When Campbell's Lips are Moving

We know what that means...

Gordon Campbell on the Olympic Village
CBC Newsworld

Premier Backtracks on Olympic Village Comments
VICTORIA/CKNW(AM980)

1/17/2009

Premier Gordon Campbell is apologizing for telling a national TV audience there has been no cost over-run on the billion-dollar Olympic Village project.

Campbell made the statement during an interview on CBC Newsworld, "Number one, there's not cost overruns in the Olympic Village. What there is is there are some challenges in terms of one of the opportunities to finance it, there are not cost overruns."

In fact, the City of Vancouver made it clear to reporters just hours earlier there have been cost overruns of up to $125 million.

Campbell later tried to clarify his comments, "What I was saying was there are no cost overruns for the Olympics. Sorry if it came out the wrong way, I apologize for that."

Campbell says he's not up to date on all the details of the Olympic Village, which will be the lone subject of Saturday's special sitting of the BC Legislature.

Meanwhile, NDP leader Carole James doesn't buy Campbell's backtracking and says it fits in with his overall denial about rising Olympic costs, "When you don't tell the truth, when you're not up front with the public, then you have difficulty keeping your stories straight, and that's pretty clear. The premier was talking about the Olympic Village. He said it was on budget, which simply isn't true."

James says it's time for the government to admit BC will pay a lot more than $600 million for the Olympics.

********************************

Gordon Campbell Convention Centre Boondoggle
Video

********************************

Olympic Village Boondoggle: Who Didn't We Hear From Yesterday On The CBC?

Olympic Village Boondoggle: Just How Much Cash Money Is In That Endowment Anyway?

Gazetteer: Because you can't find a neandercon in a haystack without the proper coordinates.....

********************************
Hansard Legislative Debate on Olympic Village (& Olympics)
January 17, 2009.

Text
House Video Part 1 (1200 to 2400 hrs)

"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic."----John F. Kennedy