Now that Vancouver has the 2010 Olympics where do we go from here ?
Who will keep an independent eye on the activities of the organising committees, sponsors, environment, contracted workers and many other aspects of the games ?
VICTORIA - Auditor-general Wayne Strelioff went before the legislature's public accounts committee last week with what sounded like a reasonable proposal to protect the interests of provincial taxpayers on the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
"My current thinking on what audit coverage would best serve your interests (in the Games)" said Mr. Strelioff, "would be that our office be named the auditor of record on behalf of the provincial government."
He and his staff could then monitor all aspects of what he estimates to be a $3 billion venture and in particular, the $1.2-billion (and climbing) provincial stake.
B.C., as he noted, is on the hook for any budget overruns on the Games. And he has already issued warnings about the inadequacy of the contingency allowance and the need to keep an eye on construction costs and revenues.
"The government has underwritten the over-all initiative," Mr. Strelioff explained. "If there are revenue shortfalls or cost overruns and they don't match, and if there is additional financial exposure, it rests on the province."
"For legislators to get regular reports on the status of that contingency is a very good place to focus on, because then you get an overview of what has changed and what has not changed."
Plus he could ride herd on corporate sponsorship, ensure contracts were awarded fairly, and watch how the public interest is respected in the planning and delivery of the Games.
The federal auditor-general has a role in monitoring the Games and some private auditing firms will be involved as well.
Nevertheless, said Mr. Strelioff, "it would be far more efficient if there was one auditor to make sure that you're getting the assurances that I think you will likely want to receive over the next seven years."
He'd reached that conclusion, he further advised, after consultations with his counterpart in Australia, who has voiced a repeated concerns about cost overruns on the 2000 Summer Games.
Just the kind of advice one would expect from the province's independent financial watchdog. Plus the Liberals had good reason to welcome Mr. Strelioff's continued scrutiny on the Games.
For hadn't they welcomed his first report on the Games earlier this year, when he praised aspects of their Olympic budget-making?
But it would appear that the government is still smarting over some of the less well-publicized aspects of that report, because the LIberals on the public accounts committee challenged it on several points.
Why -- one Liberal MLA wanted to know -- had the auditor-general included the upgrade on the Whistler highway as an Olympic cost, thereby doubling the estimate for the provincial contribution to the Games?
Because the provincial government included the highway work as part of its pitch to get the Games, Mr. Strelioff responded.
Other Liberal MLAs stepped forward to question his findings on contingencies, revenues and costs.
They hinted, too, that a private sector auditor could do just as good a job of monitoring the Games and would probably work for less to boot.
But the government MLAs -- Lorne Mayencourt, Ida Chong, Arnie Hamilton, Patrick Wong, and Bill Bennett -- saved their strongest rebuff for the end, by voting down a motion to appoint Mr. Strelioff as auditor-of-record.
They then voted down a second motion that would have extended his purview to projects that may be related to the Olympics, such as the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver transit line and the new convention and exhibition centre on the Vancouver waterfront.
"I had no idea that this would be controversial for the government members," chided New Democrat Joy MacPhail, who formalized both motions.
"It's not about creating controversy," insisted one of the Liberals. It was just that the committee did not have enough "information. Plus the motions might well exceed the committee's authority" and constitute an "encumbrance" on the Games organizers. And it was all so, very, very "premature."
Come back later, Mr. Strelioff ... there's a good auditor-general now.
But the comments from the Liberals provided little basis for thinking they would welcome continued scrutiny from the auditor-general.
Having gotten the Olympic report they wanted from him earlier this year, they seem ready to dispense with any further meddling from the province's independent financial watchdog.
