CALGARY — It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

The creation of a new oversight committee was supposed to make the city’s bid for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games more neutral, transparent and mollify critics concerned the process was rigged.

But hours after appointing five council members to the committee, elected officials began expressing frustration with the outcome and the perceived lack of balance.

In a 13-2 vote Monday, council elected Mayor Naheed Nenshi and councillors Diane Colley-Urquhart, Ray Jones, Evan Woolley and Peter Demong to the committee. Demong is the sole appointee to have voted against proceeding with the Olympics.

“I am disappointed in the makeup of the committee,” said Demong.

“Having said that, whether or not I agree, it is the will of council to move forward this way,” he said. “I’ll do the best on my committee, keep a critical eye, give a fair and honest appraisal of how the process moves forward.”

The committee’s mandate is to provide guidance to council on the city’s possible bid submission, advice on the plebiscite, and direction on the negotiation of a multi-party agreement with other stakeholders and the provincial and federal governments.

The appointments occurred a few short hours after council approved an updated public engagement plan, which emphasized neutrality as one of its fundamental principles.

But in designating four supporters of the Olympics to the committee, council risks undermining its efforts to regain trust among Calgarians who view the process as bias toward a Winter Games bid, said Councillor Druh Farrell.

“In order to gain the trust of Calgarians and provide critical analysis of the project, it’s important to have critics around the table,” said Farrell, who volunteered for a seat at the table.

“They had an opportunity to vote for a critic around the table,” she said, adding, “It was clear that the majority of council wanted individuals who support the Olympics.”

The Olympic oversight committee was the brainchild of Councillor Shane Keating and may have been instrumental in maintaining majority support on council to proceed with a bid.

Earlier this month, in a 9-6 vote, council agreed to continue work on a bid, which appeared headed for defeat until councillors Colley-Urquhart and Ward Sutherland, who both indicated they would vote to end the process, chose to stay the course.

“I can say I’m disappointed in that there isn’t a well-balanced committee. I can say that quite strongly,” Keating said.

The Ward 12 councillor blasted his colleagues who continually vote against the Olympics, criticize the city’s process and failed to step forward to sit on the oversight committee.

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“It seems like we’re still stuck on this point of: I will criticize, but I want nothing to do with it. And I just think that’s wrong,” said Keating.

The committee will select a chair and vice-chair at its first gathering and is scheduled to meet every second Tuesday at noon.

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