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Calgary says Olympic funding talks with Ottawa continue despite reports of unsalvageable bid

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A spokesperson from the mayor’s office said negotiations between the city and federal government continue on funding for a potential 2026 Olympic bid, despite a report in the Calgary Herald saying a committee will be asked to recommend killing the bid on Tuesday. 

The Herald said the information came from a senior municipal source with knowledge of the negotiations.

The mayor’s office said a report based on the conclusion of the negotiation talks is to go to the Olympic assessment committee tomorrow.

Coun. Ward Sutherland said he hadn’t heard anything about a recommendation to cancel the bid process, but said he did get notice that the committee meeting had been bumped from 1 p.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Canada’s minister of sport also reiterated Monday the federal government is continuing to negotiate with the city and province over an Olympic funding formula, but no additional money will be offered.

Kirsty Duncan appeared on the Calgary Eyeopener, where she said the federal government has made clear « since March 2018 » that it will fund up to 50 per cent of the public contribution toward the 2026 Olympic Games if Calgary is chosen as the host city.

« That is the policy on our website, and we’ve done that. We’ve come forward with a commitment of $1.75 billion, » she said, referencing a Friday announcement.

Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart, one of the members of the Olympic assessment committee, tweeted about Duncan’s comments, saying « and now we pull the pin, » seemingly referring to ending the bid process.

Calgary’s Olympic BidCo estimates a 2026 Winter Games would cost $5.23 billion, with $3 billion of that coming from the public purse.

The $1.75 billion commitment from the feds is in 2026 dollars, which equates to $1.5 billion in 2018 dollars, or half the needed amount.

Federal Minister of Sport Kirsty Duncan told the Calgary Eyeopener that the federal government will fund only up to 50 per cent of the public money needed to host the Olympics if Calgary is chosen. (Katerina Georgieva/CBC)

« We have been clear since the beginning we would fund up to 50 per cent, we would not go above the 50 per cent and we have never wavered from that position, » said Duncan.

Duncan also pointed out the federal contribution would match the provincial and municipal amounts.

The province has previously said it would contribute $700 million, while the city hasn’t unveiled its funding plan yet. Based on the other two orders of government, Calgary would have to contribute $800 million to get the maximum federal contribution.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci expressed outrage over the weekend at the federal announcement, with Ceci calling it « bad faith » and saying he understood there wouldn’t be a matching condition attached.

Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci says the province has no more money to offer a Calgary Olympic bid and again called on the federal government to drop its matching condition. (CBC)

Nenshi also penned a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday, saying he would ask city council to scrap the bid — ahead of a Nov. 13 plebiscite — if an agreement couldn’t be reached by Monday.

The city’s Olympic assessment committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday and council is set to meet for a strategy session on Wednesday.

Pressed repeatedly by Eyeopener host David Gray on what the three sides are negotiating if none are willing to change their position, Duncan was non-committal in her answers.

We ask Minister Kirsty Duncan to clarify the government’s announcement on Olympic funding. 7:20

« It’s been a busy weekend and people are working hard. I’m proud to work with our partners, the City of Calgary and the Province of Alberta, and we keep doing the work, » she said.

« I’m well aware of the timelines for the plebiscite. We support that Calgarians should make their voice heard, and should Calgarians decide to go forward with a bid, we will be right there beside them and we’re still working at it, we’re still at the table. »

Robert Livingstone, who runs GamesBids.com — a website that tracks Olympic bids — said he wasn’t at all surprised by the federal position.

« Honestly, I would have been surprised to hear that the dollar matching concept would have been dropped, so there’s miscommunication at some level somewhere, and I’m not sure where that would have come from, » he said.

« It is a policy the federal government has used to fund sports events for years now. So I don’t see why it would have been different for Calgary and why they would have made a different plan, unless there was some agreement made back in March. »

Speaking in Edmonton on Monday, Ceci said negotiations continue but the province has no more money to offer and called on the federal government to remove the matching condition. 

« Seven hundred million dollars is all we can do, » he said. « That being said, there is a path forward for this bid and it relies heavily on the federal government coming to the table with what they originally promised the province and the City of Calgary during negotiations. If the feds can commit $1.75 billion in 2018 dollars to this project and drop this 50/50 funding rule, then we have what we need and the bid can go ahead to plebiscite. »

Despite Duncan’s assertions, Ceci said the 50/50 rule was not discussed during the negotiations.

« This was learned through the news last week. This was a surprise to us, » said Ceci. 

Study shows surpluses

Calgary’s BidCo also issued results Monday of a study looking at Olympic cost overruns and revenue surpluses between 2000 and 2018

The study was done by two professors and a PhD student at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany and the Pantheon-Sorbonne University in France.

« The report intentionally excludes major infrastructure not needed to stage the Games, » it reads.

« These projects, such as roads, trains and public facilities, often complement the Games, are accelerated to coincide with the Games and may be part of the overall Games legacy. They are not, however, required to stage the Games and as such are not counted as a Games cost. »

The report found that with the exception of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, each event analyzed either broke even or had a surplus.

« This report clearly shows that, historically, Games organizing committees either balance their budgets or realize a surplus through good planning and rigorous financial management, » said BidCo chair Scott Hutcheson in a release.

« All Olympic Winter Games in this report balanced their books, and Vancouver 2010, which was modelled on the [1988] Calgary Games, showed that we host Games well in Canada and we’ll do so again in 2026. »

Tourism Calgary Cindy Ady says a 2026 Olympic Games in Calgary would be a $5-billion injection into the local economy. (Kate Adach/CBC)

Should Calgary be chosen, it will be a much-needed economic boost, said Tourism Calgary CEO Cindy Ady.

« This is almost $5 billion being injected into the Calgary economy when it’s been through a pretty tough recession and is looking forward as to how it redefines itself and where it’s going to go in the future, » she said.

« Relative to just tourism, though, one out of every 10 Calgarians make their living in tourism. So if we were to go back to previous Games, whether it be Vancouver or Salt Lake or others, for sure the main beneficiary is the tourism industry. Vancouver had a double-digit increase post-Games, and every year since they’ve had double-digit increases … it’s the billion-dollar brand push that you won’t get in any other way. »

With files from The Calgary Herald, Michelle Bellefontaine, Kate Adach, Sarah Rieger and the Calgary Eyeopener.

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Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline. 

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors. 

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity. 

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement. 

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level. 

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet. 

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.

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