KAMOURASKA, QUE.—I have a collection of old newspapers, including the headlines of the end of the Second World War, the 1969 moon landing, and 9/11. Among the collection is the Montreal Gazette headline story from January 1973 in which then-mayor Jean Drapeau declared “The Montreal Olympics can no more have a deficit than a man can have a baby.” Anticipating that phrase would one day come back to haunt him, I saved it.

Not only did the Olympics have a $350-million deficit, but it took until 2006 to pay it off, reaching a total of $3-billion including interest. Recently, the City of Montreal celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Olympics (July 17 to Aug. 1, 1976) inviting athletes of those games, like gymnast Nadia Comăneci, to attend.

I believe those Olympics will forever be an embarrassment to the city, to the province of Quebec, and to the legacy of Drapeau. As someone who marvelled at his accomplishments—like the Métro, Expo 67, and bringing major league baseball to the city—I liked to cite his optimism, as he would often say “No problems! Only solutions!”

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But he soon lost his shine, running city hall like........

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