VANCOUVER –The Liberal government’s claim that the B.C. Place roof is “on budget” is hardly credible when you take a hard look at the facts. The B.C. Liberals told British Columbians one thing about the cost of the B.C. Place roof throughout the election campaign, only to turn around and jack up the budget by 54 per cent:

• Before last year’s election, the Liberal government pledged that the B.C. Place project would cost $365 million. The Treasury Board approved that $365 million budget figure based on a financing plan that the Liberal government claimed was solid.

• On October 23, 2009, the Liberal government admitted the bill had ballooned to $458 million.

• On October 29, 2009, under questioning in the legislature, the Liberals were forced to admit that the full bill for the B.C. Place roof project would be $563 million, including the retractable roof, the revitalization and the refurbishment and maintenance costs.

• As for the roof being “on time”, British Columbians were told after the last election that the roof would be completed by the Olympics. They later said it would be July 1^, 2010, and then it was moved to the end of September of this year.

This is just another example of another “on-time, on-budget” deception from a government that can’t be trusted.

Adrian Dix and the New Democrats are committed to supporting sports in B.C. while protecting taxpayers from the long-term risks associated with Liberal government cost-overruns.