Notice to Editors

The media has asked for copies of the speaking notes used by Chief Administrative Officer Dan English this afternoon regarding Item 11.3.1 -- Councillor McCluskey- Request to add September 4, 2007 Information item #4 to the agenda-- Commonwealth Games Bid.

John

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Speaking Notes --CAO Dan English
Introduction to CWG Information Report discussion
September 11, 2007

Your Worship and Members of Council,

Before you begin your discussion of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Information Report of September 4, I would like to give you with a brief re-cap of what has taken place in recent months, and up until now, to provide you with as much information as we possibly could about the Games Bid. HRM is committed to working with our provincial partners to establish a process that will provide additional information to Council and the public through an open and transparent process.

As you may recall, staff provided Council with an electronic update of the 2014 Halifax Bid Committee wind-up a few days after the Board held its final meeting on July 12, 2007.

• That update stated that 2014 financial and administrative records would be held by 2014 Halifax, or in this case the liquidator, until the Society surrenders its Certificate of Incorporation on November 1. At that time, we were advised they would be placed in storage as per the legislative requirement of the Canada Revenue Agency.

• Also, it stated other materials related to the bid, such as detailed plans, reports, etc. would be kept by Commonwealth Games Canada as an information resource to future Canadian bid cities. However, that information would be available to HRM and our other partners upon request.

• The update also reminded Council that complete packages of information, prepared by the Province and HRM for the Legislature’s Public Accounts Committee and made available to Council in early April, were still available for Council’s review.

• And finally, it stated that electronic copies of the 2014 Final Report and the audited financial statements were provided to Council on July 13, the day following the final meeting of the Bid Society.

As I have assured Council before, it has always been the desire of HRM and provincial representatives on the Board to disclose as much Commonwealth Games bid information as is legally permitted and to expedite the release of this information to the greatest extent possible. In fact, HRM and the Province have been working together and will work with the 2014 liquidator, once appointed, to ensure the release of as much information as legally permitted and as administratively feasible.

As directed by Council, we sought an outside legal opinion. The Province also obtained a legal opinion. As a result of those opinions, we are confident that we can disclose a significant level of detail once we take possession of the financial and administrative records.

As noted in the Information Report provided to Council on September 4, there are two categories of information related to the 2014 Bid-- historical and financial and administrative.

• The historical information is presently stored in the Commonwealth Games Canada offices in Ottawa and is readily available to all partners, including HRM, on request.

• The financial and administrative information is located in the 2014 Halifax offices in Dartmouth and we will work with the liquidator to access and organize the material for appropriate release. This process will allow the release of certain categories of records without a formal application under Part XX of the MGA, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy.

In consultation with the liquidator, personal information, trade secrets or confidential information may be severed from the records if the disclosure of the information is identified as causing harm to a third party. Any severing will be done in accordance with the provisions of the FOIPOP legislation.

HRM will be recommending that the following records be available for routine release:

1. Travel costs
2. Cost of special or specific events
3. Organization charts with position titles
4. Job descriptions and classification of positions
5. Professional/Consultant Fees

It is HRM’s intent to work with the liquidator to review all of the records of 2014 to determine if there are any other records that can be routinely released.

Finally, the level of effort exhibited by the 2014 Bid Team staff, following the March 8 decision to discontinue the bid effort, to organize and maintain the bid information has been impressive. They worked diligently, under particularly tough circumstances and time constraints, right up until the Board’s last meeting on July 12 and deserve a great deal of credit and our thanks.

Thank you.