Daily Archives: June 13, 2009

In 2003, the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Whistler won the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. Since then, the devastating impacts of the Games have become clear: expanding sport tourism and resource extraction on Indigenous lands; increasing homelessness and gentrification of poor neighborhoods; increasing privatization of public services; exploitative working conditions, especially for migrant labor; fortification of the national security apparatus with the largest military deployment in Canadian history; ballooning public debt as corporate Olympic sponsors get bailed out; and environmental destruction despite promises of “green” Games.

From the afternoon of June 3 until June 5, approximately 15 anti-Olympics activists were visited by Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit (VISU) Joint Intelligence Group officers. Surprise visits by plain-clothes officers included home visits, work place visits, persistent phone calls, and intimidation of family members and neighbors.