New West councillors advocate against additional FIFA spending

New Westminster city councillors are speaking out against the mayor’s proposal to invest in events related to the FIFA World Cup games coming to Vancouver next year.

Couns. Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas say it’s the wrong time to spend more than $300,000 on what the city calls ‘activations.’

“We’re looking, in the City of New Westminster, over the past four years, at 30 per cent property tax increases. We’re looking at introducing a new one per cent capital tax levy. We’ve got 3.5 per cent tax that we’ve added to our electricity bills,” Fontaine told 1130 NewsRadio.

“Unfortunately, the timing is just really bad.”

He adds that kind of money would go a long way to fund much-needed infrastructure, like more artificial turf fields or a sheltered lacrosse box, or things that would produce a “lasting legacy.”

“When you look at the fact that we don’t have enough turf fields in New Westminster, the soccer teams are dying for extra turf fields,” Fontaine said.

“There are so many other priorities that we could be putting those funds into that would actually produce a lasting legacy.”

Fontaine says he might be willing to reconsider the World Cup events if the city could get sponsorships to cover some of the spending, as it has happened for other events in the past.

Among other examples, the two councillors refer to the Canucks on Columbia playoff gatherings.

Those events, Fontaine and Minhas say, were affordable, locally driven, and not restricted by international sponsorship rules.

However, FIFA doesn’t allow sponsors to fund events under its brand.

“Under FIFA rules, the City can’t bring in private partners to help pay for these events. That means taxpayers foot the whole bill,” Minhas explained.

“Right now, residents need relief – not another six-figure spending package wrapped around a World Cup logo,” Fontaine added.

The proposed activations include public viewing events, inflatable screens, and foosball tables.