Cypress silver medalist dead

Jeret "Speedy" Peterson died of suicide on July 25 in Lambs Canyon, Utah, just three days after being arrested for allegedly drinking and driving. Peterson was born in 1981 in Boise, Idaho.

A report by KTVB said Peterson called police before the incident and told them where they could eventually find his body.

Peterson won silver in freestyle skiing's aerials competition at Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver on Feb. 25, 2010. Vancouver was Peterson's third Olympics. He almost never made it there after a battle with depression, drugs and drink.

On Feb. 24, 2006, four years and one day before his silver on Cypress, Peterson was sent home from the Turin Olympics after being involved in a drunken fight with his best friend in front of Italian police.

Here's what he had to say after earning second spot on the podium at the Vancouver Games:

On performing his signature move, the Hurricane, to take the silver:
"I'm ecstatic. I've had trouble landing it this year. This is the best day of my life. I can't tell you - to finally land the Hurricane in competition, especially in the Olympics. I'm not going to pick it apart."

On how much courage it took to get back to the Olympics after personal problems:
"I don't know if it takes any courage. It's knowing that there's a light at the end of the tunnel and you just have to keep trying different ways to find the light."
"I can't talk about it. It's been that bad. I'm lucky to be here."

UPDATE: More about Peterson's final days and how, no matter how much he tried, he could not overcome a series of ugly, disturbing incidents since his childhood in this story. See the Associated Press video report here.

Christy Clark's "open" government? Don't believe the hype

On March 25, 2011, Attorney General Barry Penner announced British Columbians would vote on whether to keep the Harmonized Sales Tax before the planned Sept. 24, 2011 single-day, election-style poll. This referendum would be done by mail. He said it would save taxpayers $18 million and reduce voter fatigue.

Great. I wanted to see the reports that would justify that decision. So I filed a Freedom of Information request. (It's free and you can do it, too: just click here to start the process.)

Just three days letter, on March 28, 2011, I was sent a letter of acknowledgement with a deadline for response of May 10, 2011.

Intake 032811

The Premier's Office had no records, but Penner's ministry did. It sought a unilateral delay in this May 3, 2011 letter. I was supposed to receive a response no later than June 22, 2011.

AGT-2011-00073 extension 050311

June 22, 2011 came and went. Then came this June 28, 2011 letter, which said I would get a response no later than July 13, 2011 because someone at the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner allegedly granted the government two weeks to consult an unidentified public body and/or third-party.

AGT-2011-00073 extension 062811

Lo and behold, July 13, 2011 came and went. On July 22 -- at 19 minutes after 9 a.m., precisely -- I received a letter dated July 21 that included heavily censored documents.

July 22 was also the last day for British Columbians to request an HST referendum ballot. A coincidence? I think not.

Exclusive: Campbell crony helped craft HST referendum

Why so much secrecy around the Harmonized Sales Tax? If HST is such a smart tax for B.C. and the mail-in referendum such an efficient method of democracy, why not show us the report?

Or is the government embarrassed that Tom Syer, a key aide to ex-Premier Gordon Campbell (who co-fathered the HST with ex-Finance Minister Colin Hansen) has had a direct hand in the HST referendum? (Read that story here).

Earlier in the same week -- on July 19 -- Premier Christy Clark announced a new "open government" policy. Based on what was supplied and how it was supplied to me on July 22, 2011, one four-letter word comes to mind to describe Clark and co.

Sham.

Exclusive: Hansen wanted a run for the border

How did the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay take a detour into the United States?

On Feb. 9, 2010, Sarajevo 1984 skiing champion Phil Mahre carried the flame through the Peace Arch from Blaine, Wash., to Surrey, B.C.

A March 6, 2008 letter (obtained via Freedom of Information) from Olympics minister Colin Hansen to VANOC CEO John Furlong proposed "the spirit of the Games be spread even further" by including the State of Washington in the Olympic torch relay.

Exclusive: B.C. government wanted Olympic torch to go south

Talk of the Olympic torch going below the 49th parallel had been ongoing for more than a year between key Liberal insiders and the government of Washington. Here's a brief timeline of how it developed.

A May 29, 2007 memo by Mark Jiles of the Progressive Group to Mary Rose, director of 2010 Programs for the Washington government, said "We have had a number of conversations with the 2010 Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) around the idea of having the torch relay enter the State of Washington on its way to Vancouver… Jim Richard (sic), director of the 2010 Torch Relay is prepared to recommend that Washington State be included in the plan that he is preparing to bring to the Board of Directors in mid-2007."

