The deadline for signing the multiparty agreement (MPA) between the Canada Games Host Society and the federal, municipal and territorial governments will not be affected by an as-yet-to-be-answered $7-million funding request from Ottawa.

That's the opinion of Canada Games manager Chris Morrissey.

Though the document must be signed by the end of this month, he said, money from the outstanding request, made last year and delayed by the Jan. 23 federal election, can still be used if it's received.

'The MPA doesn't exclude us from getting other funds,' Morrissey said in an interview last week.

Documents tabled at council show the MPA has a funding sunset clause of March 31, 2007. That means the agreement must be signed by that date if all promised money from Ottawa is to be received.

The MPA, according to the agreement, specifies revenue generation will be a combination of government grants as well as any other revenue generation initiatives by the host society.

Other conditions highlighted in the agreement include: the Games will be bilingual; the Games' budget must be balanced; and the $7 million in athletes' travel costs will be covered by the federal government.

Morrissey said an answer to the $5-million to $7-million request for additional funds is expected later this month.

'The past two Games have received extra funding from the federal government,' he said.

Morrissey said the amount of extra funding received from Ottawa will affect what the final Games will look like.

If the society did find it was short of funds, he said, there are certain areas, such as the number of publications produced, that could be cut if needed.

Morrissey also said he expects Ottawa to address the long-standing problem of a flawed funding formula for the Games. It has seen previous host societies, including the one from the recent summer Games in Regina, forced to go to the federal government for more money.

In an interview last year, Sue Hylland, president of the Canada Games Council, said a new funding formula to replace the archaic model currently being used is something her organization has long been lobbying for.

'They're applying the same principles to Whitehorse that they did to Games 20 years ago,' she said.

Currently, Games funding is allocated on a per-participant basis.

Hylland maintains that per-participant formula often leaves host societies short of the $18-million costs of running summer Games and the $20 million required to host winter Games.

'Under the old framework, there is a problem; every game has to get more money from the government,' Hylland said.

In Whitehorse, the $20-million cost of running the games is above the $45.3 million spent on constructing the Canada Games Centre and the $31.6 million price tag for the athletes' village being erected beside Yukon College.

Last year, Morrissey said the $20 million for running the Whitehorse Games would be coming from a variety of sources.

According to Morrissey, those sources include:

• A confirmed commitment of $2.8 million from the federal government;

• A confirmed commttment of $2 million from the Yukon government;

• The requested $5 million to $7 million from the federal government in additional funds;

• An expected $7 million from fundraising activities (of which $5 million has been realized);

• A federal cultural grant of $200,000;

• A $400,000-contribution from Canada's two other territories under a Pan North agreement; and

• An expected $1 million in revenue gained from games merchandising sales.

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