By Doug Draper
I don’t know about you, but I have already heard more than enough about the Pan Am Games. And they are just getting underway this July 10th in in Toronto, Ontario and neighouring municipalities.
Ping Pong? Hell, for more than two-and-a-half billion dollars, why not have lawn darts on the Pan Am Games venue too?
CBC radio and television, which I normally have some respect for, has been going giddy over this high-priced venue for sweaty jock straps for weeks now.
Just a few nights ago, CBC’s The National, did a feature on Canadian ping pong ‘champs’ readying themselves to compete in these games. What next? Are there competitions in lawn darts and paddle ball to do features on.
One thing I know. I’d rather watch flies trying to poke their way through a screen to my dining room than spend a day watching ping pong on TV. And I sure don’t think we, the taxpayers of Ontario, should be paying more than a two and a half billion dollars for the privilege.
That’s right. According to official estimates, we are paying about $2.5 billion for the venues for these games and at least another $240 million for security. And anyone who knows anything about these operations also know that the final costs will come in much higher.
And who will be stuck with all those costs? You know who will be stuck with them. The same all of us who could do better if that money was spent on health care, education, public transit and other vital services.
We are the people who are going to be stuck with those costs, just as the upper one per cent and elites walk away with a windfall from the construction contracts, ticket sales, merchandise marketing, etc.
It has been that way over and over again with Olympic and other so-called games venues held in regions around the world where we, the 99 per cent, end up stuck with costs to be paid for years and, in some cases, decades to come.
Suffice to say, I will be sitting in front of my TV screen, watching this multi-billion-dollar boondoggle go down.
(Niagara At Large now invites all of you care to share your real first and last name to respond to this post below.)
Niagara At Large 
Doug
I fully agree with your assessment of basically all these so called athletic achievement games knowing full well the real reason for these games is NOT about the young athletes but about the revenue generated to enhance the coffers of the Corporate few. I also agree as in the past it has been the blue collared taxpayers who were force to defray the cost of this grand standing through their taxes while finding the price of admission is beyond their minute remunerations. Terns of millions and possible closer to a hundred Million dollars of taxpayers money has been spent in Welland alone to build this Welland Flat Water Course sport complex while the ratepayers and the infrastructure suffers…Unlike you Doug I am not interested in contributing to corporate largeness at the expense of taxpayers including myself…..My best wishes go out to “all” the Athletes from all the participating nations
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That’s what you get when the former Minister of Sports, Tourism and Culture, Michael Chan (which includes all Arts and Heritage) paid attention only to the Sports part of his lame ministry. Now he is Minister of Something Else, and good riddance, say some.
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And I thought I was the only person looking forward to the Games!
CBC needs to get on the “gravy train” for funding purposes!
Look at the positive: Toronto gets publicity _ …
For the duration of the games, will we be able to use the “Rob Ford” lanes without the minimum 3 in the vehicle?
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I am surprised by the last para of your commentary Doug. I will NOT be sitting in front of my TV screen to watch any of the Pan-Am crap.
Our local newspaper, the Hamilton Spectator, a Toronto Star subsidiary, has been rah rah sis boom bah for months now about the “games.” But many of their articles bring strongly critical comments from many (including yours truly).
The whole thing is a colossal waste of precious tax dollars that could be better spent on schools and health care.
The sooner this mess is over and done with the better.
But what is really scary is that John Tory, the mayor of Toronto, is starting to revive the idea of putting forward a bid for the Olympics! Please — God forbid!
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The Olympic games for Toronto? The games basically broke the economy for Greece. Greece is so deep in the hole these days, they risk being booted out of the Eurozone. The silver lining? Toronto Pearson Airport is now in the 21st Century with a downtown (and) St Catharines has a new bridge to Henley Island (in Port Dalhousie where some of the Pan Am rowing events are taking place).
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Sorry to intrude on the serious discourse, but Doug, I loved the lawn darts bit. Perfect.
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The first week of games is now over, Canadian athletes used to do very poorly at these events , and painful to see the pitiful haul of medals , now some 20 years later , what a huge difference. I don’t know how we did in lawn darts, but it looks good on the other fronts.
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Welland got an underutilized Flat-water center and substantially over budget. We still do not have the budget details of this gross expenditures. Due to confidential agreements with T2015 the former chair has been sworn to secrecy. Poor taxpayers of Welland another debacle. That’s life created by the previous councils
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