A news release by B.C. and Washington after a June 8, 2007 joint cabinet meeting said: "The jurisdictions have also pursued shared economic, Olympic and tourism opportunities, seeking ways for Washington to participate in events leading up to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games."

The Progressive Group is the consultancy run by Liberal insider Patrick Kinsella. In its dealings with the Washington government, Progressive pledged to "facilitate opportunities for Washington State to develop important relationships" with Olympic decision-makers, including the arrangement of meetings with Hansen and his top staffers, plus Furlong and VANOC chairman Jack Poole. Kinsella ran the Liberals' 2005 election win. Jiles was Premier Gordon Campbell's constituency campaign manager. Kinsella also ran Christy Clark's successful Liberal leadership win in 2011.

The company's proposal to Washington said: "Progressive Group is located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, while at the same time has a presence in the Provincial capital of Victoria and a foot into the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee."

Exclusive: Campbell crony helped craft vote-by-snail mail concept

What is the real reason that the British Columbia Liberal government scrapped the planned Sept. 24, 2011 election-style referendum on the Harmonized Sales Tax and employ a mail-in ballot system?

Attorney General Barry Penner said on March 25, 2011 that moving the referendum ahead and employing a mail-in ballot "was expected to" save taxpayers $18 million and reduce voter fatigue.

Who could argue with saving taxpayers money or making democracy swift and fair?

My curiosity was piqued. I wanted to see proof. I wanted answers.

What was the methodology for the alleged $18 million savings? What proof was there that voter fatigue would hinder citizen participation in the HST referendum? Did politicians and staff do their homework and know about the potential impact of a Canada Post strike or lockout on a mail-in ballot?

The same day it was announced, I filed a Freedom of Information request with the Office of the Premier, Ministry of Attorney General and Public Affairs Bureau for the communications plan announcement of the HST referendum process, including the briefing notes for Attorney General Barry Penner and Premier Christy Clark; cost-benefit analysis or business case for a mail-in ballot vs. general election-style balloting.

After several delays by the government, I finally received the documents on July 22, 2011 -- which just so happens to be the last day for citizens to request a ballot to either vote yes to extinguish the HST or no to keep it. A coincidence? I think not.

See the documents below.

Whatever Deputy Attorney General David Loukidelis recommended was censored.

However, the documents do show that a key aide to the father of the HST, Gordon Campbell, had a hand in crafting the mail-in referendum. This suggests that the government is engineering the process to reach the outcome it wants: to keep the HST.

An email sent March 9, 2011 by Loukidelis to Penner said the report to the March 16, 2011 cabinet meeting "has been developed with commentary from Tom Syer along the way."

Who is Tom Syer and who did Syer call sire?

Syer was Campbell's Deputy Chief of Staff who, after a stint as a lobbyist, returned to government to head the HST Information Office that was announced October 25, 2010 -- two days before Campbell spent $240,000 of taxpayers funds to buy TV airtime on October 27, 2010 for a televised speech intended to boost the HST.

The HST Information Office was supposed to inform, not persuade. Its website includes news releases with headlines such as: "Harmonized Sales Tax To Boost Investment, Job Creation," "HST, The Right Move at the Right Time," and "Look Who's Backing the HST." It's spending $5 million on the famous stick-man TV ads.

I ask again: Is the mail-in ballot system engineered by the government to convince you to agree to keep the HST?

Is this exercise in democracy really just an expensive sham?

Why the secrecy, Mr. Penner? Why the secrecy, Ms. Clark?

(NOTE: If you want information on the HST Referendum, go to the Elections BC website here. If you don't have it already, you have until midnight July 22, 2011 to ask Elections BC for your ballot. Call 1-800-661-8683 as soon as possible.)

Exclusive: Campbell crony helped craft HST referendum

Exclusive: serious injury at B.C. Place Stadium

The signs in B.C. Place Stadium's end zones say "Close the Roof Safely!"

The goal of any workplace is zero injuries/zero fatalities.

A reliable source has told me that a worker at the $563 million renovation of the 2010 Olympic stadium was very seriously injured by falling glass on the afternoon of July 18.

UPDATE 2:58 p.m. 7/19:

According to his employer, the worker injured is okay.

