OTTAWA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today expressed its disappointment that taxpayers may pay up to $1.8 billion for the 2015 Pan Am Games. CTF Ontario Director Kevin Gaudet said, "Premier McGuinty, Finance Minister Flaherty, and Mayor Miller deserve gold medals for waste with this decision. Funding a sporting event when the economy is in trouble and taxes are too high just feeds government over-spending."

The Pan American Games are a multi-sport Summer event with some 42 participating countries. They were hosted in Winnipeg in 1999 but failed to garner a major U.S. network TV contract. Despite the argument that such games leave a legacy of quality, only two Manitobans made the recent Canadian Olympic team in Beijing.

Gaudet concluded, "Mr. Flaherty is sending Ontario mixed messages; on one hand calling for provincial tax relief while on the other hand collaborating with the province to spend $1.8 billion. Wasteful expenditures like this is what keeps tax relief from being made."