Press room
MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release
October 29, 2008
Olympics at Britannia Community Centre?
IT'S TIME TO VOTE NO!
Vancouver – A group of concerned community members will be out in full force to oppose the use of Britannia Community Centre as an Olympics venue when the Britannia Board votes on the VANOC proposal on Wednesday evening.
In exchange for rink upgrades, VANOC is proposing that Britannia Community Centre's skating rink be used as a practice venue for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
The Britannia board held an info session for its members about the proposal on Sunday, October 26th. Concerns raised by a strong majority of Britannia members over the last year while Britannia has negotiated with VANOC for use of the rink remain unaddressed and are expressed in a petition onto which hundreds have signed.
Some of the community's most pressing fears include that: the Britannia Board will never see the contract if it is signed between the City of Vancouver and VANOC; impacts of security and surveillance in the area, such as racial profiling and homeless sweeps; VANOC will have the final say over security at the site; and security parameters will cut off access to the centre for its members and other users.
Who: Concerned community members against Britannia as an Olympic practice venue
Why: "This VANOC proposal is rife with gaps and silences, and should be a clear indication to the Britannia board to vote against the Olympics in our community on Wednesday. The proposal fails to clearly address two major community concerns: security and the accompanying surveillance apparatus and service disruption of both Britannia and community services," says Tammie Tupechka, Britannia member.
"The Trout Lake Ice Rink Replacement project shows how VANOC seed funding for the construction of Olympic venues derails community infrastructure planning, disrupts community services and leaves Vancouverites with a huge bill," says Jessica Peart, Britannia member. "While we agree that improvements to Britannia are necessary, why does VANOC determine which improvements are made?"
When: Wednesday October 29, 2008, 7:00 pm
Where: Britannia Community Centre, LRC Room (under the library), 1661 Napier Street, Vancouver.
Media Visuals: Large crowd of community members watching the Board members voting. Britannia members available for interviews and comment.
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Media Contact: Tammie Tupechka
Tel: 778.828.2744
Email: no2010britannia@resist.ca
More information, backgrounders and "The Case of Trout Lake Community Centre" available at www.resist.ca/~no2010britannia .
Past releases
"Street theatre highlights Olympic concerns" (May 5, 2008) download pdf
Updates & Events
October 30, 2008
The Britannia Board held their vote last night and the decision of the board (by secret ballot, no less) was 8-5 in favour of allowing VANOC to use Britannia as an Olympics practice venue. This is hugely disappointing, but we plan to keep organizing to resist 2010 and protect our community.
We're going to do a call out for a big community meeting in late November, so check back or sign up for our email list.