Calgary city council will vote Monday to establish a committee to ensure council knows what’s going on with the Olympic BidCo, the organization that is exploring a potential 2026 Winter Olympics bid.
A council meeting on April 16 saw council vote 9-6 to continue exploring a bid on the 2026 Winter Olympics — and also to form a committee to ensure a more transparent and neutral process.
Coun. Shane Keating said the oversight committee is necessary because council wasn’t always aware what was going on with BidCo.
“I won’t say that decisions were made in isolation of council’s direction but there were investigations, reports of things and council found out about it after the fact,” Keating said. “What we actually have to do is change that scenario.”
“What has happened since then, people have questioned is it neutral or not,” he said. “I think that is what this committee will do and that part has been missing too.”
The mayor and four councillors will be on the committee. The four councillors have yet to be named.
The committee will act like any standing policy committee, overseeing all developments of BidCo including public engagement, and if needed, a plebiscite. It will then provide recommendations for council.