WATCH ABOVE: Political heavyweights are against the idea of bidding for the 2024 Olympics. Cindy Pom reports.
TORONTO — Former mayor Rob Ford and Mississauga city council say they will not support an Olympic bid from Toronto, amid growing backlash against the proposal.
Ford said in a release Thursday evening that he could not “emphasize enough how bad of an idea this is.”
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“There were multiple instances of cost overruns with the Games we just hosted, and we still don’t have the final price tag yet,” he said.
“We also don’t know whether all these brand new facilities, built with billions of hard earned taxpayer dollars, will even meet Olympic standards.”
Ford added that trying to “speed through” the process of bidding now would be problematic, despite pleas from Toronto Mayor John Tory that the private sector may help with a bid.
“There is no way any private company worth their salt is going to put their name at the bottom of a contract with so many questions, and cost overruns a near certainty,” Ford said.
“The taxpayers have already paid their share, whether funding comes from the Federal, Provincial, or Municipal level, it’s all the same pocket.”
Ford also said that the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games is currently estimated to have cost more than $2.5 billion, adding that the city would need to find 25 corporations willing to put up tens of millions of dollars to pay for the Olympics.
“Corporations will look at putting money into the Olympics as exactly what it is, and what John Tory should realize it is – a bottomless black hole,” said Ford.
Meanwhile, Mississauga council met Sept. 9 to discuss the possibility of supporting a possible Toronto bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
A release issued by Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie’s office echoed those statements and said “after considering whether to submit a letter of intent expressing interest in an Olympic bid, Council unanimously agreed that the impacts on the city and to residents outweighed the benefits of hosting the Games.”
“I have repeatedly said that hosting the Olympics is an enormous responsibility which would have lasting implications for communities across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area – long after the games have concluded,” Crombie said in a statement.
“Without a comprehensive business case which details the budget implications and financial requests Mississauga taxpayers would be asked to commit to as part of this collective effort, Council could not proceed with supporting a Toronto bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics in such a short timeframe.”
The cost for a bid has been estimated to be between $50 to $60 million.
Earlier this week Tory met with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and discussed the issue.
The pair said they were still undecided on whether to proceed with the submitting a letter of interest to the International Olympic Committee and would continue to gather details to form a final decision.
The deadline for that decision is Sept. 15.
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