Olympic Partners Said to 'Fudge' Housing Claims
Critics, and a Tyee review, cast doubt on figure of 1,109 'new units.'
By Monte Paulsen
Published: June 28, 2007
TheTyee.ca

The organizers of the 2010 Winter Games claim to have spurred the creation of 1,109 new units of social housing in Vancouver. But a Tyee review of the numbers shows little to justify the claim.

Yesterday, on the eve of a city council meeting where the numbers are slated to be presented, officials and activists argued over whether the public is being misled.

In a draft report circulated late last week, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) and its governmental partners reported that they "have made good progress toward meeting the housing-related ICI Commitments since 2003, when the games were awarded to Vancouver."

But a Tyee review of the 1,109 units cited in the Olympic partners report finds shelter beds being counted as housing units, pre-existing units being claimed as new housing, and a double-counting of the 250 units of athlete housing at False Creek -- which will not necessarily become low-income housing after the Games.

The Tyee has also found that all but one of the remaining projects were approved and funded years before the Olympic bid was awarded in July of 2003.

Read the rest here.