“I just wanted to encourage the conversation,” said two-time Olympic champion Catriona Le May Doan as she dropped in on Yellowknife city council ahead of discussion about whether to host the 2035 Canada Games.
Le May Doan, a speed skating gold medallist in 1998 and 2002, is now chair of the Canada Games Council.
She made a virtual appearance at a Wednesday council meeting as Yellowknife considers whether it can sustain being the central venue for the Games nine years from now. If it goes ahead, it would be the Games’ first visit to the NWT. (The Yukon hosted in 2007.)
After listening to Le May Doan describe the Games’ positive influence on her career, council agreed to continue talks with the territorial government and other prospective partners – but some councillors expressed reservations.
City manager Stephen Van Dine said municipal and territorial analysis had suggested the potential for a significant positive impact on Yellowknife’s economy by hosting the Games. However, the territory doesn’t yet have enough accommodation – it’ll be classrooms for athletes unless some large-scale building takes place – and other modifications would be needed.
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The main concern for councillors is who ends up footing the bill, and whether the city has the capacity to get its share of the work done. (On the same day, council debated whether to set up a separate major projects department to handle the likes of coming major military investment, as staff said the workload could overwhelm City Hall’s existing org chart.)
Councillor Garett Cochrane described himself as “incredibly lukewarm about this.”
“I see many an issue coming forward on this, as they have with every prior games, and the contingency funds being put in place are my primary concern. It always goes over,” he said.
“I’d love to be able to see this go forward. I really would, but I also don’t want to see us have to lose out on any of our other services to be able to placate and play into this sports ceremony, games spectacle.”
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By contrast, Stacie Arden Smith struck a more hopeful tone.
“This isn’t the first Canada Winter Games, and it’s not going to be the last Canada Winter Games. So previous hosts should have some sort of feedback that we can draw upon,” she said.
Tom McLennan suggested four trigger points at which the city ought to be able to back out of hosting. They were if:
- the GNWT does not commit to financially backstopping the Games;
- city costs increase significantly;
- so much staff time is sucked up that extra resources are needed just to keep the city running; or
- “current applications for commissioner’s land do not progress,” affecting the ability to deliver housing for the Games or for residents.
The last trigger point referred to an ongoing argument with the NWT government over the release of land within Yellowknife’s municipal boundary for development.
Mayor Ben Hendriksen endorsed McLennan’s list, stating it balanced enthusiasm for the bid with a realistic approach to handling any drastic change. City staff said Yellowknife could in theory pull out at any time.
With McLennan’s list included, council adopted a motion to continue talks about hosting.
“I’m in general in support of this,” said deputy mayor Rob Warburton, though he noted the “astronomical amount of housing requirement,” well beyond anything the city had achieved in a quarter of a century.
“I’m hopeful it’s a catalyst to drive some more stuff,” he said.
