Accepting political freebies? – by Castanet Staff

Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd will not be attending the 2010 Vancouver Olympics on the backs on corporations or anyone else.

Members of the media, including Castanet, have tried to determine whether the mayor has received an invitation from the BC Lottery Corporation to attend events as their guest.

“I have made no plans and will be making no plans to attend the Olympics or Paralympics, except to cheer on our Canadian and Kelowna athletes by watching from home,” Mayor Shepherd says.

Mayor Shepherd says she received an invitation to attend a reception during the Games, but has sent her regrets. She has not received any tickets to Olympic events.

The story came to light over the weekend when Chilliwack mayor Sharon Gaetz announced she had received an invitation from BCLC to be their guest at the Olympic games.

The package included tickets to hockey, figure skating, speed skating and the opening and closing ceremonies.

Gaetz says she refused the offer, saying she believed it to be illegal and unethical.

BCLC has sent invitations to government officials in 20 B.C. communities.

The City of Kelowna was given two pairs of tickets for its participation in the GamesTown2010 online contest and the Olympic Torch Relay, all of which were donated to Kelowna residents who participated in these programs.

“If I was planning on going to the Olympics, I would have requested tickets to purchase,” says Mayor Shepherd, whose policy is to personally pay for tickets or fees unless attending events in an official capacity on behalf of the City of Kelowna.

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Intrawest's troubles threaten Olympics: report – CBC News

A fight between Wall Street financiers could push the company that owns the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort into insolvency and threaten the Vancouver Olympics, a U.S. newspaper report suggests.

A New York Post report suggests the resort's owners could soon be insolvent, which may threaten the Vancouver Olympics.Back-country skiers descend Blackcomb Mountain. A New York Post report suggests the resort's owners could soon be insolvent, which may threaten the Vancouver Olympics. (Randy Lincks/Associated Press)

According to a story in Wednesday's New York Post, creditors who have loaned $1.4-billion US to the ski resort's owners, Intrawest ULC, are threatening to foreclose on the company and effectively seize control of the resort.

Among numerous ski resorts in Canada and the U.S., Intrawest owns the Whistler Blackcomb resort, which is set to host major ski events at the Winter Olympic Games next month.

In 2006, Wall Street hedge fund Fortress Investments LLC bought Intrawest in a $2.8-billion US deal. Fortress recently missed a $524-million debt payment connected to that purchase.

The primary lender on the Intrawest deal in 2006 was defunct investment bank Lehman Brothers. According to the Post report, the creditors have rejected Fortress's repayment proposal and may be moving to foreclose on the company within 10 days.

New York firm Alvarez and Marsal are handling Lehman's restructuring.

Typically, lenders are willing to work with borrowers to avoid foreclosure. But since Lehman itself is dogged by as much as $1 trillion in creditor claims against it, Alvarez and Marsal have an incentive to push Intrawest into bankruptcy and sell assets to raise funds, the Post story says.

The Post report says Vancouver Olympic organizers are considering pulling their financial backing of Intrawest as a result of the kerfuffle.

Fortress CEO Wes Edens believes he has a legal right to keep the Games from taking place at Whistler if that happens, the Post story says.

On Tuesday, a notice of a public auction to be held Feb. 19, 2010, was published in multiple newspapers in Canada and the United States that solicited bids for a membership interest in Intrawest Holdings. Among the assets in the notice were "partnership interests in two resort properties located in Canada (Whistler and Blackcomb)."
Three-month stock chart of Fortress Investments on the NYSE.Three-month stock chart of Fortress Investments on the NYSE. (CBC)

“We understandably cannot comment on Intrawest's finances beyond our continued support for their efforts to settle outstanding financial matters," VANOC president Dan Doyle said. "What we can confirm is that Whistler Blackcomb is an important partner in the staging of the 2010 Games and we continue working in very close partnership with them to finalize overall preparations and readiness for the skiing and sliding sport events."

"We look forward, with them, to welcoming the world in 23 days," Doyle said.

For its part, Intrawest poured cold water on the report. "We have a 2002 agreement with VANOC to host the Winter Olympics and have every confidence that VANOC will honour its financial commitments," Intrawest CEO Bill Jensen said. "Intrawest is looking forward to a successful Olympic Games.

