Former Vancouver Councillor Peter Ladner says the new mayor is misleading the public about the Olympic village deal. (CBC)

The former Vancouver councillor who was in charge of the city's finance committee when the Olympic village project ran into financial problems says the city's new mayor is misleading the public about the deal.

Peter Ladner hasn't spoken publicly on the issue since losing the November mayoral election to Gregor Robertson. But in a statement provided to the CBC on Thursday, Ladner accused Mayor Robertson of using misleading information to blame members of the previous council for problems beyond their control.

Ladner, who publishes the weekly newspaper Business in Vancouver, wrote the statement titled, "Time to focus on solutions for Southeast False Creek," as an editorial for an upcoming edition.

In it, Ladner writes that no one was able to predict the real estate market meltdown, credit freeze and skyrocketing construction costs that have rocked the finances of the deal between the city and Millennium Development Corporation to build the Olympic athletes village for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Blames COPE for project delays

Ladner maintains the problems began under a previous council, dominated by his political rivals in the Coalition of Progressive Electors.

The Olympic village on the shores of Vancouver's False Creek will be sold as condominiums after the 2010 Winter Games. (CBC)

That council, elected in the fall of 2002, delayed the start of the project for several months toward the end of its term to add on millions of dollars worth of social housing and public amenities, writes Ladner.

"The time crunch was hugely exacerbated by the COPE council's seven-month revamping of the official development plan in 2004-05 to add tens of millions of dollars in social amenities which we now know the city couldn't afford."

The former Non-Partisan Association councillor notes that as soon as his party took control of the council in the 2005 civic election, it attempted to cut costs by reducing the social amenities in the project.

"The biggest disagreements on this project were in late 2005, when the new NPA council made an unpopular political decision to scale back the COPE-mandated subsidized housing in the project to reduce the city's financial risk by an estimated $65 million."

Ladner maintains that Robertson's Vision Vancouver party, which has been aligned with COPE since former mayor Larry Campbell founded it after splitting from COPE in 2004, should share some of the responsibility for the problems.

"Vision and COPE have consistently argued for increased public spending on social housing, subsidized housing and daycare at this site, moves that would further weaken the city's financial position," he writes.

Billion-dollar misconception

Ladner appears to be most upset with Robertson's assertion that city taxpayers are on the hook for nearly a billion dollars.

"To suggest that the cost to city taxpayers will be anywhere near $1 billion is inaccurate, inflammatory and highly irresponsible.

"Yes, the current level of financing risk is a major problem, but the ultimate financial outcome is still unknown, and the project is still a development jewel," Ladner writes.

"The $875-million outside cost estimate doesn't take into account the $70-million in equity Millennium has in the project, the $50-million contingency still to be released by Fortress, and the $200-million-or-so guarantees the city has in the form of Millennium's other holdings worldwide.

"Add all that up, subtract anticipated price discounts, and the project is still on track to break even.

"This project will not land on the taxpayers. It is being financed under the property endowment fund, worth $2.7 billion at the peak of the market, and will be able to buffer the taxpayers from any possible losses — just as it grew to $2.7 billion without any call on the taxpayers," Ladner writes.