Warren Elmer, co-owner of Glastech, told me in an interview that he estimated 2,500 pounds of glass shifted when a safety apparatus became uncoupled. "The other one still held, so it twisted and knocked him into a wall or a column. It could've been worse."

"We were thankful last night, we got the word back from the hospital there was no broken bones, no real concussion to speak of," Elmer said. "He just was knocked pretty hard and got some lacerations on his leg and scared for his life."

How long will the worker be off the job? Elmer said it's too early to determine.

"It could be based on his ability to overcome the psychological nature of it and more or less the stitches and the healing will probably govern how long he'll be away," he said.

Port Coquitlam-based Glastech is the subcontractor replacing the glass that surrounds B.C. Place Stadium's concourses and installing new windows. Out is the original bronze tint. In is a green/blue hue.

UPDATE 2:15 p.m. 7/19:

WorkSafeBC has responded with some details of the July 18 construction accident at B.C. Place Stadium. According to the Crown corporation's Megan Johnston:

- The incident occurred just after noon on Monday, July 18.
- A forklift with a boom-style attachment was lifting a load of plate glass at the worksite when the load fell off the forks, striking a worker.
- The worker was transported to hospital and treated for his injuries - bruising, concussion, some lacerations.
- WorkSafeBC responded and was onsite yesterday afternoon, and continues to look into this incident.
- No orders have been written at this time.
- Worker was an employee of Glastech Glazing Contractors based in Port Coquitlam.

UPDATE 12:48 p.m., 7/19: Finally, official word from B.C. Pavilion Corporation. This is the full statement emailed from Duncan Blomfield, marketing and communications manager for B.C. Place.

"A worker was treated and released from hospital after being injured on site on July 18, 2011.

"Details of the incident are still to be confirmed, and are currently being investigated by WorkSafeBC, the general contractor and worker’s employer. A piece of equipment being used to lift a pallet of packaged glass released, causing the load to drop to the ground.

"The worker that was guiding the load is understood to have been pushed aside, resulting in minor cuts, bruising and a mild concussion. The worker was taken to hospital and released the same day.

"The equipment involved in the incident has been withdrawn from use on site until the cause of the incident is determined.

"PCL and BC Place are cooperating with WorkSafeBC to investigate the circumstances of the incident, and to prevent any future recurrence, ensuring the workplace remains safe for all workers on site.

"To date, the safety record for the BC Place roof project has been exemplary.

"Both PCL and BC Place take workplace safety seriously. PCL is a construction industry leader in providing rigorous safety training for each and every one of its workers.

"Although no one was seriously injured, such an incident reminds all of us that safety is something we cannot take for granted, and we need to act on it every minute of every day."

UPDATE 12:38 p.m. 7/19: The latest information from my source is that the worker suffered a fractured leg and the incident took place outside Gate A.

UPDATE 10:05 a.m. 7/19: The incident involved glass falling from a forklift. Still no word on the condition of the worker.

UPDATE 8:50 a.m. 7/19: I have confirmed that the incident did take place, but am trying to find out more about the worker and his or her condition. B.C. Pavilion Corporation, the taxpayer-owned operator of the stadium, is putting together a statement via its public relations agency Pace Group. PavCo CEO Warren Buckley has not yet responded to my email or phone calls.

PavCo is likely to trumpet a historically low record of workplace injuries. That is debatable. I have proof that B.C. Place management covered-up a 2006 incident involving a janitor who collapsed on the job, but later died in hospital. WorkSafeBC slapped PavCo with a hefty $68,970.57 fine on Nov. 6, 2009 after an electrician was nearly electrocuted on March 10, 2009.

B.C. Place is scheduled to reopen Sept. 30 with a Canadian Football League game between the B.C. Lions and Edmonton Eskimos. Sources also tell me that the schedule and budget are both in jeopardy. Construction crews are frantically working, around the clock, as they race to finish the most-expensive and complex renovation of a public building in this province's history.

Riot 2011: Clueless in Victoria (and Vancouver-Point Grey)?

Premier Christy Clark has been called many things.

"Cluck-Cluck" for avoiding all-candidates meetings and a debate with NDP challenger David Eby during the campaign for the May 11 by-election. She even turned down an offer of airtime on CKNW, her former employer, to question and be questioned by her Vancouver-Point Grey competitors.

