Pique Newsmagazine 3038

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Blood and Paint

Celebrating 75 years of boreal insight at the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station. - ByLeslie Anthony

14

SIGNS OF LIFE

The Whistler Community Foundation invites locals to dig deeper into Vital Signs statistics at a pair of upcoming events this fall.

15 TAKING CARE

A new report calls for major changes to primary care in B.C.—but Whistler is already ahead of the curve.

16 PROPERTY TAX

The Resort Municipality of Whistler is calling on the B.C. government to relax rules on property tax deferments for local residents.

24 SEEKING ANSWERS

A Pemberton family is paying tribute to their “driven and determined” son after his senseless death in Grenada.

32 MARATHON MAN

Vancouverite Collin Zwickel tackled a 122-kilometre ultramarathon up to Whistler while raising thousands for families in need.

36 PARTY PEOPLE

Diverse ensemble Qairo blends Spanish flamenco music with multiple types of dance.

COVER My relationship with nature has remained at the “listen to the pretty birds, and look at that pretty sky” level of identification. I’d rather not get too complicated or obsessed with the details, unless I’m trying to exploit it!? - By Jon Parris // @jon.parris.art

Founding Publishers KATHY & BOB BARNETT

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Contributors G.D. MAXWELL, GLENDA BARTOSH, LESLIE ANTHONY, ANDREW MITCHELL, ALISON TAYLOR, VINCE SHULEY

President, Whistler Publishing LP

SARAH STROTHER - sstrother@wplpmedia.com

Opinion & Columns

08 OPENING REMARKS Editor Braden Dupuis checks in on some of Whistler’s “Vital Signs”— which continue to show worrying trends heading into 2024.

10 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR This week’s letter writers weigh in on the “vicious cycle” of housing in Whistler, and advocate for term limits for B.C. politicians.

13 PIQUE’N YER INTEREST Are microaggressions a macro problem? Not in the slightest, writes columnist David Song.

to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please contact (edit@ piquenewsmagazine.com). If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the web site at mediacouncil. ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information. This organization replaces the BC Press council (and any mention of it).

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Environment & Adventure

26 RANGE ROVER Columnist Leslie Anthony reflects on the finer rhythms of post-secondary learning and life on campus in all its varied forms.

Lifestyle & Arts

34 EPICURIOUS Unpacking the raw power of cacao—the tropical plant that has beguiled civilizations for centuries.

40 MUSEUM MUSINGS From homebrew to beer festivals, Whistlerites have a long and storied relationship with alcohol.

54 MAXED OUT With tourism contributing as much as it does to provincial coffers, Max argues in favour of more funding for BC Parks. Get

Checking in on Whistler’s vital signs

IN WHISTLER’S 2022 Community Life Survey, more than 500 people were surveyed by phone to gauge their thoughts and feelings about the place they call home.

By and large, the results were encouraging.

Ninety per cent of permanent-resident respondents reported feeling a very strong or somewhat strong sense of belonging in

BY BRADEN DUPUIS

Whistler, while 84 per cent were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied to live here.

But according to the Whistler Community Foundation’s (WCF) most recent Vital Signs report released in early March (and to the surprise of nobody), there remain some very real challenges in our community around things like housing and affordability.

One major theme to arise through the process was an increasing reliance on community services.

The Whistler Food Bank, for example, saw an astounding 13,633 visits in 2022, up from the previous record of 9,365 set in 2021. Compare that to 5,782 visits in 2020; 3,005 in 2019; and 2,773 in 2018.

Is the rush going to start trending the opposite way any time soon? It doesn’t seem likely, considering June 5 was the busiest day in the history of Whistler’s food bank. Over the course of three hours in the afternoon, the organization served food 141 times to 84 households.

Whistler Community Services Society’s outreach services, meanwhile, served an alltime high of 8,380 visitors seeking mental and emotional support in 2022, up from the previous record of 6,128 in 2021. The longer trends are not encouraging there, either—in the pandemic year of 2020, 4,922 accessed the services, up from 3,233 in 2019 and 2,040 in 2018.

“Everything is so intersectional,” WCF’s executive director Claire Mozes told Pique earlier this year. “It’s really impossible to think about something like mental health and then not relate it to things like affordability, or living conditions like housing. We really recognized that there was a lot of overlap between themes … it all is very interrelated.”

With that in mind, the time has come once again to ask ourselves some important questions: Is Whistler a livable community? And are Whistlerites thriving?

Both questions will be explored through a pair of Vital Conversations hosted by the WCF this fall.

Discussion at the events, which are scheduled for Sept. 27 (“Is our community livable?”) and Oct. 18 (“Is everyone thriving?”) at the Whistler Public Library, will be guided by the themes and data found in WCF’s Vital Signs: A Community Check Up document.

And the check-up is chock full of

down from 139) and property crime (351, down from 423), calls related to mental health showed a worrying spike, hitting 185 in 2021 from just 60 in 2016.

And calls related to mental health grew more serious in nature, according to RCMP Sgt. Sascha Banks.

“When people were in mental-health crisis, they were in serious mental-health crisis where they had attempted to take their lives or people were in violent states, from which they required police attendance and police intervention to ensure the safety of not only themselves but everybody else around them, including my members on my team,” Banks told Whistler’s mayor and council in a recent Committee of the Whole presentation.

On the topic of a thriving community, meanwhile, the stats aren’t much better.

Food costs went up 16.9 per cent in 2022, while the cost of shelter rose 16.7 per cent, the report said.

The median purchase price of a single-

of respondents felt sad or hopeless over a two-week period, with 10 per cent seriously considering suicide. Just over 40 per cent of Grade 10 students reported going to school drunk or high in Whistler—well above the Sea to Sky’s average of 23 per cent.

These numbers of course don’t paint the entire picture of Whistler and its current livability, but they offer valuable insight for community planners—and allow them to answer the key question at the heart of all the research: is everyone in Whistler thriving?

“The hard answer is no. Not everyone is thriving,” the check-up report concludes.

“While income is growing in Whistler, living expenses are growing faster. And while we found that few people are living below the national poverty line, Whistler struggles to house, transport, feed, and provide a livable wage, and supply health-care to the folks hoping to continue to call Whistler home.

“This is especially true in times of ever-increasing extreme weather events, a

illuminating facts.

On the topic of community livability, the document highlights things like access to childcare (14.3 spaces per 100 kids in Whistler, compared to 12.5 in Pemberton and 21 in Squamish); and the instances of violent crime (195 in 2021, up 22 per cent from the 160 reported in 2020).

While calls to police were down in several areas, such as drug crimes (18 in 2021, compared to 41 in 2020), traffic offenses (102,

family home hit $3.3 million (but you can still get a townhouse for the low, low price of just $1.3 million, or an apartment for just $770,000).

Forty-two per cent of dwellings in Whistler do not meet StatsCan’s criteria for “acceptable housing”—housing that costs less than 30 per cent of one’s income, while also being suitable in size and type, and in good repair.

According to Communities That Care Whistler’s 2021 needs assessment survey of students in Grades 6 to 12, nearly one quarter

bigger housing crisis than ever before and a looming recession.”

As 2023 draws to a close, will we see a tempering of current trends? Will visits to the food bank level off in 2024? Will fewer people need access to additional supports, or find themselves in crisis situations?

One can hope. In the meantime, you can take part in WCF’s upcoming Vital Signs sessions at the library by registering here: whistlerfoundation.com/vital-signs. ■

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As 2023 draws to a close, will we see a tempering of current trends? Will visits to the food bank level off in 2024? Will fewer people need access to additional supports, or find themselves in crisis situations?

Housing in Whistler is a ‘vicious cycle’— in which the poor lose out

I’ve just finished reading your article on short/ long term rentals (Pique, Sept. 8).

It’s all well and good issuing a fine, but $500? These people live in multi-million-dollar homes. Five-hundred dollars is pocket change for them, and they can easily make that money back in one rental from Airbnb. Probably in one night with the price of places on there. They should be getting ridiculous fines, and much greater punishment. Fining the rich in any walk of life is laughable.

The muni needs to build a bunch of apartment blocks, high-rise, similar in size to the Glacier Lane staff housing for affordable housing.

Officials also need to force Vail Resorts to build more staff housing. Whistler Blackcomb currently houses about 30 per cent of its staff, which means about 70 per cent is out in the regular rentals market. I’m sure that’s a lot of places which could be freed up.

There also needs to be a cap on rental prices. There’s a bloke on the Whistler Housing Crisis Facebook page who rents out a place in

Function with six bunk beds, for a total of 12 people living there.

The place is tiny and a shithole. I checked it out when I first got here three years ago, and it was $650 a month in summer and $750 a month in winter. I think I saw a post of his the other day for $1,350!

It’s ludicrous. He should be wearing a stripy jumper and a balaclava. Surely something can be done about these poisonous landlords charging such ridiculous rates.

I read in the article a landlord saying it’s not good for them, either. Nonsense. Good tenants are paying half their mortgage. If you

can’t afford the majority of the mortgage, you shouldn’t be living in the house.

The other problem is rich kids from all over the world supported by mummy and daddy come here and have help with their rent from parents. They’re here on a “gap yar” (posh British accent) spending six months usually skiing so don’t care about the longterm effects. They pay whatever is being asked, so landlords feel they can charge whatever they want. It’s a vicious cycle with the poor losing out, as always.

Maybe they’ll learn one day when they turn up to eat or ski and the lifts aren’t running, or their food isn’t being served because there’s no housing left for the staff.

Sam Heyes // Whistler

B.C. politics needs term limits

This week marks the annual meeting of the Union of BC Municipalities, and one should ask, when does being a politician go from a public service to a career choice with incredible benefits and pensions that the average person does not enjoy?

I would argue in their second term, which is why I suggest we need term limits for some of the following reasons:

Preventing Career Politicians: One of the primary arguments in favour of term limits is that they can prevent the emergence of career politicians who may become disconnected from the needs and concerns of their constituents.

Term limits can encourage fresh faces and ideas in government.

Increased Accountability: Politicians who know they have limited time in office may be more inclined to make decisions that align with their constituents’ interests rather than

nah. When I see successive leaders promise electoral reform during election campaigns only to break those promises when in power, then I know how term limits must become a reality.

Patrick Smyth // Whistler

“Term limits can level the playing field for new candidates and parties.”

- PATRICK SMYTH

focusing on securing re-election. This can lead to greater accountability.

Reducing Incumbency Advantage: Incumbent politicians often have a significant advantage when running for re-election, including access to resources and name recognition. Term limits can level the playing field for new candidates and parties.

There are some cons, such as loss of experience and loss of voter choice. But

Thanks for a successful Terry Fox Run

The number of people and dogs taking part in the Terry Fox Run on Sunday, Sept. 17 was totally big and wonderfull!

Thanks to everyone who took part in the run, the volunteers, and the organizers. Terry Fox is a true hero who will never be forgotten— and the fight against cancer will never stop until the fight is won.

Pique wins big at Canadian Community Newspaper Awards

WHISTLER’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER VOTED BEST IN CANADA

Pique Newsmagazine is once again the best community newspaper in Canada in its circulation class.

Pique won big at the 2023 Canadian Community Newspaper Awards, taking first place in the Best All-Round Newspaper and Best Front Page categories (circulation 6,500 to 17,499).

“It’s simply hard—perhaps impossible— to beat this publication for quality in almost all criteria areas of this competition,” read the judges’ comments. “I hesitated giving it top marks for the front page because it doesn’t look like a typical community newspaper front page, but none of the others were so exceptional they could beat the impact and ‘pick-me-up’ factor of the Pique’s front page.”

Reporter Megan Lalonde took first place in the Best Historical Story category, for her cover feature “They just vanished,” as well as

a bronze in the Best News Story category for her coverage of the daylight double murder that rocked Whistler Village in July 2022.

Sports reporter David Song earned a second place in the Best Sports Coverage category, while reporter and features editor Brandon Barrett took third place in the Best Feature Story category for his cover feature “From the Sea to Sky to Kharkiv, a ray of hope.”

Lastly, reporter Robert Wisla took both first and second in the Excellence in Rural Reporting category, for his stories “The other battle,” and “The boom in Bridge River.”

“We’re humbled to be recognized as best in class amongst our peers across Canada in the general excellence category, as well as the many reporting honours for our journalists,” said publisher Sarah Strother. “It’s a tribute to Pique’s exceptionally talented and hardworking team.” n

Leslie “Cancer Sucks” Weir / Whistler n

Microaggressions are not a macro problem

YEARS AGO, I began hearing activists and social commentators throw around a curious term: “microaggression.” Google defines the word as “a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or

BY DAVID SONG

dsong@piquenewsmagazine.com

Scrolling down, I quickly found an article from NPR with the headline: “Microaggressions

I’m a person of colour, and I disagree.

But before we go further, let’s unpack what microaggressions actually are, according to those who believe in their significance.

WHAT ARE MICROAGGRESSIONS?

Kevin Nadal, a psychology professor at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, explains in the aforementioned NPR story that microaggressions—unlike overt forms of discrimination—are frequently inadvertent or unconsciously done. His examples include the act of moving away when a Black person draws

near, or assuming that an Asian person did not grow up in the United States (or North America) because of their appearance.

Nadal adds people who engage in microaggressions often become defensive when others speak against their behaviour, because they don’t consider these actions to be discriminatory. However, he argues intent does not matter.

“At the end of the day, if somebody says something racist to you, it’s racist,” Nadal said in the NPR story previously referenced. “And if it hurts your feelings, it hurts your feelings, so it doesn’t really matter what we define it as.”

As a man of Chinese descent, I’ve experienced what Nadal is talking about. Strangers and acquaintances occasionally assume that I studied engineering. A teenage boy once told me to “vote Communist’’ as I passed him on the street during the 2012 Alberta general election. Some people think that I’m destined to marry a short Asian girl, simply because I’m a short Asian guy.

And unfortunately, I’m all too familiar with the insipid stereotype that we Asian guys are hopelessly inept in bed.

Are these anecdotes evidence of unfortunate biases held by portions of the populace? Typically, yes. Would our society be better off without them? For sure. Nonetheless, I believe that people of all backgrounds need to take a thicker-skinned approach to microaggressions.

Why? Well, it’s right there in the term

itself. Microaggressions are just that: micro, small, and, per se, insignificant. They may point towards ignorant or discriminatory attitudes, but in and of themselves they are nothing to get worked up about.

MOUNTAINS AND MOLEHILLS

Things don’t always go the way we want them to in life. We all have to face unpleasant experiences, whether it’s being cut off in traffic, hearing an insensitive remark, or being let down by someone once considered trustworthy. Any group of humans will deal with conflict, and constant outrage is not a productive or healthy way to respond.

I’m not saying bigotry is acceptable. I am saying sometimes, we need to pick our battles. A competent doctor treats the disease, not just the symptoms, and in the same way, those passionate about social justice ought to focus on the big stuff.

We’re not going to win over (or get rid of) every small-minded individual out there. What we should aim for is a point where their small-mindedness can’t translate into impactful forms of discrimination. No one should be physically attacked, harassed, or denied gainful employment because of their demographic traits.

Beyond that, however, attempts to sanitize society to the point where no one ever says anything remotely problematic is a fool’s errand.

Moreover, not every seemingly insensitive comment or action is borne of malice. Some people just don’t know any better, and in those cases, attempting to communicate respectfully is far more fruitful than being offended.

Personally, I would not sleep much if I got upset every time someone made an ignorant assumption about me, whether it’s based on ethnicity or anything else. Nor would I have any capacity for resilience when difficult things arise. Ultimately, that’s my greatest concern about people fixating on microaggressions: there’s a big difference between advocating for justice and making mountains out of molehills.

Some people might protest by saying: one person’s molehill is another person’s mountain. That’s true, to an extent—we all have different strengths, weaknesses, and life experiences. What seems innocuous to me could be offensive to another.

Yet, it is foolish to claim that something or someone is wrong just because you or I find it offensive. It is equally foolish to allow yourself to be bothered by everything you don’t approve of. I would argue the habit of fixating upon microaggressions conditions people to assume the worst about others and look for someone to blame the moment something doesn’t go to plan.

That’s not what we need. Our society is already too good at finding ways to divide people. n

Whistler to be livable for you?’

WHISTLER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INVITES LOCALS TO DIG DEEPER INTO VITAL SIGNS STATS AT A PAIR OF UPCOMING EVENTS THIS FALL

BY MEGAN LALONDE

RELEASED LAST MARCH, the Whistler Community Foundation’s (WCF) most recent Vital Signs report includes 13 pages worth of data proving what most locals already know: not everyone in Whistler is thriving, as the document concluded.

Still, WCF executive director Claire Mozes said she’s since heard from some corners of the community who “were really surprised” by the sobering stats laid out in the report. For example, numbers pulled from the Whistler Community Services Society’s books showing a record-high 8,380 people accessed its outreach services for mental and emotional support in 2022, more than a fourfold increase from the 2,040 people outreach workers served in 2018.

“If your job [isn’t] connected to that, or you haven’t experienced a mental-health crisis, or your friend or family member hasn’t, you might not know that it’s in the state that it is,” Mozes explained.

“It’s hard to tackle any issue if we aren’t all somewhat on the same page,” she continued. “We might not all agree on everything, and that’s totally fine, but if everyone doesn’t really understand what’s happening, it’s hard to move forward.”

As a busy summer season gives way to

cooler temperatures and a quieter town, the foundation has planned a pair of upcoming events aimed at bringing Whistlerites together to dig a little deeper into those stats and talk about what, exactly, moving forward might look like.

The WCF’s two “Vital Conversations” at the Whistler Public Library this fall will focus on the same two questions this year’s Vital Signs report sought to answer, while considering issues linked to affordability, housing, mental health, the environment, child care, transit and everything in between.

The first event, scheduled for this Wednesday, Sept. 27 from 6 to 8:30 p.m., will explore, “Is our community livable?” The second Vital Conversation, set to take place at the same time on Wednesday, Oct. 18, instead asks “Is everyone thriving?”

Both events are free to attend, but space is limited. Each will accommodate a crowd of about 50 people, who will split into small groups scattered around the library’s fireplace. Leaders stationed at each roundtable will be armed with a set of prompts, ready to guide a thoughtful discussion about the intertwining challenges Whistler faces. Both events will follow the same format, but incorporate different data points and discussion themes, Mozes explained.

“We aren’t trying to solve all the world’s problems, or all of Whistler’s problems, but we have a lot of data, and what we really want is people to come and talk about it,” she said. “We have all these numbers, and we did get some stories as well in the report and the compilation of that, but this is an opportunity for the community to come together and participate as a group, and hopefully

learn from each other, perhaps build some relationships … maybe you’re going to meet somebody that you have never met before, but you feel the same way about the same issue, and maybe somebody has an idea about how to tackle that issue.”

From established community leaders to new arrivals, Mozes stressed everyone is welcome.

“Nobody has to come in as an expert. Nobody has to come in with all of the answers—that’s not really what this is about,” she said. “Everybody that walks in is part of this community, so they belong.”

Locals who aren’t able to attend either event can still voice their opinions. A pre-event survey available on the WCF’s website—and on a poster accompanied by sticky-notes in the library’s lobby—asks, “What would have to be true for Whistler to be livable for you?” The foundation will display answers at next Wednesday’s event.

“That’s a powerful question for sure—not an easy, or quick one to answer, either,” Mozes acknowledged.

The WCF team did its best in a pair of definitions crafted ahead of the upcoming Vital Conversations, guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The foundation defines a livable community as one “that provides and prioritizes affordability and personal independence, economic opportunity, safe and secure living conditions, justice, choice of mobility options, including active and public transit, and fosters a sense of community—allowing residents of all ages to thrive and engage in civic, economic and social life.”

As for what it means to thrive? Those individuals “feel autonomy over food and housing needs, economic stability, physical and mental health,” according to the WCF. “Community members feel welcomed and comfortable in all home, work, and community spaces where they can contribute positively and proactively. Everyone feels empowered and supported in managing the challenges life throws their way with resiliency—and can see the same for their future.”

From Mozes’ perspective, Whistler can’t have one of those visions without the other. “If you have a livable community, you probably have a much better shot at having everyone in it thriving,” she said. “And if everyone’s thriving you probably have a livable community.”

Vital Signs is a global program launched in Toronto in 2001 to spin community knowledge into positive local impacts. The WCF, primarily responsible for managing long-term endowment funds and awarding grants to local organizations, kickstarted Whistler’s Vital Signs program in 2016. Typically after each long-form census, WCF stakeholders compile statistics from a wide range of local, provincial and national sources into a single report measuring how the resort’s community is faring. Each Vital Signs report functions as a “community check-up,” helping the foundation decide where to direct its funding and sparking broader conversations within the community.

Registration for both Vital Conversations is encouraged. Reserve your spot or participate in the WCF’s pre-event survey at whistlerfoundation.com/work/vital-signs. n

‘What would have to be true for

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS Whistler locals brainstorming at a Whistler Community Foundation Vital Café event in January 2020.

PROGRESS ON SOME OF THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS IS ALREADY BEING MADE IN WHISTLER, WHERE NON-PROFIT WHISTLER 360 IS SETTING AN EXAMPLE FOR COMMUNITIES HOPING TO FOLLOW ITS LEAD

BY MEGAN LALONDE

THE SITUATION in Whistler is improving by several measures, but officials estimate about one million British Columbians and counting are still without a family doctor. As health-care professionals and policymakers face mounting pressure to bring that number down, a new report proposes sweeping recommendations its authors say would transform primary-care delivery in B.C. and beyond.

The report released Sept. 19 is the result of nearly 1,000 collective volunteer hours, invested over a period of three months not by physicians, politicians or experts, but by patients on the receiving end of that care.

Specifically, 31 British Columbians worked together to author the report as part of OurCare, a national initiative gathering public input about primary health-care reform. A civic lottery system randomly selected 31 volunteers to join OurCare’s British Columbia Priorities Panel this spring, drawing from a pool of about 100 survey respondents who expressed interest in participating. The group met online twice before convening in Vancouver this June for three days of in-person discussions. During that time, volunteers learned about primary care in B.C. and across other jurisdictions from 19 experts who delivered presentations or moderated discussions.

Family physician Dr. Karin Kausky, founding director of the Whistler 360 Health Collaborative Society, participated in OurCare’s British Columbia Advisory Group.

“I’ve never been part of [a project] that had this kind of representation or contribution from the public,” said Kausky, who sits on Doctors of BC’s board of directors. “I think it’s a really interesting concept: take these 31 people, give them a bunch of education, speakers, then let them talk through what they think the problems are and come up with a series of recommendations. And I’ve got to say, I think the recommendations really hit the mark.”

The final report lays out 25 clear, actionable recommendations. Included among those are calls to set up Community Health Centres in every community; establish “catchment areas” modelled after the public school system that would guarantee residents access to primary care providers; create a central platform all clinicians and patients could use to access electronic medical records; commission independent, thirdparty monitoring of primary care initiatives; and create a Patient Advocacy Organization, to name just a few.

Work on some ambitious ideas raised in the report is already underway at the

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provincial level, said Kausky. Aside from a push for team-based care, a B.C.-wide platform where physicians could access electronic medical records is “something that’s been talked about provincially for a really long time,” she explained.

Here in the Sea to Sky, however, Whistler 360 is making waves with an innovative primary care model that aligns with several broader concepts laid out in OurCare’s B.C. report.

It started when the grassroots Primary Care Task Force formed in 2019, in an effort to help the estimated 40 per cent of Whistlerites without access to a family doctor at the time.

Fast forward a few years and several fundraising initiatives, and Whistler 360 is a flourishing, community-governed non-profit society complete with charitable status. The society took over operations of the Whistler Medical Clinic on New Year’s Day. Since March, Whistler 360 has grown its roster of care providers from six full-time equivalents to 11, and expanded its physical space with five newly-renovated exam rooms. “We’ve attached well over 1,000 patients and we’re just getting started,” said Kausky.

That increased capacity has translated to a measurable drop in the number of patients visiting Whistler’s emergency room to seek less- or non-urgent care since June. In August, those visits were down 15 per cent, Kausky explained.

The society “has really had a profound impact,” she said, not only on patients, but for Whistler’s primary health-care providers and clinic staff, too.

“A year ago, everybody was pretty tired of just saying no to people: ‘No, we don’t have any appointments today,’ ‘No, we’re not taking patients, sorry that you have this new cancer diagnosis’—it was awful for them,” Kausky recalled.

“They now get to phone people and say, ‘Hey, do you want a family doctor?’ And the number of people that burst into tears because they are so grateful—it’s just brought the joy back to work. It’s a whole different work environment.”

Kausky estimates “dozens of individuals or communities” have reached out to Whistler 360 asking for the secrets to the society’s success. “Interestingly, like with this report, we did it with a community engagement,” she said.

Now that OurCare’s British Columbia Priorities Panel report is complete, Kausky said she hopes the document helps healthcare decision-makers “move along the initiatives that are already underway.”

And, like Whistler 360, “I hope it really sparks communities to organize and embrace this social contract of this shared accountability for primary care,” she added.

Read the full report at ourcare.ca. n

Phone: +1 (604) 932-8899

Email: connect@whistlerforsale com

Patients are behind a new report calling for major changes to primary care in B.C.

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Whistler asks province to relax rules on property tax deferments

CURRENTLY, EMPLOYEE-RESTRICTED PROPERTIES LEASED FROM MUNICIPALITY NOT ELIGIBLE FOR B.C.’S LOW-INTEREST PROVINCIAL PROPERTY TAX DEFERMENT PROGRAM

BY BRANDON BARRETT

THE RESORT MUNICIPALITY of Whistler (RMOW) is calling on the B.C. government to relax its eligibility requirements for a lowinterest loan program to allow Whistler property owners who lease from the municipality to access available funding.

The Provincial Property Tax Deferment Program (PPT) is an initiative that helps qualified B.C. homeowners access funding to pay the property tax on their principal residence. Currently, the funding is doled out through two streams: its Regular Program, available to people 55 and older, a surviving spouse of any age, or a person with disabilities; and its Families with Children Program, available to parents, step parents, or guardians who are financially supporting a child.

Properties leased from the municipality—which includes employee housing properties with housing agreements or leases with the RMOW—are not deemed eligible for the program.

“This is a significant barrier for some Whistler employees, who may otherwise qualify,” read a report to council presented on Tuesday, Sept. 12.

From 2018 to 2022, the RMOW had an arrangement with the B.C. Ministry of Finance’s property taxation branch that allowed owners of employee-restricted Whistler Housing Authority (WHA) properties to take part in the program.

In March, council passed a resolution directing staff to collaborate with the WHA,

council last week and detailed the housing crisis that has acutely impacted Whistler.

“The housing crisis affects people across our province, impacting the quality of life in communities and limiting the potential of our economy. As an internationally renowned four-season resort with over three million visitors annually, Whistler’s housing

cannot be relied upon to provide affordable, suitable, and adequate housing units for Whistler’s workforce,” Crompton explained. “Access to housing that is affordable to employees is essential to ensure that Whistler’s workforce can remain in Whistler long-term.”

According to the RMOW, there are approximately 1,295 ownership and municipal leasehold employee-restricted housing units in Whistler, with more currently being built. Crompton went on to say that allowing employee restricted homeowners to access the loan program between 2018 and 2022 “improved housing affordability for Whistler employee and retiree households.

“It is important that municipal and provincial programs are aligned, and encourage shared responsibility and effective solutions to housing affordability challenges,” he wrote.

a municipal subsidiary, to advocate to the province to include employee-restricted properties, including leasehold properties, as eligible participants in the PPT.

The resulting letter, signed by Mayor Jack Crompton and addressed to B.C. finance minister Katrine Conroy, was presented to

affordability challenges are amplified,” Crompton wrote.

The letter highlights a figure from the RMOW’s 2022 Housing Needs Report that found the average market property in Whistler is unaffordable for more than 90 per cent of residents, concluding “the market alone

Affordable housing has been identified as one of council’s four core priorities for its term, along with community engagement, smart tourism, and climate action.

RMOW staff and councillors should have ample opportunity to chew the ear of provincial officials, with the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention set for Sept. 18 to 22 in Vancouver. n

“Access to housing that is affordable to employees is essential to ensure that Whistler’s workforce can remain in Whistler long-term.”

- JACK CROMPTON

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Unauthorized Whistler bear-viewing tours putting grizzlies at risk, Lil’wat Nation says

EXPERTS ARE CONCERNED THE BEARS HAVE BECOME TOO ACCUSTOMED TO HUMANS

BY RÓISÍN CULLEN

AN UNAUTHORIZED bear tour company operating out of Whistler is causing great concern for the Lil’wat Nation, government officials, bear experts and local farmers. Conservation experts who have spent years trying to recover the grizzly bear population feel their efforts could all have been in vain, now that their bears have become part of a whistle-stop tour.

Yogi’s Bear Tours is a one-man operation based in Whistler Village. Excited tourists wrote stellar reviews of the company, with nearly every guest getting to see a mother grizzly bear and her two cubs while on “safari.” Guests rode in style in a luxury vehicle with complimentary snacks and drinks provided. Adults can grab a ticket for the four-hour tour for $199. Kids hop on at the cheaper price of $169. Whistler/Pemberton Valley sightseeing is also included in the package. There was often time to catch a quick breakfast at North Arm Farm before going further up the road to catch snaps of one of nature’s greatest predators.

But experts are worried the mother grizzly

bear involved has now become too used to humans and will start to push boundaries.

On Aug. 29, the Lil’wat Nation took to Instagram to warn people that an unauthorized bear company was operating on an undisclosed location within Lil’wat territory. The Nation pointed out the BC Wildlife Act forbids behaviour that would “worry, exhaust, fatigue, annoy, plague, pester, tease or torment” an animal, adding the Lil’wat received reports the tour was not being operated in a way that was “minimizing disturbance to bears nor maximizing public safety.”

According to the provincial government, it is an offence to herd or harass wildlife with the use of a motor vehicle, aircraft, boat or other mechanical device, and there are strict laws that prohibit attracting or feeding bears.

“The Province is monitoring these bear viewing activities and is working to ensure that both bears and people remain safe. At this time no illegal activity has been observed by ministry staff,” a government official said.

Lil’wat Chief Dean Nelson told Pique the company had not been through the Lil’wat Nation Referrals System. “The Lil’wat Nation Lands and Resources Department received notification of a tour company operating in a manner that was detrimental

to a female grizzly bear and cubs,” Nelson said in a statement.

“Nation representatives reached out to the operator who confirmed that they did not have a license to operate. The company has been provided a copy of the Land Use Referral Policy, but has been told that it is unlikely that an application would be supported.”

Everyone running a commercial venture within the Lil’wat Nation’s territory is required to use its referral process for consent to operate, the statement said.

Reached for comment, Euglid Hoxha, owner of Yogi’s Bear Adventures, said he never went looking for grizzlies on his tours, and stopped his operations as soon as he learned from the Lil’wat that he needed the proper referral.

The Ministry of Forests remains in contact with the Lil’wat Nation over the matter, the provincial official said, adding the province is currently conducting online public engagement on a provincial Commercial Bear Viewing Strategy that considers regulation of the bear-viewing industry.

The deadline for public engagement is Oct. 6: engage.gov.bc.ca/govtogetherbc/ engagement/commercial-bear-viewingstrategy.

‘IT COULD BE DISASTROUS’

Dr. Lana Ciarniello is one of the leading bear experts in her field, having researched black bears and grizzlies since 1993. She was recently working for the Lil’wat Nation to recover its grizzly bear population. She explained that the area where Yogi’s Bear Tours were taking place is right between two threatened populations.

“We worked with the people in that area,” said Ciarniello. “We installed a number of electric fences around big commercial properties. We saved some habitat and did some movement corridors. Essentially, over the years, it started to work. We started to get grizzly bears back into this area. We got a female and she had some babies. She has been in the area for a couple of years.”

To the scientist’s delight, the female grizzly bear came back this year with two new babies. Sadly, word got out, causing a great threat to the creatures’ well-being.

Dr. Ciarniello said locals in the area are extremely proud of “their” bears, and took a vested interest in helping recover the bear population.

“The people are just really good at living with the bears around them,” she said. “More

SEE PAGE 20 >>

and more viewings started to occur there. A commercial operator was there. People were really worried about the bear family. People were getting out of vehicles and getting close to the bears.

“It’s not good for the people who are left with those bears.”

Experts and locals alike are now preparing themselves for the consequences of the bears being too habituated with humans.

“It’s in a residential area and when food becomes limited, bears start to push those boundaries,” said Ciarniello. “We have to make sure that everyone is as bear smart as possible so none of these get any taste of human foods. Right now, they are just using their natural resources. We have to make sure it stays that way. When she goes to push these boundaries, we have to be ready for it.”

Ciarniello has already gone around to landowners to put a plan in place. When the bear steps into a no-go zone, they are advised to go out with pots, pans and bear bangers, anything to make the bear realize she cannot be there.

Ciarniello explained that while unauthorized activities may cost organizations a lot of time and money, she is more worried that an innocent grizzly will have to pay the ultimate price.

“It could be disastrous. As soon as she gets into any human food, that’s where our conservation matrix kicks into place. It’s within their right to euthanize her,” she said. “It’s our problem, not the bear’s problem.

2010.cupe.ca

They can’t go to a grocery store.”

The conservationist is also worried locals will quickly grow sick of “their” bear if she starts to cause havoc, hindering all of their efforts over the years.

‘YOU DON’T GO SEARCHING FOR THE GRIZZLY BEARS TO VIEW THEM’

At multiple times, tourists were allegedly too close to one of the bears.

“The person that was running the company didn’t have any bear experience.

They didn’t have any bear knowledge,” Ciarnello said. “We logged incidents of them getting too close to the mom bear. She was being really tolerant, but that was the only reason they were getting away with it.”

