Honourable Olga Ilich


		VEGA STRING QUARTET PERFORMS IN VANCOUVER - July 8, 2006 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich (centre) is presented with a framed poster introducing the Vega String Quartet by Chinese Cultural Center of Greater Vancouver Chair Kitty Mar (l) and Cultural Program Chair George Lian. Click here for full-size photo



		$36 MILLION FOR NORTHERN ROAD UPGRADES - July 21, 2006 Richard Neufeld, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, and Kevin Falcon, Minister of Transportation announced the Province is investing $36 million in road upgrades in the North Peace and Northern Rockies regions to ensure access to the area, increase oil and gas revenues, and improve safety for communities. Pictured: Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich, Kevin Falcon, Minister of Transportation and Richard Neufeld, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Ilich visits Kinsol Trestle - July 13, 2006 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich joins Malahat-Juan de Fuca MLA John Horgan (right) and Cowichan Valley Regional District Board Chair Jon Lefebure on the view platform overlooking the Kinsol Trestle. The trestle was a feature of the former CN rail line between Victoria and the Cowichan Valley. The old right-of-way is now part of the Trans-Canada Trail. Click here for full-size photo



		Team BC Athletes - JULY 1, 2006 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich (second from right) joins Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Association of BC (ASRA) President and CEO Alex Nelson (right) in a send-off for Aboriginal Team BC athletes departing for the 2006 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in Denver, Colorado. ASRA is sending over 500 Team BC athletes, coaches, managers and mission staff to the 2006 NAIG. The soccer players pictured are William Moore (15), Valene Wright (18), Ben Pierre (13), Robert Burns (15), Jessica Harris (14), Alycia Burns (13), Tyler Paul-Marino (13), Lucinda Louie (13), Genie Louie (16), Toni-Dawn Carter (16), Shawn Patrick (13) and coach Hubert Haldane (Province of BC). Click here for more photos from this event



		BC Experience opens in Victoria June 26 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich joins Premier Campbell, Minister of Community Services and Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Ida Chong and Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe at the opening of Victoria's newest tourist attraction, the BC Experience. This new virtual tour of the wonders and history of British Columbia is housed in the 81 year old heritage building behind the Empress Hotel that originally housed Victoria's first indoor swimming pool. Click here for full-size photo



		Federal/Provincial/Territorial sport ministers meet June 21-22 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich shares a relaxed moment with federal Sport Minister Michael D. Chong during a break from the meeting of sport ministers in Ottawa June 21 and 22. The communique following the meetings affirmed, "Provincial, and territorial Ministers responsible for sport, physical activity, and recreation today unanimously agreed that sport, recreation and physical activity infrastructure continues to be their top priority in support of healthy, active lifestyles and sport participation." Click here for full-size photo



		SPIRIT BEARS WELCOME THE WORLD TO B.C. - JUNE 6, 2006 B.C. Lions Society President Stephen Miller (l-r), Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell, artist Mandy Boursicot, Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich and artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas stand with three new Spirit Bears. The Spirit Bears, which were sponsored by the provincial government as part of the B.C. Lions Society's Spirit Bear in the City fundraiser, were unveiled at Canada Place to celebrate Tourism Week (June 6-11). Click here for full-size photo



		COMMUNITY HERITAGE LEADER RECEIVES PROVINCIAL AWARD - JUNE 2, 2006 Nanaimo-Parksville MLA Ron Cantelon presents the B.C. Heritage Award to Dr. Harold (Hal) Kalman for his outstanding long-term contribution to B.C. heritage. Mr. Cantelon presented the award in Nanaimo on behalf of Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich. A $10,000 grant was also provided to the Cultural Resource Management Program at the University of Victoria on Dr. Kalman's behalf. That grant was matched by Dr. Kalman and his wife Linda, and UVIC also contributed $20,000 to the program. Click here for full-size photo



		Sir Robin Knox-Johnson, Chairman of Clipper Ventures, joins Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich, Burnaby North MLA Richard Lee and West Vancouver-Garibaldi MLA Joan McIntyre on the steps of the Legislature. The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, organized by Clipper Ventures, began in Liverpool on September 18, 2005, with stops in Portugal, Brazil, South Africa, Western Australia, China, and now Victoria. The race will continue on May 17, as crews set sail for Panama City, Jamaica, New York, Jersey and then back to Liverpool. Click here for full-size photo

		Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich meets with Sir Robin Knox-Johnson, Chairman of Clipper Ventures, the company that organizes the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Nine crews are in Victoria until May 17, having completed the fifth leg of the race. Click here for full-size photo




		B.C. TO CO-HOST 2007 FIFA WORLD YOUTH [SOCCER] CHAMPIONSHIP – APRIL 7, 2006 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich joins (L-R) Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe, Federation Internationale de Football Association [FIFA] Vice President Jack Warner, Premier Gordon Campbell, and Victoria Site Organizing Committee Chair Harold McNeill to celebrate the fact that Vancouver and Victoria will be two of six sites to host the 2007 FIFA World Youth [Soccer] Championship. Click here for full-size photo

		B.C. TO CO-HOST 2007 FIFA WORLD YOUTH [SOCCER] CHAMPIONSHIP – APRIL 7, 2006 Premier Gordon Campbell and Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich display the Federation Internationale de Football Association [FIFA] banner and medallion. The FIFA World Youth [Soccer] Championship is a three-week long, 24-nation and 52-match tournament featuring the best young 20-year-old players in the world. It is the second largest event staged by FIFA after the FIFA World Cup. A total of six cities - including Victoria and Vancouver - will co-host the championships, July 1 - 22, 2007. Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto are also hosting matches. Click here for full-size photo



		Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich, Vancouver City Councillor Suzanne Anton and 2010 Legacy Now Chair Marion Lay admire Canadian Olympic Hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser’s gold medal from Torino at the BC Athlete of the Year Awards reception on March 8th in Vancouver. Click here for full-size photo



		CELEBRATING B.C. HERITAGE WEEK – FEBRUARY 20-26, 2006 Minister responsible for Heritage Olga Ilich accepts a framed poster from Heritage Society of B.C. director, Patricia McAllister (right) and executive director, Rick Goodacre. The poster celebrates this year's annual B.C. Heritage Week, which runs from February 20-26, 2006. Click here for full-size photo



		B.C. PUTS BEST FOOT FORWARD WITH INTERNATIONAL MEDIA – FEB. 8, 2006 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich is in Torino, Italy this week to promote B.C. on the international stage and remind the world that the B.C. 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games are just four years away. Click here for full-size photo

		B.C. PUTS BEST FOOT FORWARD WITH INTERNATIONAL MEDIA – FEB. 8, 2006 Minister Ilich examines the 2006 Torino Olympic Torch at British-Columbia Place in Torino, Italy. While in Torino, she hosted an evening for international media at British Columbia-Canada Place to demonstrate some of B.C.'s showcase attractions. Video footage of B.C. and Canada aired on monitors throughout the house, while guests enjoyed B.C. wine and cuisine and listened to music spun by a popular Whistler DJ. In her welcome, Ilich highlighted tourism as a celebration of key cultural, social and economic exchanges that occur between people when they travel. Click here for full-size photo



		NEW FUNDING FOR AMATEUR SPORTS – FEB. 2, 2006 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich announces more than $20 million in new funding for amateur sport in B.C. that will flow from SportsFunder, a new suite of lottery games from BC Lottery Corporation. The funding will go to help overcome financial obstacles to participation in sports faced by many children and youth, to fund travel to events for athletes from remote parts of the province, to improve coaching and to support elite athletes while they train. Click here for full-size photo

		SPORTSFUNDER ANNOUNCEMENT – FEB. 2, 2006 Olympic Gold Medalist Daniel Igali and BC Lottery Corp. VP Jim Lightbody wrestle over the first ticket as Minister Olga Ilich and VANOC CEO John Furlong consider the odds. Igali represented B.C. amateur athletes at the announcement. Click here for full-size photo



		START ME UP – NOV. 29, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich flanked by IMAX filmmaker David Douglas [left] and National Geographic IMAX Theatre Director Paul Wild at the re-release of Douglas's 1991 IMAX film Rolling Stones At the Max. The film's showing in Victoria coincides with the exhibition Linda McCartney's Sixties: Portrait of an Era at the Royal British Columbia Museum. Click here for full-size photo



		GREY CUP LUNCHEON – NOV. 27, 2005 The Honourable Olga Ilich joins Grey Cup organizers, sponsors and supporters at the commissioner's game day luncheon. Left to right: Matthew Ilich, Honourable Olga Ilich, Moray Keith, Grey Cup 2005 Steering Committee member and President of Dueck GM, and Dennis Skulsky, Chairman, Grey Cup 2005 Steering Committee and President and Publisher, Pacific Newspaper Group. Click here for full-size photo

