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alberta considers mandatory referenda votes for future international games
the province is currently weighing whether to make a bid for the 2030 commonwealth games
jul 17 2023
4 minute read
alberta minister of tourism and sport joseph schow speaks during the announcement of a tech company's move to set up offices in calgary on july 5.
gavin young/postmedia
alberta’s united conservative government is considering mandating referenda votes on future bids to bring international games to the province.
the development comes as the province weighs hosting the 2030 commonwealth games in alberta , with work continuing in exploring the feasibility of a joint bid between calgary, edmonton and the tsuut’ina nation.
in a monday interview with postmedia, joseph schow, alberta’s new sports and tourism minister, wouldn’t rule out an upcoming referendum vote on whether alberta should pursue those summer games.
schow’s mandate letter from premier danielle smith tasks him with developing a bidding policy and possibly legislation “to ensure future international gaming bids using substantial provincial taxpayer dollars are subject to transparent public disclosure requirements and cost/benefit analysis.” the letter specifies mandatory referenda votes for affected communities when deemed appropriate.
“when it comes to things like large-scale events, it’s important to get feedback from albertans and how they feel their tax dollars are being used,” schow said.
“going forward, we’re looking at building a framework that is going to be in the best interest of albertans to make sure that should we go after international games, that it’s a good opportunity for us as a province.”
considered likely no other countries will submit commonwealth games bid
government and bid committee officials announced in march their plans to explore a bid for the 2030 commonwealth games , an 11-day international sporting event which would take place in august 2030. the alberta government put $2 million towards the bid exploration, while the cities of calgary and edmonton each chipped in $1 million.
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a decision on whether to move forward with the bid is expected to be made by this august, with the games to be awarded in november. it’s considered likely no other countries will submit a bid.
smith said back in march she believes the cross-jurisdictional bid mitigates some risk associated with hosting the games. she wouldn’t commit to a plebiscite vote on the issue at the time, but said there would be a “full public conversation” and opportunity for input on the endeavour.
a public vote on the commonwealth games would call back to the plebiscite which brought calgarians to the polls in 2018, asking whether they’d support the city hosting the 2026 winter olympics. city council ultimately opted to withdraw its bid after 56 per cent of calgary voters rejected the olympics.
schow declined to comment on that previous calgary plebiscite, saying he wasn’t involved in those discussions.
he said work towards the commonwealth bid is very much ongoing.
“we want to look at all provincial options for sporting games coming into alberta as an opportunity to help sell the province, show what we have to offer, but also to bring sporting competition right here to alberta,” schow said.
“i don’t think it’s a secret that we’re looking at a commonwealth bid and have met with the stakeholders there on that, and how we can support the potential on that.”
commonwealth bid officials point to ‘extensive’ consultation
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the group behind the prospective alberta 2030 commonwealth games bid said in a statement to postmedia that it has held “extensive and regular discussions” with stakeholders about the project.
that totals to more than 250 external meetings with groups including first nations, citizen and community groups, municipal councillors and mlas representing both the ucp and ndp.
“these conversations are helping us to define the key priority areas for community development and the legacies they will achieve from hosting the games,” the bid group said.
“this exploration stage is our opportunity to educate, to listen and to learn, which is core to the process we have undertaken and are committed to.”
the group cited a provincewide survey it recently ran which found 70 per cent of those polled support the games, with 10 per cent opposed and the remaining 20 per cent undecided.
it said more chances to give feedback would be rolled out through the summer and said it welcomed feedback through its website at alberta2030.ca.
sports infrastructure, tourism strategy among other mandates
first elected as an mla for cardston-siksika in 2019, schow’s appointment to the sport and tourism portfolio is his first cabinet ministry.
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smith also tasked him with developing a long-term tourism strategy for alberta and putting together a fund which invests a minimum $80 million over four years into small and mid-sized sports infrastructure projects, ranging from ice rinks and pools to indoor soccer turfs and pickleball courts.
“when it comes to supporting facilities there’s always going to be an infrastructure deficit, so we have to look at all the opportunities and applications as they come in and make sure they’re going to fit the needs of the whole community,” schow said.
“(for tourism), at a very high level we want to sell the province. it’s a beautiful place to play and visit and we want to attract visits within the province to other regions, and we want to attract from outside the province and all around the world.”
twitter: @jasonfherring
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