STORY about IndigenousHousingEnvironment posted on February 13, 2010 by Hillary

Olympic Costs Felt in Halifax

Halifax students in solidarity with Anti-Olympic protesters in Vancouver

by Hillary Bain Lindsay

Protesters say the Olympics have environmental and social costs that are not being recognized. photo: Hillary Lindsay

The students were inspired to take action after seeing the film "Five Ring Circus" about the impacts of the Olympics. photo: Hillary Lindsay

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Spreading It Thick

"It's a day of solidarity," explains Ashley Clayton, one of the people organizing a series of actions in Halifax highlighting the true costs of the Olympics.  "Cities across Canada are coming together to show their support for what's happening in Vancouver." 

A crowd of 1500 filled the streets of Vancouver on Friday, expressing outrage at many of the same issues Clayton and others are raising awareness about here in Halifax. 

"There are huge financial costs," says Heidi Monk, one of the participants in the protest.  "We're not hosting here, but [as taxpayers] we're bearing some of the costs."  It is estimated that the federal government will pay $900 million for security during the Olympics. 

Monk is also concerned with the actions of many of the corporations sponsoring the Olympics, pointing to Coke's track record in Colombia.  The group has been leafleting in front of Olympic sponsors RBC and McDonalds on Spring Garden Road this week.  Clayton says that many people she has been talking to see the Olympics as a "money grab" by large corporations. 

The Olympics are also a land grab, notes Monk, who says that many of the Olympic sites are built on Native land.

"We're not saying no Olympics," says Monk.  "We're just saying do it differently." 

For more information about the impacts of the Olympics, check out the Dominion's Special Issue on the subject.  For up-to-the-minute reports of protests in Vancouver, check out the Vancouver Media Co-op.