Audit will show just how much Pan Am Games cost taxpayers

We will soon find out just how much the Pan Am Games cost Toronto and the province of Ontario.

Tourism, Culture and Sport Critic Steve Clark has formally asked Ontario’s Auditor General to conduct a value-for-money audit of the Games, which ran from July 10 to Aug. 15.

“I’m pleased committee members recognized what I’ve been calling for – an independent probe to tell us what these games actually cost taxpayers,” the Ontario PC MPP said in a release. “Today is a proud day for the Ontario PC caucus as we have consistently been demanding accountability and transparency from this government on the games file.”

The estimated cost of the games has been pegged at $2.4 billion.

During the games, former Toronto mayor Rob Ford criticized the games for cost overruns in his opposition to the city bidding for the 2024 Olympic Games.

“There were multiple instances of cost overruns with the Games we just hosted, and we still don’t have the final price tag yet,” he said.

Regardless of the results of the audit, Pan Am executives will be able to split the $5.7 million in performance bonuses awarded just after the games ended.

“How can you reward someone before the Auditor General has even done her work and told us how they performed,” Clark asked in his release. “I’m disappointed the minister won’t support my request to put a freeze on these extravagant bonus payments. If he’s so confident, what’s the big rush?”

No date has been set for the results of the audit.

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