Реферат: Olympic 2008 Essay Research Paper Winning the

“. . . nearly 2,000 acres of undeveloped, misused or derelict lands

. . . a significant portion of the land is environmentally degraded,

lacks infrastructure and has totally outmoded plans and regulations.’

‘ Since 1911, governments have tried to address these issues, but

repeated attempts have failed .

Enter the TO-2008 Olympic Bid. Driven by the requirements of the

bidding process and as a clear sign of their support, Prime Minister

Jean Chretien, Premier Mike Harris and Mayor Mel Lastman committed

$1.5 billion last October – $500 million from each government – for

the first phase of a massive waterfront reclamation project, which

will see major infrastructure development, environmental clean-up

of the area, including the Don River, and the creation of green spaces

along the waterfront. In essence, we should finally have a waterfront

of which we can all be proud.

Whether or not the Games come to Toronto in 2008, the redevelopment

of Toronto’s waterfront and infrastructure has begun. These projects

and others have been all or partly driven by the 2008 Olympic Bid.

This overarching process of rebuilding our community comes as a result

of the bid for the 2008 Olympic Games, but will proceed with or without

those Games.

The Sydney Games sparked an intense debate about Canada’s commitment

to amateur sport, bringing the government’s financial commitment to

athletes under scrutiny. Canada’s amateur sport policy was contrasted

to the Australian national program, initiated several years ago, which

injects hundreds of millions of dollars annually to create, train

and develop our youth physically and athletically.

As an athlete-driven bid – conceived and sustained with the ongoing

participation of more than 150 Canadian athletes – TO-2008 has worked

from the beginning to create a sport legacy in Canada. Last fall,