Helen Lenskyj, a retired University of Toronto professor, says Vancouver is facing the same issues as other recent Olympic host cities. (CBC)

Vancouver's pre-Olympic growing pains are virtually identical to those in other, recent host cities, according to Helen Lenskyj, a retired University of Toronto professor and outspoken Olympic critic who spoke at UBC on Monday night.

Lenskyj, author of the books Inside the Olympic Industry: Power, Politics, and Activism, and The Best Olympics Ever?, said Olympic cities often see new programs leading to the criminalization of homelessness and the displacement of the poor, just like former mayor Sam Sullivan's Civil City initiative.

"Allegedly there was a growing problem of public disorder. Sullivan denied, initially, that the recommendations were driven by the Olympic agenda of street cleanups," said Lenskyj.

"Every recent host city has had street cleanups of homeless people, sex trade workers, people with visible drug problems or whatever," she said.

Lenskyj is a professor emeritus with the department of sociology and equity studies in education at U of T, whose work combines radical socialist and feminist perspectives, to focus on gender and sports, according to her website.

The academic was also critical of the Sea-To-Sky highway improvements on the route between Vancouver and Whistler, where many of the ski and sliding events will be held, saying it was an infrastructure project that was not a priority for most British Columbians.

The star value of being associated with the Games is too bright for people to seriously question the impacts, while at the same time the promised benefits never really appear, said Lenskyj.

Activists must not stop resisting the 2010 Games, even though it may seem no one wants to listen, because too many people buy into the idea of the Games as a force for social good when really it's just another major industry, she said.

Lenskyj also said it's difficult to prove what benefit or harm the Games actually bring to a host city. But part of the onus should be on organizers and governments to show the Games aren't responsible for the same issues that arise every time a city is awarded the Olympics, she added.

With files from The Canadian Press