period. The job could have been done for less than $300 per sweater with about 25 knitters, he estimated. “I can’t describe what we would have felt if all the Canadian athletes walked into the opening ceremonies with genuine Cowichan sweaters,” Elliott said.
Instead, the Hudson Bay Company opted to make “contemporary sweaters” that bear a strong resemblance to the traditional Cowichan sweater, for a selling price of over $350. After much dispute, HBC finally came to an agreement with the Cowichan Tribes to sell genuine, hand-knit Cowichan sweaters - but only in the company’s flagship Olympic store.
It seems, then, that HBC stole the look of the Cowichan sweater, developed and produced a poorer quality garment – selling it for more than the genuine Cowichan sweater would have cost – and then tried to save face in response to protests and terrible publicity. Is that what you would view as a “partnership”?
In 1999, the International Olympic Committee adopted Agenda 21, a document that called for Olympic host nations to use the Games as a means for creating sustainable development for traditionally disadvantaged groups, including Indigenous peoples. The following year, the Sydney Olympics gave Australia’s Aborigines a role to play in the Games, highlighted by a memorable performance at the opening ceremony.
Though the world was exposed to Aboriginal culture, the scene was very different away from the media spotlight. Some of Australia’s Indigenous leaders called for protests during the Sydney Games because of long-simmering disputes over land rights and the lack of economic opportunities available to their people. Other games held since the adoption of Agenda 21 have had Indigenous participation but, like in Sydney, the role was limited to performance. When Canadian tribal representatives took part in the 2006 closing ceremony at the Torino Olympics, it seemed that the trend of following Agenda 21 on a purely cosmetic level would continue.
The four host First Nations were a visible presence in Vancouver this February, as was the culture of Indigenous people from other parts of Canada. The Aboriginal Pavilion, a structure built specifically for the Games, is the centerpiece of this cultural promotion. But it is the behind-the-scenes participation of the host First Nations that may truly set these Olympics apart in terms of sustainable economic and social development.
In recent years, the Olympics have been valued by the host nation for the economic opportunities created. VANOC supposedly focused on taking steps to include Aboriginal people, not just in those aspects of the Games that receive media coverage, but on a more grassroots economic and social level as well. Will all this talk turn into action on sustainable development for Aboriginal communities across Canada or is this too only a cosmetic partnership? Only time will tell.

Ian Kaufman
Features Editor

When planning to voyage to unknown lands, it’s common practice to get a few books out of the library, rev up the old computron, and inform oneself on the culture, architecture, and environment of your destination. While these things are all important, there is an additional consideration we seldom take – what are the sexual mores and laws going to be like where we’re going? While by no means exhaustive, this guide gives an overview that will at least get you thinking about this element of travelling. It might even save you some jail time – or your life.

Having a gay old time

While there is no shortage of things to keep in mind when visiting Iran, perhaps the most important is to refrain from being gay. The country’s legal system defines sex between men a crime punishable by death. Of course, unless you travel with your partner, this shouldn’t pose much of a problem: As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pointed out to an audience at New York’s Columbia University, “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country”. Women can expect the lesser punishment of 100 lashes for engaging in homosexual activity.
Iran’s laws surrounding homosexuality are uncommon only in the severity of their punishments, as the savvy traveller is no doubt aware. Over 40 countries deny entry to lesbian, gay, and bisexual visitors, while homosexuality is illegal in more than 80 countries; only four besides Iran, however, apply the death penalty (Sudan, Mauritania, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia). On the bright side, your conviction for any kind of illegal sexual activity in Iran is only possible with the testimony of four adult male witnesses. Unfortunately, this makes pressing charges for rape nearly impossible.
It will perhaps come as a surprise to many that the Vatican City does not prohibit same-sex sexual activity. So with its impressive architecture and its lush gardens, which cover more than half of the city, the Papal state is one hell of a romantic get-away, whatever your sexual orientation.

Going South of the border

Thanks to laws varying radically from state to state, the U.S. can be a haven for sexual depravity as easily as a prudish tyranny. Take, for example, bestiality: only around 30 states have expressly outlawed the practice, although most of the rest prosecute the act by way of animal cruelty legislation. That still leaves at least three states in which zoophiliacs are apparently free to pursue their passions without fear of legal reprisal: Arkansas, Montana, and North Carolina, where laws prohibiting bestiality have been struck down as unconstitutional.
Then there’s the prudish side of the coin: If you and/or your partner are under 18 and like to dabble in the thoroughly modern art of “sexting”, you may want to avoid venturing north of the border. Dozens of teens in at least five states have been charged with sexual abuse or possessing, manufacturing, and disseminating child pornography as a result of “provocative” pictures sent over cell phones.
Seventeen Pennsylvania students faced those charges after a teacher found a series of pictures after confiscating one girl’s phone during class. By agreeing to a plea deal in which they attended a ten-hour class on pornography and sexual violence, most of them avoided the potential consequences: jail time and registration as a sex offender. You might not be so lucky!

Eat, drink and be married

Fornication – that is, sex between people who are not married – is illegal in a handful of countries, nearly all of them in the Middle East (the exceptions being Morocco, Malaysia, and Sudan). Although these legal stipulations can cause major problems for the citizens of these countries, the only travellers affected appear to be drunken hooligan tourists – not that this demographic necessarily deserve any lesser degree of protection under the law.
Case in point: two British citizens were sentenced to three months imprisonment after getting caught in a compromising situation on a Dubai beach. They even went so far as to rush a civil marriage ceremony in hopes that it would reduce the severity of the sentence. The catch: they had just come from a posh all-you-can-drink event, and it has been suggested that the woman attempted to attack the police officer who happened upon them.
Whether or not you’re married, think about curtailing PDA when visiting the region – although rarely illegal, it is often frowned upon. Research the legalities surrounding sex before you travel somewhere, and be aware of the cultural mores as well. In this case, that would mean refraining from having sex on a public beach. In short, use your common sense.