Ottawa needs to ensure the 2010 Olympic Games are a “smashing success,” interim Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Thursday in Vancouver.
“The Olympic Games are not a Vancouver Games. They’re not a B.C. Games,” said Ignatieff, wearing a pin of Olympic mascot sidekick Mukmuk on the lapel of his black suit.
“They are a Canada Games and I’m a federal politician. We want to make sure that the federal government is there and present and active to make sure that these Games are the smashing success.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in Vancouver Monday, said the federal government would not be funding cost overruns to Vancouver’s Olympic Village.
Ignatieff agrees that it would “be crazy” for the government to underwrite any cost overruns “but for heaven’s sake you want to send a more positive message than Mr. Harper.
“These are a great national adventure for our country and the federal government should be there to make sure it’s a big success.”
