March 10, 2004 News 5 Olympic Symposium seems Biased A congratulatory symposium with no debate Photo by Marlon Francescini - Colin Kinsely, mayor of Prince George and lan Tate, former director of the 2010 bid corporation were at UNBC for the Olympic Symposium. By Marlon Francescini In the Beginning there was a dream. A dream that inspired Vancouver, Victoria, and Whistler. That dream was an Olympic dream, they called their dream Vancouver Olympic Bid for 2010. To begin with we should be aware of the results of the economic impact report that was produced 6 months before the announce- ment that Vancouver-Whistler was competing for the honour to host the Olympics. This report put out by InterVISTA has been interpreted by vari- ous organizations ,to proclaim the economic disaster that the games will put on the host cities, and the economic rain- bows of love that are the games will give to these host cities. These two contradictory sce- narios came from the same reports. Politicians tend to either use the most optimistic, or the most pessimistic of the evaluated scenarios. The very optimistic, like Gordon Campbell, will say that BC would see 18 years of incre- mental tourist growth with a conservative estimate of $4.3 million of incremental growth in revenue. The more pes- simistic estimate of incremen- tal tourist interest in BC would only be $1.1 million on top of Vancouver’s usual tourist industry. The economic impact studies broke down the data into the following manners: direct, indirect and induced. Direct economic impact will be most- ly towards the construction, tourism, operation and Olympic paraphernalia indus- tries. The indirect economic impacts are in catering, “Johnny on the Spot” rentals and hospitality industry. Direct econom- ic impact will be mostly towards the construction, tourism, opera- tion and Olympic paraphernalia industries. Induced economic impacts are general economic stimulation.” This is related to business, and a general increase in people buying merchandise related to the Olympics or not. The costs which all British Columbians will be forced to pay will be involved with the cost of building facilities, upgrading the sea to sky high- way, and creating the new RAV line as a more direct route from the airport to Vancouver. The North will be receiving the money to build the Northern Sports Complex. Some Northern industries will profit from the Olympics, these are related to construction and tourism. However, this will only occur if these Northern companies can outbid other companies for these lucrative contracts. The Mayor of Prince George, Colin Kinsley, who was a keynote speaker said it best when he analogised that the North is on a ship, the Olympics are like a pirate ship containing lots of gold and Vancouver, Victoria, and Whistler are the Captain of our ship. Naturally these cities will get most of the loot, but we will get something. Other speakers were Dr. Jago, mem- . bers of the Northern Economic Student Society (NESS), Ian Tate (the former Director of the 2010 Bid Corporation), Ian Kincaid (Manager of Economic Analysis at InterVISTA), and Marvin Schaffer (co-author of the cost-benefit study of the Olympics . in 2010 on Vancouver). Both Ian Kincaid and Marvin Schaffer both agreed that the North will not be benefiting from the Olympics in 2010, however the taxes that will be taken by the government are substantially less than previously stated. There should be very little effect of decreasing unemploy- ment in BC. Marvin Schaffer, a self described “nattering nabobs of negativism”, speci- fied that all of us in Canada and BC will have to show for our efforts is “pride and tab of hosting the world”. UPASS Update Will We Support WUSC? Referendum to be held Nugss News Release: by Tamara Sweet The Board of Directors for the Northern Undergraduate Student Society (NUGSS) voted March 3, 2004 in favour of holding a refer- endum in regards to the Universal Bus Pass (U-Pass). The U-Pass will give all UNBC full and part time undergraduate NUGSS news release: Tamara Sweet Affairs, NUGSS) The Board of Directors for the Northern Undergraduate Student Canada and the U.S. It addresses affordability issues, mobility needs, and environmental sensi- tivity. By having a U-Pass on campus there will be a reduction in the traffic on the roads to UNBC anda reduction in the amount of frustra- tion in finding a parking spot on campus. In addition, the demand For more than three decades, WUSC has sup- ported develop- (Director of External and community-based organiza- tions with Canadian expertise, services, strengthen capacity and develop local potential. As one of Canada’s most dynamic not-for-profit develop- ment organizations, WUSC sup- ports development education and innovative grams on Canadian post sec- ondary campuses. and resources to international pro- NUGSS to hold referendum for student refugee program uate students of UNBC to decide. A referendum will be held on March 24th and 25th, in conjunc- Now it is up to the undergradu- ate students of UNBC to decide. for parking could be reduced, allowing funding to be redirected to other needy areas. It is now up to students to decide. A referendum will be held on March 24th and 25th, in con- junction with the NUGSS Board elections. This referendum will allow the Undergraduate students at UNBC to decide on whether or not they would like a U-Pass pro- gram at UNBC. Local businesses are welcome to contribute. If you or your business would like to get involved in this initiative, please contact Tamara Sweet, Director of External Affairs at the NUGSS office. tion with the NUGSS Board elec- tions, to determine if UNBC stu- dents would support a student refugee on campus. In supporting this refugee student fees will be increased by one dollar. This pro- posed student would be on cam- pus for the 2005/2006 school year - this time frame allows for NUGSS to gain the funding to fully support this student. Local businesses are welcome to contribute. If you or your busi- ness would like to get involved in this initiative, please contact Tamara Sweet, Director of External Affairs at the NUGSS office. Each year approximately 40 student refugees enter Canada -through the WUSC Student Refugee Program. The program enables student refugees to come to Canada to continue their stud- ies and through an agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada they are eli- gible to resettle here as landed immigrants. Over the past 20 years more than 600 student refugees have- been sponsored by over 70 WUSC Local Committees and Sponsoring Groups on university and college campuses across Canada. Now it is up to the undergrad- students unlimited access on all Prince George Transit routes at anytime during a semester. This unlimited access is in exchange for an increase in student fees - a frac- tion of the regular cost to ride the bus. This pass would also allow all holders free access to both the Four Seasons and Aquatic Centre at anytime during the semester. Local merchants have also gotten involved and offered discounts to U-Pass holders. These businesses include: Booster Juice, Quiznos and G Styling Hair Salon and Body Piercing. The U-Pass has been successful- ly implemented in over 60 post- secondary institutions across ment in over 50 countries throughout — the world. Society (NUGSS) voted last night in favour of holding a referendum in regards to supporting the World University Service of Canada (WUSC). For more than three decades, WUSC has supported develop- ment in over 50 countries throughout the world. We link governments, non-governmental organizations and institutions,