Yukon gov't won't get its $2.6M back for cancelled Arctic Winter Games

The Yukon government has no plans to try to recoup the more than $2.6 million paid for a major sporting event that never happened.

In March, the Whitehorse 2020 Arctic Winter Gameswerecancelled about a week before they were set to begindue to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.

Andrea Buckley, an assistant-deputy minister in the Department of Community Services, said that most of the money had already been spent.

"We didn't want to leave the host society, obviously, in a situation where it couldn't pay suppliers local companies for the services or goods that they had provided to the host society," she said.

The Yukon government, via multiple departments, gave $2,644,625 to the 2020 Arctic Winter Games Host Societyover a few years, Buckleysaid.

The Community Development Fund's $75,000 was used to produce a video on the event's 50th anniversary.

An employment subsidy was valued at $4,702.50.

The Youth Investment Fund's $2,965.41 helped cover the costs of a multi-community tour by the event's mascot.

The bulk of the Yukon government's contributions was $2 million from the Department of Community Services, which was for the society to use for whatever it needed.

The department also provided $251,329 of in-kind contributions.

The government approved another $500,000 for the event, but the society said, after the cancellation, that it was no longer necessary, Buckley said.

Shesaid she doesn't know if there were any options to get insurance of some sort so that the government could have recouped costs, nor if there is any mechanism for getting that money back.

Buckley, who also servesas a member of the executive committeeof the host society on behalf of the Yukon government, said thehost society hasn't said that it would be returning any money.

The host societywill leave what's known as a legacy fund, which is made up of surplus money,she said.

"The estimate, I believe, is around $600,000," Buckley said.

That money, which will be held by Sport Yukon,a non-profit society, will be used for hosting future Canada Winter Games and Arctic Winter Games in the territory, she said.

An audit is in the works for the host society that will clarifymore of the society's finances. Buckley said she expects it to be completed within months.

According to a financial documentfrom the Yukon governmentobtained byCBCNews via a public records request,the City of Whitehorse was slated fora$500,000 contribution.

A request sent last weekto the municipal governmentto clarify how much the city ultimately spent and recouped if anything was not fulfilled.