Nicole Lim
Mute
I was reading the North Shore News and came upon their article “City staff want $360K Olympic budget”. The article basically outlined how even though Vanoc has not asked the North Vancouver to provide any money to aid with the 2010 Olympics, the city has taken upon itself to budget in $360K in the upcoming year. This money would be going towards things like “2010 Olympic programming”, signage and “assisting with the high volume of visitors on their way to Olympic venues in West Vancouver and Whistler”. However, in my point of view, I can see several other problems in Vancouver that deserve more immediate attention such as; homelessness, increased violence and drugs use, and increased crime. However these kinds of “sensitive issues” are often completely ignored for the more flashy and more exciting distractions such as the 2010 Olympics. I think that we could use that money to deal with real problems such as global warming or even local problems such as the Canada Line which has been under construction since 2005 and is still remains to be completed. Did you know that $360K could not only raise 18 people a year not only above the poverty line, but into a comfortable standard of living – which would include housing, food, clothing and even an education? Put that into perspective, I’d MUCH rather spend my tax dollars making a real difference in someone’s life rather than putting up pretty signs for the 2010 Olympics.
