The 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Assessment Committee presented its report to council on Tuesday morning and identified 18 potential risks in its report.

The committee presented its findings in council chambers at 8:00 a.m. and says it is concerned about not having a cost-sharing agreement in place between the city, the province and the federal government.

They say that there is also risk around the city’s public engagement program and its ability to meet the expectations of Calgarians.

Erin Waite is with No Calgary Olympics and says her group is also concerned about the cost-sharing agreement and how cost overruns would be covered.

“Without any information on that known and firm and clearly understood by Calgarians, to us that says Calgarians will have to vote no. If you were making a major purchase as a household, if you were buying a house or a car, you wouldn’t proceed without understanding the cost of that before you went forward, you would walk away. And so we just don’t understand why city council isn’t walking away from this,” she said.

The committee says it is waiting for a funding decision regarding security costs, which are pegged at $610 million, and says it likely won’t have an update before a plebiscite takes place on November 13.

The chair of the committee, Evan Woolley, says he will not support moving forward with a plebiscite if Calgarians do not have all the information required to make a decision.

“There may be a way that we can make our commitment public in spite of federal government’s ability to announce those dollars but I can tell you this, I will not support moving to a plebiscite without a reasonable amount of time for Calgarians to have that number in front of them. I will not support moving forward with a plebiscite,” he said.

Councillor Sean Chu agrees that Calgarians will have a difficult time voting without the financial information in front of them.

“Without the pertinent information necessary, financial information, how are we expecting Calgarians to vote yes or no,” he said.

The cost to host the games is estimated to be $5.3 billion and it is considered to be a low risk item. The impact on city investments and a review of the draft plan are also low risk areas.

Public engagement is already underway and a number of open houses will be held by the Engagement Advisory Sub-Committee in the coming weeks:

  • October 16 - Dalhousie Community Association
  • October 17 – Blackfoot Hotel
  • October 18 – Cardel Recreation Centre
  • October 20 – Killarney/Glengarry Community Association
  • October 23 -  Genesis Centre
  • October 24 – Marlborough Community Association

If Calgary does decide to go ahead, a bid book needs to be submitted by January 11, 2019.

To view the Draft Host Plan, click HERE.