The Canadian Press reports Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan is going to the federal government in Ottawa to ask for a beefed-up security budget for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games to add security for areas outside more high-profile zones.
Sullivan said Saturday that areas called the “Olympic domain”, which will include the athletes’ village and some sites for medal ceremonies, will be secured by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), but surrounding areas to be policed by municipal forces also need more major protection. He said, “we do want to stress security concerns for the Olympics go beyond the Olympic domain.
“I’d like to make the case that the municipal police forces should not be unduly taxed to handle what seems to me is clearly Olympic-related security”. Sullivan said he doesn’t have a figure in mind.
In an internal report leaked to the media in July the RCMP said that the $175-million security budget they have for the Olympics is not enough.
Sullivan is also applying to the federal government for $10 million in funding to construct two downtown Vancouver plazas where the public could participate in cultural events and watch the Olympics on a big screen.
Sullivan is also visiting Toronto where, according to a spokesman, he will speak to the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association on using the Olympics as a catalyst for social and economic change.
