Organizers of the Vancouver Olympics were given a D minus — a barely passing grade — in a second interim report card by the Impact of Communities Coalition (IOCC) yesterday.
IOCC board member Stefanie Ratjen said the report found that many of the promises made with VANOC’s government partners had not been kept.
“VANOC is a broken promise,” she said.
The report outlines several concerns, such as the lack of protest and free-speech zones and the potential mass evictions of homeless residents as the Games approach.
COPE school board trustee Jane Bouey said VANOC and the government need to focus on low-income families.
“Child poverty is the highest in B.C. in all of Canada,” Bouey said. “It’s time to make affordable housing a priority.”
The IOCC has pledged to ensure that the benefits of the Olympics are available to people of all socio-economic backgrounds.
The report states that its mission is to “ensure those most marginalized are not displaced or harmed” by the Games.
“The reason why we didn’t give them an F is because there is still time (to make progress),” said Laura Track of Pivot Legal Society.
