As I was saying to the member for Vancouver Centre, the Olympics will also be using the most important environmentally sustainable practices throughout the games. To date, environmental assessments have been completed for all the major outdoor venues for the Games. This practice will continue as we move closer to 2010. Our goal is to work diligently with the Vancouver Organizing Committee to deliver a truly sustainable games experience.
With respect to aboriginal participation, the Government of Canada is committed to working collaboratively with first nations communities on the 2010 Winter Games, especially those who will be most affected by the events. For example, some of the Olympic events will be held on the shared lands of the Lil’wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
We want to make sure that those communities are consulted at all steps, from the planning to the staging of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. To that end, we gave funds to the Four Host First Nations Society to support its efforts with its partners in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
The mission of the society is to ensure that first nations culture and traditions are recognized, respected and promoted during the planning, the preparation and the staging of the games.
The Government of Canada has committed $552 million toward staging the best Winter Games ever. This includes $290 million in capital funding for sport and event venues and $130 million for essential services, such as security planning, emergency preparedness, immigration and customs services and meteorological services.
I want to call attention to an innovation that I find particularly interesting, which is our plan to build live sites in Vancouver and in Whistler. The government intends to invest $20 million in this enterprise. These sites are public spaces where those who do not have tickets to the events can gather to participate at no charge in the energy of the 2010 Winter Games. The sites will feature television coverage of competition, stage, entertainment, exhibits and display and pavilion spaces so that many more ticket holders themselves can be part of the festivities and feel the pride of being Canadian.
As for direct legacy benefits to Canadians, when the 2010 Winter Games are over, Vancouver and Whistler will have gained world-class facilities and a well trained army of volunteers. The athletes' villages in both cities are being designated to address the needs of the communities well into the future. The Vancouver athletes' village, for example, will be built on former industrial land and, following the 2010 Games, will be turned into a model sustainable community. Meanwhile, volunteers from across the country will return home after the 2010 Games with new skills and valuable experiences.
Some other advantages of hosting the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games are more difficult to measure but will nonetheless leave a lasting legacy. Energy and enthusiasm are an integral part of Olympic Games. The games will be an inspiration for many Canadians and will convince them to increase their sporting activities and improve their fitness.
Canadian artists will receive unprecedented exposure during the cultural Olympiad, leading up to the 2010 Winter Games, adding to Canada's already vibrant artistic landscape. The cultural inclusiveness associated with the games has already created new opportunities for first nations communities, youth, ethnic communities and the disabled.
Perhaps most important, the 2010 Winter Games will provide a rallying point for community and national pride, pride in one's country from an efficiently run Olympic effort, pride in the strength in the international reputation that will result from this cost effective experience, pride felt by artists and businesses for whom the Olympics will bring increased success. These will be the lasting legacies of the 2010 Winter Games and this government is a proud and committed supporter of this critical enterprise and great opportunity for Canada.