Of the grant money our BC NDP government announced today, twenty-six percent ($45,000) is for events which have already taken place, or will end shortly

Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture ... Image: BC NDP

“Sports competitions provide great benefits for B.C. residents,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

“They promote athlete development, bring people together and help organizations gain expertise in hosting large events, which boost local economies. By investing in sport events, we are investing in the future of our communities.”

With those words today, the BC government announced 23 communities will gain valuable experience staging a total of 39 provincial, regional, national and international sport championships over the next year, thanks to $175,650 in grants from the provincial government. 

Most people, I believe, would consider the words “will gain valuable experience” to relate to the future.  Not necessarily our NDP government however; they have their own definition, which allows for them to include sporting events which have already taken place. 

Looking over the list of Hosting BC Grants recipients, I found that several events have already taken place. 

The month of August was popular with Duncan … my own community of Kamloops … North Vancouver … Surrey … Vancouver … and Vernon receiving a total of $18,500 in grants.  That equates to ten and a half percent of the total announced.

For events taking place this month (September), an additional $27,000 in grants (15.37%) went to the communities of Qualicum Beach … Richmond (2 grants to them) and to Surrey.

So, the reality is that of the grant money our BC NDP government announced today, twenty-six percent ($45,000) is for events which have already taken place, or which will end shortly.

Grant monies distributed began, at the low end, with Castlegar, Kamloops, and Port Coquitlam each receiving $1,000 … and continuing all the way up to a $15,000 grant going to Langley to host  2019 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.  The city of Richmond however was the recipient of the largest amount of grant money ($40,000) … they benefited from $10,000 grants for each of four sporting events.  It total, the city of Richmond received over twenty two percent of funding announced earlier today.

The Hosting BC program was established in 2004, by the BC Liberal government of Gordan Campbell, to promote sport, economic and community development and to maintain BC’s reputation as an exceptional sport event destination. The BC government provides $500,000 in Hosting BC grants each year, administered by the non-profit society viaSport, as part of its annual $50-million funding commitment for amateur sport in the province.

If you haven’t calculated to get the answer already, let me conclude by saying what Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Lisa Beare should have announced as the actual Hosting BC Grants total today … $130,650.  But $175 thousand sounds so much better, doesn’t it?

In Kamloops, I’m Alan Forseth, and I hope you’ll join the discussion on this or any other topic presented here.  Do you agree … disagree?  Post your thoughts in the Comment Section directly below.