"Choo-Choo" for her undeniable connections to the biggest case of government corruption in British Columbia history, BC Railscam. (Her husband-at-the-time and brother were both involved, although not criminally, and there is evidence that appears to show she leaked confidential cabinet information about the sale of major taxpayer-owned assets while she was a member of cabinet!)

"Jersey Girl" because of that famous Province front page of her in a Canucks' jersey and her appearances while wearing the blue, white and green of the National Hockey League franchise owned by campaign donor Francesco Aquilini (who gave her free tickets to Game 7 of the final).

Now she can be called "Clueless Clark."

I thought it would be reasonable for the top elected official in the province to have some immediate curiosity about the worst case of public disorder in the province she governs since 1994. Surely her staff would have provided her an urgent report about implications of the riot to the provincial government, which regulates policing and liquor distribution. Surely she would have been provided information about what went on that night from a public safety standpoint. Evidently not, according to the reply below from her office.

This may answer why she ordered the Doug Keefe/John Furlong riot review.

Riot 2011: Clueless in Victoria (and Vancouver-Point Grey)?

Exclusive: VANOC and winter in South Africa

From one port city popular with tourists to another. From the southwest corner of Canada to the southeast coast of Africa.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics chief executive John Furlong took a break from his recent appointment as co-chairman of the Stanley Cup Riot Review for a previously scheduled engagement in Durban, South Africa to attend the International Olympic Committee’s 123rd session. Furlong was there to present the official report of the Vancouver Winter Olympics on July 7, exactly 494 days since the Games closed at B.C. Place Stadium.

The last, major act of VANOC -- in public view, at least -- finished just after 1:30 a.m. PDT, while most Vancouverites slept. More than 12 hours earlier, PyeongChang, South Korea's third consecutive bid for the Winter Games won the 2018 hosting rights.

“It seems fitting that with the arrival of a new Olympic region, PyeongChang, that it's time for us to say goodbye,” said Furlong, pictured above right with International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel. “We could feel all the emotions they were feeling throughout the day, having lived that experience ourselves.”

Furlong called the wind-up of VANOC “substantially complete."

“We’re very close to being no longer and by this time next year, we will, in fact, be no longer.”

Furlong summarized the main achievements of the Games to the IOC members at their first annual general meeting since the Feb. 9-11, 2010 session hosted at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver.

Furlong was joined by executive vice-president Terry Wright, chief financial officer John McLaughlin, marketing vice-president Andrea Shaw and legal vice-president Dorothy Byrne to deliver “With Glowing Hearts/Des plus brilliants exploits -- VANOC Official Games Report/Rapport Officiel des Jeux -- COVAN.” That report has not been published back home, but the IOC has released an abbreviated version called Staging the Olympic Winter Games.

"We had much heartbreak and happiness, lots of adversity and celebration, but somehow we managed to achieve the vision that we set out for ourselves,” Furlong said.

As an aside, Furlong told the IOC members that B.C. Place Stadium reopens “in October”. (Does he know something we don’t or is it still truly on track for the Sept. 30 B.C. Lions meeting with the Edmonton Eskimos?)

Oddly, VANOC's Staging the Games report was created Nov. 4, 2010 but withheld from the media last fall when only the post-Games financial report and sustainability report were published simultaneously on Dec. 17. Read the Staging the Games report below.


Statistics from Staging the Olympic Winter Games:

Accommodation
12,033 Olympic hotel rooms in Vancouver
2,959 Olympic hotel rooms in Whistler
151 Paralympic hotel rooms in Vancouver
544 Paralympic hotel rooms in Whistler
2,850 Whistler Olympic Village population
2,730 Vancouver Olympic Village population

Accreditation
96,428 pass-holders for the Olympics
26,931 pass-holders for the Paralympics
2,803 Olympic writers, photographers and non-rights holding broadcasters
483 Paralympic writers, photographers and non-rights holding broadcasters

B.C. Place Stadium
100,000 kilograms of gear suspended from the air-supported fabric roof
360 rigging points
1.8 kilometres of trussing

Media relations
645 news releases issued 2005-2009
330 issues notes/key messages documents created 2005-2009

Procurement
63 kilometres fence fabric
550 trailers
250 sea containers
39,000 minor signs
550 major signs
600 road signs
2,016 contracts
5,452 purchase orders
$1,585,006,424 value

Transportation
4,629 auto fleet
1,259 buses and vans
9,704,537 litres of fuel
25,851 vehicle access and/or parking passes
65 kilometres of Olympic lanes in Vancouver

Staging the Olympic Winter Games Knowledge Report

Exclusive: Vancouver cops feared Stanley Cup riot during Olympics

By now you've heard various apologists for the Vancouver Police Department's action or inaction on the night of Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. The spin is that a riot was inevitable -- whether the Canucks won or lost. I don't buy it. But let's say it was. Could the damage to property and people have been minimized? Certainly.

