Another (Really Important) Reason Why Mr. Doyle Must Stay!

MayTheMint400NeverRunDownPacificBlvd
AndBurrardIsNotBarstowVille


Downtown Vancouver really is not Vegas.

But it darn sure as heckfire almost was.

And it is my opinion, based on the evidence unearthed so far, that the five or six hundred million (or maybe a billion when all is said and done and the greasy cables and failing patches of magic carpet are finally fixed, not to mention all the lawsuits finally completed/settled?) we are paying for that bloody BC Place renovation when Toronto built itself a brand spanking new soccer stadium for $72 million was actually done, at the very least, to make group of finest of the fine folks from Vegas and their Gordinator the Firstian advanceman happy from the very beginning.

But never mind all that for the moment.

Because what we spent on that new roof for the old marshmallow is a huge pile of our money that we no longer have that cannot be used for things that actually matter.

So I want to know who took that money from us and how they did it.

Why?

Because I want to make sure that they cannot do it again.

Ever.

No matter how many hats they wear, or how many 'legacies' they are be posted to.

Which is why I'm very, very happy to learn that, based in large part on a letter unearthed by FOI, a process was kickstarted that has resulted in the following, as reported by a red mittenless Bob Mackin in BIV.

Here's Mr. Mackin's lede (but go read it all):

B.C. Auditor General John Doyle will take a closer look at the costs of the controversial BC Place Stadium renovation, it was revealed today.

NDP critic Spencer Chandra Herbert appealed to the government's spending watchdog in a January 11 letter for a value-for-money audit after Business in Vancouver revealed a five-year-old confidential letter from the chairman of BC Pavilion Corp. to Vancouver's city manager. That January 22, 2008, letter by David Podmore said the project would be "in the order of $100 million," including replacement of the air-supported roof.

Last August, the BC Liberal government claimed the final cost was $514 million, which included a German-engineered, spoke-and-wheel retractable roof.

"What was the original business case for this project, and why did the Liberals feel it was the best use of B.C. tax dollars?" asked Chandra Herbert in his letter. "How will the BC Liberal government recover its half-billion-dollar investment in B.C. Place, and how did this project stray so far from its original budget?"

Doyle responded in a January 16 letter, that said: "As a result of your request, we will be performing a fact-finding exercise. In the event that a satisfactory explanation is not readily forthcoming, the Auditor General may choose to do further work."...



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And who unearthed the letter that got ball really rolling?....Well, none other than our friend and compatriot in blogging and all things Rakoff and, dare I say it, Bowie....Mr. Ian Reid.


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