Pan Am party costs

It comes with a hefty price tag, but that hasn’t stopped Pan Am games officials from defending the cost of hosting an upcoming party for members of the international sports community.

The three day event, which wraps up Friday, is the latest in a series of costs being questioned by the Tories. They say taxpayers will be shelling out close to half a million for the party, but the Liberals say it’s closer to a hundred thousand. Thursday, officials showed this video detailing the building plans for Pan Am projects and providing dates as to when they’ll be finished.

Ian Troop, the CEO for the 2015 Pan Am games says the event will be delivered on time and on budget: “We have one budget. From an operating committee’s perspective it’s $1.4 billion. It involves all the things we’re building which are on schedule and under budget, and the operating budget. So for us, that’s what we’re accountable for and that’s what we’re delivering. From our perspective from the very beginning, the athlete’s village, which is a fantastic investment in a new community, was never part of our budget and was was public from the word go in the bid and they had a major announcement in 2011. So, I think that’s obvious. I don’t know why it became news and taking a brownfield and turning it into a very vibrant part of Toronto and that’s a very positive story from my perspective.”

Members of the Ontario PC party have boycotted the three day event, saying while they support the Pan Am games, they do not support unnecessary costs associated with them.