Jensen said Intrawest is in discussions with lenders regarding refinancing.

"Our company is generating strong cash flow from its resorts. It’s business as usual," Jensen said

Calls to Fortress Investment Group LLC were not returned. A spokesman for Lehman Brothers had no official comment.
Behind-the-scenes efforts expected

Bill Singer, a securities lawyer with RRBD Law in New York, predicted efforts will be made behind the scenes to avoid foreclosure, at least until the Olympics are over, given the amount of money invested in the Games and their high international profile for Canada.

"I can't imagine that it will ultimately mean much," he told CBC News, "because I would assume between [Canadian] government interest and the Olympic Committee there would be something that would be accomplished just to forestall any kind of foreclosure.

"More importantly, assuming that there was some effort to put the properties into foreclosure or bankruptcy, again, I would assume that given the size of the transaction that vested interests would try to find a way to extend and drag out the process," he said.

Singer said the bigger issue is what motivation the lender would have to foreclose.

"What do you do with a ski resort in this economic market? Who would be envisioned as likely becoming a buyer for these distressed properties when the reports all over the United States as well as in Europe and other areas where there's skiing is that … traffic to both golf and ski resorts is down?"

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Vancouver Olympics begs for free labour -- Calgary Herald

VANCOUVER -- It’s no secret that the $1.76-billion 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games face a potential crisis. More sponsors, advertisers and ticket buyers are required if the Games are to meet their revenue forecasts and their break-even mandate.

Now there is another need: A supply of free labour.

On Thursday, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) called for private companies and governments to loan the Games their workers, so that it can fill some 1,500 new Olympics-related jobs.

Some have lofty titles: Broadcast Operations Coordinator; Cultural Olympiad Program Manager; Venue Transportation Manager.

These are important managerial positions, acknowledged Donna Wilson, VANOC executive vice president of human resources, during a conversation with reporters on Thursday afternoon. “Senior roles,” agreed VANOC’s deputy chief executive officer and executive vice-president, David Cobb.

There are also lesser functions: The committee is looking for spare truck drivers, housekeepers, a sports writer. A torch relay crew needs to be in place by September.

Mr. Cobb said that organizers received 30 inquiries within hours of the announcement being made on Thursday.

The jobs list caused a stir in Vancouver office towers. Reaction was mixed. Some desk-bound types expressed interest; however, there was disappointment that Olympic Mascot did not appear on the VANOC job sheet.

Others were dismissive. “Yeah, I’d really love to examine people’s pee all day,” said one account manager, referring to a call for anti-doping workers.

Matching candidates to appropriate positions will be a challenge. “We won’t use unqualified” personnel, said Mr. Cobb.

Earlier in a prepared statement, he described the “employee loan program” as an economic necessity, given the perilous times. “We’re navigating through an extraordinary downturn in the economy, and the use of seconded employees will ease some of the pressure on our budget.”

The program, he said, is a “win-win situation for everyone.”

Ms. Wilson explained how loaned-out workers will receive “all the benefits of being a Games-time worker such as an official uniform and a lifetime of memories, secure in the knowledge that their regular job will be there to return to when the Games draw to a close in March 2010.”

Of course, there is no such guarantee.

There is another caveat. VANOC cannot provide accommodation, so it is encouraging participation from workers who already reside in the Vancouver and Whistler areas.

These are not the first Olympic Games to look for borrowed labour. Workers were seconded to the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary; however, requesting the loan of additional troops so late in the process seems unusual.

VANOC has an existing employee secondment program in place, aimed at Games sponsors and official partners. But it has produced only 45 workers from companies such as accounting giant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and from federal agencies including the Canadian Tourism Commission. The non-profit Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is also involved, according to VANOC.

Mr. Cobb said on Thursday the call for more secondments had been anticipated. The 1,500 positions have all been accounted for in VANOC’s total $1.76-billion budget.

“For every one that’s filled, it’s relief to our budget,” he explained.

Earlier this month, following a VANOC board meeting, Mr. Cobb revealed that organizers are anticipating lower than expected revenues from outdoor advertising and from programs such as the Vancouver 2010 Club, which offers luxury ticket packages from $145,000 to $285,000.

VANOC is still waiting for the International Olympic Committee to make good on its international sponsorship commitment. That program is currently $30-million deficient.

National Post

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