EDMONTON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) applauded the City of Calgary for pulling out of the race to host Expo 2017.
“The City of Calgary seems to understand what the City of Edmonton does not, that hosting Expo 2017 could cost taxpayers of that city billions of dollars,” said CTF-Alberta director Scott Hennig.
“While there’s a lot of mythology surrounding the Expo, citizens need to understand that Expo 2017 isn’t going to be anything like Expo ’67 or Expo ’86,” continued Hennig. “Those were large, six-month, registered Expo’s that attracted tens of millions of visitors, Edmonton’s own feasibility report pegs attendance at a three-month, recognized Expo 2017 at 4.7 million.
The City of Calgary’s calculations suggest hosting Expo 2017 would have cost taxpayers anywhere from $380 million to $1 billion. Mayor Bronconnier said “we are not prepared to ask taxpayers to cover a potential $1 Billion shortfall.”
“Kudos to the City of Calgary for not putting taxpayers on the hook for this type of cost. Maybe some of this common sense will rub off on the City of Edmonton,” concluded Hennig.
More information on the CTF’s position on Expo 2017, please visit: http://www.taxpayer.com/alberta/expo-nential-waste-money.
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