		Matthew Ilich and Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich get into the Grey Cup spirit at the commissioner's game day luncheon. Photo courtesy of Mits Naga Photography. Click here for full-size photo



		VCCEP WATERSIDE TOUR – MONDAY, NOV. 14, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich, Premier Gordon Campbell and Environment Minister Barry Penner take a waterside tour of the construction site of the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project. Built over land and water on some 1,000 piles, the expansion is expected to be completed in late 2008. Click here for full-size photo



		VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE EXPANSION PROJECT – MONDAY, NOV. 14, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich and Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project Director Russ Anthony look at a model of the expanded convention centre. The expansion will feature floor-to-ceiling glass and a six-acre living roof, which will be one of the largest of its kind in the world. Once completed, the VCCEP is expected to increase the number of delegate days by close to 150%, generating an expected further $107 million annually in delegate spending. Click here for full-size photo



		HOSTING BC INVESTS $245,000 IN 12 COMMUNITIES – NOV. 10, 2005 Bruce Dewar, 2010 Legacies Now Chief Operating Officer (l) and Ajay Patel, Team BC Chef de Mission (r), present Minister Ilich with a photo of Team BC. Minister Ilich was in Burnaby to announce $245,000 in Hosting BC grants have been awarded to help 12 communities across B.C. host 17 major sporting events. She also announced that the 2010 Legacies Now Hosting BC program has been extended to 2006. Click here for full-size photo

		HOSTING BC INVESTS $245,000 IN 12 COMMUNITIES – NOV. 10, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich announces $245,000 in Hosting BC grants have been awarded to help 12 communities across B.C. host 17 major sporting events. She also announced that the 2010 Legacies Now Hosting BC program has been extended to 2006. Click here for full-size photo



		MINISTER ILICH FEATURED AT BURNABY BOARD OF TRADE – NOV. 10, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich delivers a keynote address at the Burnaby Board of Trade. Click here for full-size photo

		MINISTER ILICH ADDRESSES BURNABY BOARD OF TRADE – NOV. 10, 2005 Minister Ilich speaks to Burnaby Board of Trade members and guests about new opportunities in the tourism, sport, arts and volunteer sectors. Click here for full-size photo



		BIENNALE BRINGS INTERNATIONAL SCULPTURES TO VANCOUVER'S PUBLIC SPACES – OCT. 21, 2005 Minister Ilich is a featured speaker at the official launch of the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, an 18 month exhibit and festival featuring 30 international art pieces installed in Vancouver's public spaces. Photo: Hon. Olga Ilich with contemporary sculptors (left to right) Sorel Etrog (Canada), Markus Schaller (Germany), Dennis Oppenheim (USA) and Khang Pham-New (Canada). Click here for full-size photo



		MINISTER ILICH HONOURS RICHMOND DANCER – OCT. 21, 2005 Olga Ilich, MLA for Richmond Centre and Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts, presents Celine Gittens with a Certificate of Congratulations from the Province of British Columbia after she was awarded the gold medal and audience choice medal at London's Royal Academy of Dance. Celine, a Grade 12 student from Richmond, competed over 9 days last month in London against more than 50 competitors from around the world. Left to right: Hon. Olga Ilich, Celine Gittens and Choo Chiat Goh, Artistic Director of Goh Ballet Academy. Click here for full-size photo



		GROUNDBREAKING AT RED RESORT – SEPTEMBER 23, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich joins acting Rossland Mayor Greg Granstrom (l) and Red Resort owner Howard Kakov (r) at the ceremonial groundbreaking for Slalom Creek, a $35-million luxury condo project at Red Resort. The new development marks a significant investment in the Rossland economy, and is expected to generate close to 17,000 additional skier visits each year. Click here for full-size photo



		LEADING THE WAY IN HEALTHY LIVING AND PHYSICAL FITNESS – SEPTEMBER 11, 2005 Sport Minister Olga Ilich joins her colleagues as Premier Gordon Campbell announces 24 bike lane projects in 17 communities, including new bike lanes along NW Marine Drive at the University of British Columbia. Funding for the Cycling Infrastructure Partnerships Program will be extended for next year, helping British Columbians to be a leader in healthy living and physical fitness. About the CIPP Program Click here for full-size photo

