A group called No Games 2010 Coalition is calling all gifts the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation has received from Crown corporations illegal.
The group says it will file a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court today naming ICBC and the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation, seeking to force the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC) to call back its $1.76 million donation to Vancouver 2010.
Chris Shaw, a spokesman for the group, told The Province “a lot of public money is going into what’s really the private sector. I think a lot of people are going to find the fact that ICBC rates went up for the private purpose really annoying”. The opposition group says it wants its lawsuit against ICBC certified as a class-action suit.
The writ alleges that under Section 7 of the Insurance Corporation Act, the payment of $1.8 million “is outside the powers granted to ICBC by the act, and is thus an illegal transaction”.
If successful, the group says it will also try to get B.C. Hydro, B.C. Lottery Corp. and Canada Post to retract their donations, which helped the bid corporation reach its $34-million goal for funding the bid’s initial stage.
B.C. Lottery Corp. said its donation was made simply to support the Olympic bid.
The other plaintiff in the suit is Chuck Gould, who runs an advertising agency.
Lizette Parsons, communications manager for the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corp. said she couldn’t comment on the lawsuit “until we have actually seen what they are filing”. She said the ICBC donation was made in September 2000.
