Pan Am Sports Organization (PASO) coming to town to decide on bid
RALLY to stop the Games!
Monday August 31, 11:00 a.m.
100 Devonshire Place, across from the UofT Varsity Stadium
100 Devonshire Place, across from the UofT Varsity Stadium
Call out to the community to join us at the APUS office, the site of the $50 million Pan Am venue that will displace the part-time union. We will have speakers, free food and information on why we need to resist the bid!
Also on Sunday, August 30th, 11 a.m. to evening the No Games Flying Squad Bus will visit a few of the venues (Meet 11 a.m. @ APUS).
The estimated cost for the Pan-Am games in Toronto is already set at $2.4 billion. Yet, the most vulnerable and marginalized people are told that there isn’t enough money to assist them. All, three levels of government and the U of T have pledged either tens, or hundreds of millions into the Pan-Am Games. Meanwhile, there are more urgent priorities like public housing, keeping our schools and pools open and affordable post-secondary education.
This year, while planning for two Olympic Size sports facilities, costing upwards of $220 million for the Pan Am games, the University of Toronto raised tuition across the board. In addition, they introduced an unprecedented Flat Fee that will increase tuition for part-time students as much as 66%. One venue, the Centre for High Performance Sport, will displace the UofT part-time student union. If these plans go ahead, students will be expected to pay additional levies for both venues.
Twice in the past, the people of Toronto have been successful in preventing the Olympics from coming to town (i.e. 1996 and 2008 games). We stopped it then and we can do it again! Mega-Sporting events wreak havoc on their host cities, displacing marginalized people, shutting down sectors of the city, bankrupting small businesses, demanding a large police presence, and in the end leave the city billions in debt.
We only need to look to Vancouver, which is scheduled to host the 2010 Olympic Games. What was originally supposed to cost only $660 million is now projected at $6 billion. With six months before the games begin there are already massive violations of civil liberties and homelessness has substantially increased.
When the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) comes to town there will be a two-day marathon of wining, dining, and showing off, where officials from all three levels of government will attempt to impress the five-member evaluation committee to secure Toronto’s 2015 Pan-Am bid. No Games Toronto, a coalition of community activists, plan to show our opposition on the 30th and 31st by letting PASO know their games are not welcome here.
Join our rally Monday 31st at 11 a.m. 100 Devonshire place and the flying squad No Pan Am Games Bus - Sunday Aug 30th, 11 a.m. to evening (the bus leaves from same location). Send PASO the message that Toronto has more relevant priorities than Mega-Sporting events.
More information: http://NoGamesToronto.blogspot.com or call Joeita Gupta 416 918-1935
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