Spinner

Vancouver Rocker Matthew Good Blasts Upcoming Olympics

Rio De Janeiro was in the spotlight last Friday after landing the 2016 Summer Olympics over Obama's hometown Chicago. But from now until the flame is extinguished at BC Place on Feb. 28, most Olympics fans -- and some non-fans -- will be fixated on the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. The city also happens to be where singer, songwriter, musician and producer Matthew Good was born, raised and, until last December, lived. It's also the title of his 11th album, arriving in stores this week.

And while the likes of Broken Social Scene, K'Naan, Stars, Joel Plaskett, Steve Earle, Laurie Anderson, Martha Wainwright, Blue Rodeo, Iron & Wine and Corb Lund were recently announced as performers at the Winter Games-related Cultural Olympiad in January, you can be sure that Good won't be among those singing the praises of Vancouver's Olympics.

Good has been an outspoken critic since 2003, when city residents first voted in favour of the 17-day international sporting event, and his distaste has only intensified as the Olympics draw nearer.

"At the time, people were gripped with the usual Olympic fever," Good tells Spinner. "That was before the money started being spent and the problems started and the real economic and social ramifications of this thing came to light. Now that they we're coming up to it, we face a pretty bleak reality. We face the fact that we're billions of dollars over budget and the [International Olympic Committee] has called it the most expensive Winter Games that it's ever been involved in."

Good believes Vancouver's growing population of street people will be swept away by authorities so the city can live up to its UN-declared reputation as one of the world's most livable places, so it will be "out of sight, out of mind" as international visitors descend on the picturesque Pacific coast city.

"We can spend billions of dollars on this, but we have the highest child poverty rate in the country and we have the poorest urban neighbourhood in the country, which is a seven-minute cab ride away from one of the wealthiest," he adds. "As Dwight Eisenhower used to say during his presidency, 'For the price of one aircraft carrier, how many schools could we have built?' I view the Olympics in very much the same way."

Good says the games are also creating problems for Vancouver's middle-class, citing a friend who was renting a downtown apartment month-to-month [and is] being evicted so his landlord can sublet the place for $9,000 a week during the Olympics. He also says anyone who thinks the Olympics will have long-term benefits for them is dreaming.

"I don't even know where the concept comes from that the games are going to attract a massive influx of capital. Maybe for a couple of weeks at a retail level, but really it's only going to make a very small percentage of rich people wealthier and it's going to screw your average British Columbian over. It's just turned into an economic nightmare for people [across the province]. We're all going to be paying for this through our taxes for years."

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JAS

My first comment ever: Why do you people even bother explaining your point to others if you know they will just argue the fact? Take things for what they are in your opinion and move on... keep your fucking mouth shut. Noone is gonna stop the olympics and noone is giving the poor people money. GET OVER IT!

October 06 2009 at 8:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
arnie lone

i live in vancouver and have seen it before in calgary,its the winter games of makiing a few wealth people more wealthy,and in the long run people end up paying for it for years,just a part of the scam the lazy rich people come up with,just look at the banks like freddie mac ,and fannie may....AIG....on and on people with money stealing your money,one day people will wakeup to the scams,but likely it will be to late.

October 06 2009 at 6:58 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
RAY

Anyone who can not see what Matt is saying has never seen the real poverty in the world ,let alone their own city ...loosers.

October 06 2009 at 5:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jimbo

Well here we are, a society hating one anothers opinoins as usual without seeing it from all angles. The olympics (should be) were about showcasing world athletes on a global scal, too bring people together and prove once and for all we are all trying to do the same thing, be great at something..... Then you had huge corporations IE. coca-cola, budweiser or any slimy little prick out there, that got the notion that they could pay a buck to lock down the exclusive rights for the 17 day ceremony. This is what is wrong here. We as a society demand it though in a small way, so don't get all huffed up and blame them......you still go and buy, buy, buy..... The other thing is that it is ridiculous logic to think that if the Olympics weren't hosted, the homeless in Vancouver would come out on top.....again the rich pricks do not care about people they care about money.......they do anything and everything to make more and more of it......some people are like that...........short of turning Nazi, rounding them all up and ya we all know the end part to this story.....what do you do......you either go and support the olympics because you want to, or you sit a t home and watch the hockey..........Its F-ing Canada watch some god damned HOCkEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

October 06 2009 at 4:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mystic Eye Mariner

Right on Mr.Good! I will buy your CD just because you have a brain. The rest of the public who wants a big two week party, that cost over 5 billion dollars, do not have a brain. The Olympics Suck big time!

October 06 2009 at 4:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
s.decembrini

have always found 'matthew' medoicre. trying to jump on the bandwagon after all the cool kids have left.
now he comes out against the olympics. NOW...well as usual 'medoicre', you're a little late.
some of us actually saw this happening the day they announced it...we remember Expo

October 06 2009 at 11:08 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
emdino

No Politics?! WOW....time to crawl out from under your rock.

October 06 2009 at 9:29 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ryan

Oh the big bad Olympics are coming. Ironic how Matthew Good has an album coming out called "Vancouver" being released 3 months prior to the Olympics.
Coincidence? NOT. Nice try Matt - your just capitilizing on the Olympics like everyone else but nice try. Good luck with the new album.

October 06 2009 at 9:04 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Pat

The Olympics is really about rich people getting richer. When they realized the Olympic Code requiring amateurism wasn't bringing in the big-money fans, they opened it up to pros. Now it's a hugely expensive and choreographed spectacle that allows a select few to get rich while taxpayers foot the bill.

October 06 2009 at 8:49 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Evelyn

The Olympics is costing us a lot of money too!!! We live 45 miles from Vancouver in the USA and my husband's relatives (all athletes and sports fans themselves) are coming from all over to stay with us for various stages of the 17 day event... we've been painting, redoing the guest bathroom, and buying new furniture and more to accomodate all the people who are going to descend on us for that time. I hope it will be fun, but the preparations are stressing me out BIG TIME!

October 06 2009 at 8:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Evelyn's comment
Dave

Evelyn, reread what he said. He talked about the homeless being swept away to give an impression of “no issues here” appearance. His point was that millions would be spent on a 17 day spectacular that will end with the province in debt for years when they COULD HAVE actually done some good for their people. It has gone from a sporting event to a choreographed television event. You wonder at what point the paying network will start advising the events judges on who should be declared winner for best television ratings. We already know that the Olympic Committee is a pawn in to the game of doing what is best for collecting rewards for the correct actions/answers.

October 06 2009 at 9:30 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Evelyn

I realize this is a serious issue... but I was kidding!

In 1992, the government in my husband's country, the Dominican Republic, did the same thing. When they wanted to 'celebrate' the murdering, land-stealing, slave-traading bastard Columbus who had landed there 500 years ago, they built this huge monument, and then a gigantic wall so that tourists wouldn't see the poverty on the other side of the fence. That money should have been spent on infrastructure (the lights go out nearly every night and the roads are terrible), or schools - anything but a monument to the man who almost single-handedly wiped out the noble Taino indians of the Caribbean.

October 06 2009 at 5:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply