It’s D-Day minus 3 in the Olympic city and with weather like this I’m starting to wonder if the mayor has a plan in place to kick out all the Easter Canadians after the Olympics.

They’re not going to want to leave — seriously. If the sun is out this Feb. 14 they’ll fall in love with this city and probably want to move here … like I did five years ago.

This cold shoulder we’re getting from winter has been the talk of the world. As managing editor of Metro Vancouver, all of a sudden I’m receiving requests from other Metro editors around the globe for coverage. So far, it’s not the athletes or even the giant boxing kangaroo flag the Australians hung outside the Athlete’s Village that they want to know more about — they’re asking what happened to the snow.

I’m learning that a lot of people associate Canada with snow and ice. Well, not here in Vancouver. Over the weekend my wife and I went around the city shooting photos at some of the Olympic venues. We chatted with two cops from Quebec assigned to patrol the area around False Creek. They were having a great time, posed for photos with us and wanted to know if our winters are always like this. They left -14 C weather at home.

While the friendly Quebecois officers are sure to return to the snow and ice of Quebec, I’m guessing there’s a good chance the more affluent Olympic visitors will be so enthralled with our scenic city that they’ll join the legions of foreigners rumoured to own homes here that they use on a part-time basis only.

If the nice weather holds – which is likely to do — it’ll be good for our housing market … well, at least for those who already own homes. Hopefully that’ll also make people invest in our city so they have an excuse to visit.

I know the lack of snow at the North Shore mountains is awful for the athletes, but there’s got to be a positive in there somewhere.

Arnold Schwarzenegger will be back in Vancouver as one of the celebrity torchbearers just announced for Thursday and Friday. He's scheduled to carry the Torch in Stanley Park at 7:03 a.m. on Feb. 12, so get your cameras ready. He'll be torchbearer No. 18 that day.

Leading up to the Governator, the Torch will be taken up Grouse Mountain on top — that's right, on top — of the gondola on Wednesday by an Aboriginal torchbearer. The following day, it'll be carried by Jann Arden and Michel Buble among others.

Two celebrity fathers are also carrying the Torch on Friday. Rolly Fox, father of Terry Fox, and Walter Gretzky are torchbearers Nos. 34 and 41. Too bad they're not handing the torch to each other.

BTW, having these people carry the torch also rules them out as the final torchbearer to light the cauldron. So far, no Betty Fox, Michael J. Fox or Wayne Gretzky. Oh, and as an out-of-this world guess, wouldn't it be awesome to have the Canada Arm light the cauldron? Okay, that probably won't happen, but I'd enjoy seeing it.

Metro Vancouver just finished asking 50 people on Vancouver streets who should light the Olympic cauldron. Most responded Betty Fox, Michael J. Fox or Wayne Gretzky.

Betty Fox would be great because she represents her son's legacy. Our reporter, Kristen Thompson, said she can't think of anyone else who's united the country the way Terry Fox did. Stig Nielsen, our intern from Denmark who conducted our informal survey, says he's amazed how many Canadians thought of Betty Fox.

While Betty would appeal to all Canadians, Michael J. Fox would appeal to the world. But how cool would it be to have Wayne Gretzky shoot a flaming puck to light the cauldron? Greg Downs, our intern from Toronto, gets credit for this one.

"I think it would be epic," he said. "The Olympics are a spectacle."

I'd love to hear what other's think, feel free to submit comments below. We're publishing a preview story on Wednesday.

The Opening Ceremonies, as if anyone needs to be told, are this Friday.