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Last Tuesday, council voted 8-6 to continue the bid process, approving $2.5-million in funding for the creation of an Olympic BidCo, on the condition that the provincial and federal governments also provide matching financial support.

Coun. Ward Sutherland, one of the eight votes in favour, said he may have thought differently about that question had he known the province’s MSI cuts were coming.

“I would have hoped I had this information prior to the council meeting when we voted on the Olympics, because it will have an impact,” said Sutherland.

“It definitively throws a wrench into our finances in general because this wasn’t expected. It’s not a cut for taxpayers, in fact it’s an extra burden for us. We’re going to have to now take away from other projects in order to deal with these payments. In that respect, yeah, it could definitely affect the Olympics.”

Photo by Jeff McIntosh / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Olympic votes on council continue to get tighter, with last week’s being the closest margin yet. Sutherland said it’s possible the MSI cuts might change the way he feels about moving forward with the bid process next time it comes to a vote.

“Depending on the questions in our plan, it could. I think that needs to be discussed as soon as we get back to council, the impact of this MSI and the decision of the province,” he said. “We’re going to have to have that conversation on the financial impact, the interest rates and how we’re going to deal with these payments now.”

While there was no budget commitment last week to support an Olympic bid, the province says money has been earmarked for that possibility.