Globe and Mail columnist Gary Mason writes today that, “The Innovative Research Group recently surveyed 3,416 Canadians online about the Olympics – including 549 in B.C.”1. EXCITED ABOUT THE GAMES?
IN BC
- 9 per cent said they were very excited
- 71 per cent said they were either not very excited or not excited at all.

IN CANADA
- 14 per cent said they were very excited
- 54 per cent said they were either not very excited or not excited at all.2. ARE THE OLYMPICS A GOOD IDEA?
IN BC
- 20 per cent said it was a good idea
- 42 per cent said it was a mistake
- 36 per cent said they wouldn’t know until after the Games were over
- 2 per cent didn’t know
IN CANADA
- 19 per cent feel the Olympics are a mistake
- 31 per cent said it was a great idea
- 44 per cent think we won’t know until after they’re over
- 6 per cent didn’t know.

Shocked by the results, Greg Lyle, managing director of Innovative, says, “We thought that, by and large, most people in B.C. would have thought the Olympics were a good idea. But clearly there are not many people gung-ho about it.”

The column ‘With the Games so close, harsh reality is setting in’ can be read at

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/with-the-games-now-so-close-harsh-reality-is-setting-in/article1327783/?service=mobile.The Council of Canadians Statement on the 2010 Olympic Winter Games is at

http://www.canadians.org/olympics/statement.html.Our Olympics-related ‘ACTION ALERT: Oppose BC’s Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act’ is at

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=1976.On this issue, Mason writes, “There are few thrilled about proposed legislation that would give the police authority during the Games to enter the homes of people living within designated Olympic zones and to seize any signs being publicly exhibited that promote a competitor of a Games sponsor. What country are we living in again?”