Jason Coleman, spokesperson and behavioural scientist with Whistler Photo Safaris, another tour company operating out of Whistler Village, said conservation should be at the heart of every bear tour company.

“We’ve been dedicated to educating on conservation efforts since the very first day two grizzly bears showed up in the valley,” Coleman said. “I was the first one to see

those two grizzlies. I took a photo of them walking side by side when they were both cubs. I’ve managed to keep the two of them out of social media up until last year. When they came into Rainbow Park, I couldn’t protect them any longer.”

Coleman told Pique tour companies treat grizzly bears entirely differently to black bears. “You don’t go searching for the grizzly bears to view them,” he said. “We offer them twice as much space as we give a black bear. We try not to be noticed by a grizzly bear. We never advertise grizzly bears and we never try to include them as part of our tour. It’s never something we actively pursue.”

Keeping the location of a grizzly secret is paramount to everything tour guides do.

“If we see one, we don’t even call it a grizzly bear when we are communicating with other guides. We have a code name for it. We want to keep people clear of the location,” Coleman said.

For his part, Hoxha said he did not go looking for grizzlies.

“I always was looking for bears and especially the black bears, because they were kind of easy to spot,” he said in an email, adding that sometimes he would see a grizzly and stop to view it.

“But now that they told me it’s not allowed when other tours do it, I will NOT do it, no problem, and again I apologize but no one can stop me from operating the business when I am following the rules and work hard to educate my customer about bear awareness.”

Advice on bear viewing best practices is available at bearviewing.ca. n

We are municipal workers for the Resort Municipality of Whistler and the Village of Pemberton. We’re proud to provide essential affordable public services that locals and visitors rely on every day Our members take pride in providing these services that are used by our own families

Some of the services we provide include; maintaining the communities clean drinking water, operation of the wastewater treatment facility, maintenance of all parks and recreation equipment, ensuring the safe, clean enjoyment of the pool and ice rink at the Meadow Park Sports Centre and all the RCMP , Whistler Fire Rescue fleet and municipal vehicles.

CUPE 2010’s community pledge continues as it did throughout the pandemic. To provided essential, affordable public services. Whether it ’s during our regular work day, or after hours in an emergency We are proud to provide these essential services. CUPE 2010. “ We’ll be there!”

ROADSIDE ATTRACTION A grizzly spotted south of Whistler in the spring of 2022.

FILE PHOTO BY TAYLOR GREEN

A HUGE HEARTFELT THANK YOU!

Photos by: coastphoto.com

Thanks to all of your support and generosity…

WE RAISED $235,000 FOR LOCAL CHARITIES!

The Whistler Blackcomb Foundation’s 28th Annual TELUS Golf Classic was held on Friday, September 8th at the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club and was sold out once again. Special thanks goes to Sue Bjormark and Norm Mastalir at the Fairmont for their unwavering support and kindness to the Foundation. Thank you to the rockstar team at the Fairmont including Corrie Wilson, Matt McColeman, Alex Allard, Holly Cussen, Alice Dumont, Danny Long and Christine Boyle. Thank you to Dean Feser, Dezz Abel, Maren Oetling, Terry Lister, Mike Dean, Mike Tyler, Bob Von Engelsdorp, Cynthia Buck, Robjn Taylor, Rob Madden, the SLCC Cultural Ambassadors and the Whistler Fire Rescue team for going above and beyond for us. Golf Carts full of thanks go to our dedicated volunteers, our golf pros Luke Fedora and Will Bryne, our live auctioneer Mike Douglas, our outstanding emcee Heather Paul and of course all of our amazing participants. WE COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS TO ALL OF OUR EVENT SPONSORS:

ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

10Eighty Production Technologies, Avaya, Coast Mountain Brewing, Coastal Mountain Excavations, Cornucopia, DELL Technologies, Earls, Epic Promise, Event Rental Works, Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club, Flow Irrigation, Frito Lay, Growers, Haywire Sparkling, Jim Pattison Lexus North Shore, Lavazza, Lordco Auto Parts, Muddlers Craft Cocktails, Murphy Construction, North Construction, Oakley, Parallel 49, Park Shore BMW, Pique Newsmagazine, Precision Painting, RBC Dominion Securities Inc., RE/MAX Sea to Sky Real Estate, Steller’s Jay, Sunny Chibas, The Functional Beverage Group, Vision Pacific, West Electric, Whistler Blackcomb, Whistler Brewing Company, Whistler Mechanical

THIS EVENT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE GENEROUS AUCTION DONATIONS AND SUPPORT OF SO MANY WONDERFUL BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS.

21 Steps, 686 Technical Apparel, Airhouse Squamish, Alli van Gruen, AlpX - Powered by Blackcomb Helicopters, Amos & Andes, Ann Chiasson, Arbutus Routes, Arc’teryx, Assist-Her, Audain Art Museum, Avalanche Paintball, Axewood Axe Throwing Crew, Babysitting Whistler, Bailey Nelson, Beacon Pub & Eatery, Big Mountain Bike Adventures, Big Sky Golf Club, Black Tie Whistler, Blackcomb Liquor Store, Blazing Saddles Adventures, Breathe Fitness, BREWHALL, Butchart Gardens, Canadian Wilderness Adventures, Coastal Culture Sports, Connected Solutions, Cows, Cranked Espresso Bar, Creekside Market, Crepe Montagne, Crystal Lodge, Cutting Edge Signs, Cypress Mountain, Delta Whistler Village Suites, Dub Tubs, Dubh Linn Gate, Firetail Pets, Four Seasons Resort and Residences Whistler, Fox & Oak, Frostbites Syrup Co., FYidoctors Whistler, Gibbons Whistler, Green Lake Station, Helly Hansen, High Mountain Brewing Company, Hilton Grand Vacations, Hollow Tree, Hundo-P, Hunter Gather, Hy’s Steakhouse, In Sport Fashions Inc., Invictus Games 2025, Joe Fortes Whistler, Keir Fine Jewellery, Kiki’s Lashes & Medical Aesthetics, Kingsclere, Labatt Breweries of Canada, Lodging Ovations, Lululemon Whistler, Mag’s 99, Marsh Canada, Mile One Eating House, Mongolie Grill, Mike McLellan Marketing, Nat Tuke, Nesters Market Whistler, Nicklaus North Golf Course, Nita Lake Lodge, Nixon, Nonna Pia’s, Norrona, Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside, Peak Performance Clothing, Quantum Health, Quattro, Red Door Bistro, Red Paddle Co., Resort Municipality of Whistler, RichLife Fitness, Ridebooker, Rimrock Café, Rocky Mtn Chocolate, Rona Whistler, Ruby Tuesday Accessories, Ryders Eyewear, Samurai Sushi, Scandinave Spa, Sea to Sky Gondola, Seed Studio, Senka Florist, Sewak’s Your Independent Grocer, Skin Focus Regenerative Medicine Inc., Slope Side Supply Ltd., Southside Diner, Spearhead Huts Society, Splitz Grill, Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, Squamish Valley Golf Club, Stinky’s on the Stroll, Sunstone Golf Club, Sushi Village, Tandoori Grill Indian Cuisine, Tap & Barrel Restaurants, Teppan Village, The Home Depot, The North Face, The Old Spaghetti Factory, Treeline Aerial, Vans, Volcom, Watermark Communications, Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler Bungee, Whistler Chocolate, Whistler Dental, Whistler Kitchen Works, Whistler Mountain Bike Park, Whistler Public Library, Ziptrek Ecotours Inc.