		OPENING CEREMONY 2005 BC SENIORS GAMES – AUG. 24, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich and Cowichan 2005 BC Seniors Games president Gerry Giles welcome athlete Eluah Varty to the podium as she completes her torchlighting run at the opening ceremony of the 2005 BC Seniors Games. Varty went on to win two gold medals and four silver medals at the games in the Women's 70-74 age category in Swimming. Click here for full-size photo

		MINISTER ILICH SPEAKS AT THE 2005 BC SENIORS GAMES OPENING CEREMONY – AUG. 24, 2005 Minister Ilich addresses athletes and spectators at the Cowichan 2005 BC Seniors Games. Click here for full-size photo



		$1 MILLION FOR NEW CRYSTAL GARDEN ROOF – AUGUST 9, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich announces provincial funding of $1 million to replace the signature glass roof on the Crystal Garden in Victoria, which is 80 years old this year. A brand new tourist attraction will open in the building in May 2006, which is expected to generate $1.6 million each year. Click here for full-size photo

		NEW ROOF FOR CRYSTAL GARDEN – AUGUST 9, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich and Community Services Minister Ida Chong stand with the first of 4,000 panes of glass set to replace the glass roof on the Crystal Garden in Victoria. The Province is investing $1 million to replace the signature glass roof, which is 80 years old this year. Click here for full-size photo

		NEW ROOF FOR CRYSTAL GARDEN – AUGUST 9, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich meets with Provincial Capital Commission CEO Ray Parks to discuss the glass roof at the Crystal Garden in Victoria. Click here for full-size photo



		OPENING CEREMONY, 2005 CANADA SUMMER GAMES – AUG. 6, 2005 VANOC CEO John Furlong, provincial sport director Charles Parkinson, Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich, Federal Sport Minister Stephen Owen, and Team BC Chef de Mission Ajay Patel gather to rally the athletes at the Opening Ceremony of the 2005 Canada Games. Click here for full-size photo

		2005 CANADA SUMMER GAMES – AUG. 6, 2005 The Honourable Olga Ilich, Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts gathers with sport officials and Team BC athletes in a pre-competition rally for the 2005 Canada Summer Games. Click here for full-size photo

		2005 CANADA SUMMER GAMES – AUG. 6, 2005 Minister Ilich, Team BC athletes and sport officials rally at the Opening Ceremony of the 2005 Canada Summer Games. Click here for full-size photo



		TEAM BC PRESENTS MINISTER ILICH WITH NEW RUNNING SHOES – JULY 28, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich is presented with new running shoes by Marion Lay, President and CEO of 2010 LegaciesNow and Team BC athletes Emma Friesen (diving) and Aso Palani (wrestling). In the same way the Finance Minister gets new shoes on Budget Day, the Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts receives new shoes the day Team BC is announced. Click here for full-size photo

		MINISTER ILICH INTRODUCES TEAM BC – JULY 28, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich congratulates Team BC athletes on their hard work and accomplishment. 357 athletes, 70 coaches and 21 mission staff will go to Regina next month to represent B.C. in the Canada Summer Games. Click here for full-size photo

		A PERFECT FIT – JULY 28, 2005 Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich ties up new running shoes, presented to her by 2010 LegaciesNow and Team BC. 2010 LegaciesNow is a non-profit organization working to promote sport in B.C. and to help communities across the province harness the opportunities associated with the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games in a sustainable and inclusive way. Click here for full-size photo



		JULY 21, 2005 Minister Ilich speaks during a lunch time briefing in Vancouver by 2010 LegaciesNow Society for the Chinese language media. Click here for full-size photo

		JULY 21, 2005 Vancouver briefing for Chinese language media. Back from left: Amelia Ho, President of BC Table Tennis Association; Marion Lay, President and CEO, 2010 LegaciesNow Society; Lilo Ljubisic of 2010 LegaciesNow, Board of Directors; Minister Ilich (front row): Mo Zhang, Athlete, BC Table Tennis Association; Andre Ho, Athlete, BC Table Tennis Association. Click here for full-size photo



		JUNE 29, 2005 – ORDER OF B.C. CEREMONIES AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE Left to right: John van Dongen (MLA Abbotsford-Clayburn), Sindi Hawkins (MLA Kelowna-Mission), Order of BC recipient Anthony von Mandl, Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Olga Ilich and Premier Gordon Campbell. Click here for full-size photo