During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver was in an El Nino winter and the days were unseasonably warm and dry. The days were short -- the sun did rise and set on schedule. There were groups of cheering, red maple leafing-wearing drunk teenagers and twentysomethings roaming the city, late into the night. Some were pukers, some were pugilists. If you watched the CTV version of the Games, you didn't see this.

After crowds swamped downtown Vancouver on Feb. 19, 2010, the VPD was worried about a 1994 Stanley Cup-style riot breaking out during the 2010 Winter Olympics. It appealed for help from the RCMP. "The VPD has assessed this evening and has drawn heavy parallels to the atmosphere that spawned the Stanley Cup riots in 1994." To prove it, here is the briefing note I exclusively obtained.

Vancouver Cops feared Stanley Cup riot during Olympics

The big difference about Game 7 of the Stanley Cup on June 15, 2011? It was not a national security event. Perhaps if it had such resources, proper precautions would have been made and law-abiding Vancouverites would not feel so humiliated or let-down. For instance, the Duke of Connaught's Own at the Beatty Street Armoury were neither tasked to help nor did they see fit to assist the civil emergency unfolding across the street from their big, heavy green doors. (They were holding a Stanley Cup party.)

Another big difference is personnel. The VPD is led by Chief Jim Chu, who answers to Police Board Chairman/Mayor Gregor Robertson. Chu is under fire for confidently saying there would be no riot. Robertson is also criticized for inviting tens of thousands of people downtown, yet producing no evidence that city hall had a proper security and safety plan for the ad hoc Stanley Cup finals viewing events. They both have blamed anarchists, but shown no proof that the red, white and black A-in-a-circle crowd was responsible. The rioters and looters were predominantly wearing blue official licensed merchandise bearing a certain stylized white-C logo.

Olympic Premier to Olympic Ambassador

The 34th Premier of British Columbia is set to become the next High Commissioner of Canada to the United Kingdom, according to a Canadian Press report.

Gordon Campbell, who was hounded from office by a tax revolt last fall, is expected to be appointed to the highly coveted job any day by the Prime Minister's Office.

Campbell was known for wearing red Olympic mittens and waving the British Columbia flag during the 2010 Winter Olympics. He'll be Mr. Canada during the London 2012 Olympics, hosting Team Canada at the Canadian embassy across from Trafalgar Square. He'll also be charged with ensuring Canadians in the U.K. are kept safe during those Games.

So, Londoners, who is Gordon Campbell? For one thing, he was loved by the business lobby (particularly those in construction) and loathed by common people (his popularity fell to just 9 percent). If you happen to see him near a luau (not that there are many in your area of the world) or the sale of a railway, approach with caution.

Here is a Gordon Campbell timeline.

1948: born Jan. 12 in Vancouver to Dr. Charles and Peg Campbell
1969: earned English degree on scholarship at Dartmouth College
1972-1976: executive assistant to Vancouver Mayor Art Phillips
1976-1984: real estate developer, SFU MBA student, campaigner for downtown stadium
1984: elected alderman in City of Vancouver
1986: elected 40th mayor of Vancouver
1988 and 1990: re-elected Mayor
1993: elected B.C. Liberal leader
2001: led Liberals to landslide win over NDP
2003: convicted of impaired driving in Hawaii; successful campaign for Vancouver 2010 Olympic bid; RCMP raid B.C. Legislature
2005 and 2009: Liberals re-elected
2009: announced Harmonized Sales Tax
2010: B.C. hosts Olympics; HST introduced; anti-HST petition forces Campbell to call referendum; BC Rail corruption trial begins and ends with surprise plea bargain by ex-ministerial aides Basi and Virk; Campbell resigns Nov. 3.

Let the Secrecy Games continue

March 21, 2011 was the first anniversary of the end of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games festival.