Race for Sea to Sky’s federal Conservative nomination heats up

WHISTLERITE KEITH ROY AND WEST VAN’S MARCUS WONG CAMPAIGNING TO REPRESENT TORIES IN CANADA’S 45TH ELECTION

BY MEGAN LALONDE

THE NEXT TIME CANADIANS head to the polls, Whistler resident Keith Roy wants to see his name listed on ballots across the corridor.

On Sept. 13, the realtor officially announced his plans to seek the federal Conservative nomination for the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding. He’s the second candidate throwing his hat into the ring to represent the Tories ahead of the 45th Canadian federal election—set to take place on or before Oct. 20, 2025—after former West Vancouver Councillor Marcus Wong declared his intention to run for the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) earlier this month.

Liberal member of Parliament (MP) Patrick Weiler currently represents the Sea to Sky in the House of Commons. He won 2021’s election with 34 per cent of the vote, besting Conservative John Weston, a former MP who finished second with 30 per cent, and thirdplace NDP-er Avi Lewis, who earned 26 per cent of the riding’s votes.

Weiler succeeded fellow Liberal Pamela Goldsmith-Jones when voters first elected him to office in 2019. Weston was the last Conservative to hold the seat, from 2008 until his defeat in 2015.

Since Justin Trudeau’s Liberals rose to

power eight years ago, “everything’s just so much worse than it used to be in Canada,” Roy said. “I’m in a unique position that I have both the ability and the skill set to, I think, accomplish this, and I think I can help.”

Born and raised in southwest B.C., Roy split his childhood between the North Shore, Powell River and Vancouver.

The first-time candidate comes armed with a Political Science degree from the University of Guelph. Roy has remained active in conservative politics since interning for a Canadian Alliance MP in 2001 (the rightwing Alliance merged with the Progressive Conservative Party in 2003 to form the existing CPC), mostly through volunteering for local campaigns in more recent years. That said, “I’m not running because I’m looking for my next job in politics,” Roy underscored.

Professionally, his primary focus over the last two decades has been building his real estate career in the Lower Mainland.

“I’ve never earned a dime of taxpayers money, and I’m particularly proud of that,” he added. Roy is still a team leader with Macdonald Realty and RE/MAX in Greater Vancouver, but moved full-time to Whistler with his wife Stephanie and their now-threeyear-old son, Kai, in 2021.

From Roy’s perspective, Canada’s next federal election will revolve around national housing

policies. “Housing is my life’s work,” he said.

Roy’s platform targets what he calls “The 5 Cs:” common sense, the carbon tax, congestion, crime, and climate.

In other words, Roy’s commitments include standing up to “woke nonsense” in Ottawa; easing pressure on the riding’s current infrastructure—“generational changes,” he acknowledged, like twinning and dividing the Sea to Sky highway, developing a new route from Squamish to Coquitlam and buying new ferries; putting “repeat offenders behind bars and invest[ing] in world-class drug recovery” rather than “handing out free drugs;” and finally, shipping Canadian-produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) overseas to help countries like China decrease coal consumption.

Ultimately, “What differentiates me from anyone else who might run, or has run in the past, is everybody else has been a West Vancouver person. And this riding is changing in April with re-distribution,” Roy pointed out.

Plans to re-draw B.C.’s federal election map were tabled in the House of Commons in July. The new boundaries expected to take effect next spring will remove West Vancouver’s main business district from the riding Weiler currently represents, looping it in with North Vancouver rather than Squamish, Whistler and Sechelt.

Without those North Shore voters, “it’s

a very different riding,” said Roy. “It’s filled with young families, people who quite frankly have the same challenges I have, trying to figure out, ‘What do I do with my three-yearold during the day while I’m trying to go earn 50 cents on the dollar to pay my taxes?’”

But before Roy can take a run at Weiler and accomplish his goal of dismantling the Liberal government’s existing policies, he’ll have to convince his own party he’s the right man for the job.

In a release announcing his own intention to run, former West Van Coun. Wong said he wants to serve as MP to ensure “the Canadian Dream isn’t just a fantasy for this generation or the next.”

In particular, Wong pledged to fight to put tax dollars into his constituents’ pockets, arguing, “More red tape and government overspending won’t solve our problems.”

Vancouver-born Wong is a marketing and communications professional whose resume includes stints working for FortisBC/Terasen Gas, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Roy, meanwhile, is gearing up to host a series of meet-and-greets across the riding this fall. A Whistler event is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, Sept. 24. To learn more about the candidates, visit keithroy.ca and marcuswong.ca.

—With files from Jennifer Thuncher n

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Naturespeak: Awesome geology sites around Whistler—Green Lake (Part 2)

ANCIENT GLACIATION AND MODERN-DAY GEOLOGY

BY STEVE CARNEY

IN PART 2 of our geological overview of Green Lake, we look at the dramatic effects of glaciation on the Coast Mountains, some modern geological settings around the lake, and how geology attracted the First Nations and European settlers to the area.

The landscape of Canada was profoundly changed by Ice Age glaciation, and Green Lake is a fabulous place to see the effects of this glaciation up close. About 16,000 years ago, a huge, two-to-three-kilometre-thick mass of ice called the Cordilleran ice sheet covered all of B.C., creating an environment more like modern-day Antarctica.

Around Whistler, only the highest peaks such as Wedge, Weart, Cook, Blackcomb and Whistler mountains protruded above the sheet, forming jagged islands of rock in a sea of ice. Glaciers followed ancient drainage patterns and eroded the valleys into distinctive, steep-sided, U-shaped troughs. When the ice finally retreated, some tributary valleys, such as Wedgemount Creek, were left “hanging” far above the valley bottom.

The high mountain peaks show clear signs of glaciation, such as the Armchair Glacier with its circular “cirque” basin, steep “arrêt” ridges and pointy “horns.”

The lower mountains such as Parkhurst were covered by ice and are smooth and rounded, worn down by the glaciers and covered with distinctive rock mounds called “roche moutonnée” (sheep backs). These erosional features have a smooth, polished upper surface and a steep drop-off at the front creating awesome natural ramps much loved by Whistler’s mountain bikers following the

ancient pathways of Ice Age glaciers.

