The City of Vancouver's requests to increase legislative protection for tenants of rental apartments during the 2010 Winter Olympics have been denied.

"[British Columbia Housing Minister Rich Coleman] is reflecting a kind of amnesia related to the impacts of these large mega-events that have been documented for decades," says Am Johal, chair of Olympic Watchdog Group Impact on Communities Coalition, who considers the preliminary efforts by the City to protect renters to be minimal requests. "The City of Vancouver, by putting forward a weak public policy framework without consultation, is putting at least 1,000 renters at risk leading up to 2010."

While the City has enacted a temporary accommodation bylaw for homeowners interested in renting out a part of their home during the Games — thus, ideally, protecting the interests of both landlords and tenants — Vancouver-West End MLA Spencer Herbert does not expect it to have much of an impact. "The homeowners I've talked to have laughed about the City's registry," he says. "A few good-hearted citizens will follow through on that, but the City really has no enforcement mechanisms... They're trying to ensure people are not made homeless by the Games, but without the Province or the federal government having that same commitment, it's pretty tough."

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