On March 21, 2010, the Paralympics closed in Whistler, three weeks after the Olympics ended in Vancouver. But the game of information keepaway continues.

VANOC rapidly dismantled and is quickly fading into but a legal entity. But it cut a deal with the Canadian Olympic Committee and City of Vancouver to keep its most important secrets hidden from the eyes of the public for a decade-and-a-half!

Vancouver city manager Penny Ballem - one of two civic appointees to the VANOC board of directors and the partner of former civic-appointed director Marion Lay (a 1968 Olympic bronze medal swimmer and B.C. Sports Hall of Famer) - signed a Nov. 9, 2010 contract with VANOC and the COC regarding the transfer of 2010 Winter Games records and artifacts to the city archives. Here is the story.

The Archival Material Agreement set Sept. 30, 2010 as the start of a restricted period for certain key records. Records such as board of directors and committee meeting minutes, policies and resolutions, financial statements, legal correspondence, ledgers and journals must stay sealed from the curious public (which paid for the Games!) for 15 years.

For those keeping score at home, the restricted period ends in 2025.

While Quebec ponders a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, British Columbians still don't know the full cost for their Games. They won't get to see any of the evidence until 2025, unless a legal challenge is mounted to the Nov. 9, 2010 contract signed by public official Ballem. The contract may contravene the Freedom of Information Act. We shall see.

We shall also see what various city councillors think of this latest development. Especially since this contract was not debated or approved in an open, public council meeting. Especially since two of the Vision Vancouver members were banging the drum for transparency almost four years ago.

On May 15, 2007, Vision Vancouver Coun. Heather Deal proposed to the majority NPA city council to compel VANOC to open up and be accountable. Her Olympic Accountability motion, supported by fellow VV Coun. Raymond Louie, was voted down. It was originally tabled the day before VANOC's board met and rejected calls to open board meetings to the media.

Deal's motion said:

"Whereas It is absolutely crucial that the 2010 Olympic Games proceed in a transparent, accountable, and sustainable manner.
"Therefore be it resolved that the City of Vancouver direct its VANOC and 2010 Legacies Now Board Members to resolve that:
a) VANOC and 2010 Legacies Now be placed under the jurisdiction of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act;
b) VANOC and 2010 Legacies Now adhere to the requirements of the Financial Information Act;
c) VANOC and 2010 Legacies Now adhere to the provisions of the Document Disposal Act;
d) VANOC and 2010 Legacies Now adhere to the Financial Disclosure Act"

This is what Louie told me at the time:

“These are everyone’s Games we need to be able to support it wholly and the way we do that is to get good information so that people can see what is happening with their money, they can see what is happening in their city."

And we can't forget that Mayor Gregor Robertson promised transparency in his swearing-in speech of Dec. 8, 2008 - the day before he paid a visit to a closed-doors VANOC board meeting.

"Accountability must extend to every aspect of city hall... Over the next three years, we will rebuild that confidence, and ensure transparency, accountability and public debate at city hall.

"Politicians do not always live up to that responsibility, I know. But I also know that there were literally thousands of people voting last November for the very first time.

"My commitment to them, on behalf of every member of my team, is that I will not let you down on making city hall more open and accountable."

Read the contract that ensures VANOC secrecy until 2025 here:

Olympic Archival Material Agreement

The contract's secrecy provisions rely on a Freedom of Information Act loophole -- known as Section 3(1)(g): "Material placed in the archives of a public body by or for a person or agency other than a public body."

VANOC was officially a private body, though it was government-backed and overseen by a board of directors appointed by federal, provincial, municipal and First Nations governments. This was reinforced by the July 10, 2009 B.C. Supreme Court verdict against allowing women to ski jump at the Games.

Justice Lauri Ann Fenton found VANOC was not government-controlled, though it was "subject to the Charter (of Rights and Freedoms) when it carries out the activity of planning, organizing, financing, and staging the 2010 Games."

I sought help from the independent body that says it is in the business of "protecting privacy" and "promoting transparency." However, the British Columbia Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner didn't agree with my position that this contract should be overturned. Below is the rejection letter I received from Jim Burrows in the information commissioner's office. Mr. Burrows is not a lawyer. A reader informed me that Mr. Burrows was Victoria's city archivist before joining OIPC and he has a Masters of Archival Studies degree from the University of B.C.

Information Commissioner rejects bid to unseal Vancouver Archives' VANOC collection