Adjacent to the lake there are some incredibly beautiful but fragile modern environments like the Fitzsimmons Creek Delta, formed where the Fitzsimmons Creek enters Green Lake. On entering the lake, the creek slows down abruptly and sediment carried by the water is deposited forming the delta. But not all sediment is deposited

immediately—some tiny, silt-sized particles known as “rock-flour” remain suspended in the water for days or weeks. The light reflecting off this silty water is scattered at a frequency we see as green, hence the name “Green Lake.”

There are also some important wetland areas around Green Lake at the River of Golden Dreams and Wedge Park, near Whistler Secondary School, which are rich in flora and fauna. First Nations utilized these areas and had summer settlements here for thousands of years.

In 1916, the Alta Lake Mining Company began mining for iron here, amazingly producing 150 tonnes of iron per day at its peak, which it transported by railway to Squamish, then onward to Washington state. The metal originated from iron-rich minerals within the Coast Mountain igneous rocks, and was transported in groundwater and runoff into the lakeside bogs where it oxidized and was deposited as “bog iron.”

The pioneering miners are long gone, but not the bog iron—it’s highly likely this renewable resource has been replenished and is again lying on the bottom of the wetlands around Green Lake.

Naturespeak is prepared by the Whistler Naturalists. To learn more about Whistler’s natural world, go to whistlernaturalists.ca. n

HOME ON THE RANGE The view east across Green Lake to the Coast Mountains modified by glaciation.

PHOTO BY STEVE CARNEY

Pemberton parents pay tribute to their ‘driven and determined’ son after his ‘senseless’ death

‘IT JUST SEEMS LIKE HE’S GONE ON ANOTHER ONE OF HIS ADVENTURES’

BY RÓISÍN CULLEN

A PEMBERTON FAMILY is reeling from the “senseless” loss of their son, after the 35-year-old accomplished athlete was found dead on Wednesday, Sept. 13. Liam Fisher went missing while attending the Grenada Hash House Harriers run.

Liam had been studying medicine at St. George’s University, Grenada. He was motivated always by his sister Riva, who died of cancer in 2017.

Liam’s parents, Hugh and Hillary, spoke to Pique about their son’s extraordinary life—a series of remarkable adventures and fundraisers. “He grew up in Pemberton. He was a skier, a snowboarder, a mountainbiker, a kayaker. He was a child of this area,” said Hugh. “He excelled at high school. He won championships with the dragon boat team and travelled all over the world. He was on the Canada team when he was 14. He won gold medals. He was a very accomplished athlete.”

Liam used his passion for all things fitness to inspire others to achieve their goals and to change things in the fitness world. He had a keen interest in muscle physiology, which is what led him on an adventure to New Zealand. “One of the prominent places to study this is Auckland, so he went to Auckland,” said Hugh. “He graduated with honours. He came back to Canada and decided to be entrepreneurial and open a

gym in North Vancouver: MVMT Academy,” he said.

“He wanted to bring the scientific principles that he learned at university to weight training. He had tons of successful clients and was consulting other gyms.”

When COVID-19 hit, gyms all across Canada struggled to make ends meet. Liam was not ready to take it lying down. He reinvented himself as an online presence. He shared workout videos and advice to his growing thousands of followers stuck at home. Liam later sold his gym so he could go into medicine, another way of positively influencing the people and the world around him.

On the recommendation of a family friend, Liam applied to St. George’s University, a private medical school in Grenada, and was accepted almost straight away. Here his drive and determination led him to academic success. “He was on the Dean’s List in the first term,” said Hugh. “He was so passionate about Grenada and living there. He was so focused on his academics. He was a remarkable guy who was loved by virtually everyone who met him.”

Hillary stressed her son had a knack for making the most out of every opportunity given to him, and making lots of friends while he did it. “He was so happy to be there,” she said. “He had decided to live on a sailboat, and sometimes he paddled his SUP up to class in the morning. He was incredibly driven, disciplined and able to work hard. He also really had a gift for enjoying life, knowing what he wanted and going after it.”

Liam and his sister Riva were incredibly close, and her death in 2017 motivated him to put as much time as he could into incredible fundraising efforts. “They loved each other,”

said Hillary. “They were that brother and sister that used to fight all the time, but they stood up for each other whenever they could.”

Riva was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was in her first year of university. “She lived a really full life through chemotherapy, radiation therapy and multiple surgeries,” said Hugh. “It was really hard on all of us, but especially on her older brother. He was going to school in New Zealand at the time. When she died, he did a lot of fundraising for mental health and cancer research. He was very wellrespected in those areas.”

Since his sudden death, Liam’s friends have been gathering around his distraught parents. “He had a lot of amazing adventures, a lot of them I didn’t even know about! His friends are telling us,” said Hugh.

“It’s just an absolute loss. Last week, he scored one of the highest marks in the university on the first test of term. He was excited by that. He was living the life he wanted and he was super happy. He was the happiest we have heard him since Riva died.”

Liam’s family is struggling to come to grips with the circumstances surrounding the young, fit man’s death.

“We don’t know what happened,” said Hugh. “The race was in hot, humid conditions, but those are the conditions he trained in all of the time. In typical fashion, he hadn’t really told anyone he was doing the race.”

Alarm bells were raised when the aspiring doctor didn’t show up to class on Monday, sparking an extensive search.

“They located his hat, [and] that kind of set them off in an odd direction,” said Hugh. “St. George’s have been absolutely in communication with us. The chief of police down there had us on the phone every hour or so to update us with what was going on. Then,

shockingly, they called and said they had located his body on Tuesday evening.”

While Liam’s parents are eager for answers, they’re struggling to cope with the “senseless” tragedy. “It just doesn’t make sense,” said Hillary.

“It just seems so unexpected. The life of our son has just been cut short for reasons that are unfathomable,” added Hugh.

Liam’s legacy of determination and kindness is already living on. One of his classmates from India has vowed to feed a thousand people in his name. Last weekend, Pemberton and Mount Currie locals took part in the annual Terry Fox Run in Liam’s honour. They raised an impressive sum of nearly $8,000 for the Terry Fox Run.

“Liam was a passionate supporter of cancer research,” said Natalie Langmann, executive director of the Pemberton and District Chamber of Commerce.

“A few years ago, he rolled a massive tire to raise funds for cancer research dedicated to his sister Riva who sadly lost her own battle with cancer.”

The family told Pique they have received incredible support from the community and Liam’s wide circle of friends. “We don’t really know how to go forward from this,” said Hillary. “But it does help to have a lot of love and support from the community.”

Hugh added Whistler and Pemberton will miss their son. “Death among athletes is something that happens a lot here. To have it happen like this is just absolutely shocking and senseless,” said Hugh. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what the questions or answers are, because our son is dead and gone. Nothing can really change that. It just seems like he’s gone on another one of his adventures.” n

SENSELESS LOSS Pemberton’s Liam Fisher died suddenly while running a race in Grenada.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Public Notice 2023 Property Tax Sale

Pursuant to Part 11, Section 405 of the Local Government Act, the following properties will be offered for sale by public auction to be conducted at 7400 Prospect Street, Pemberton in Council Chambers, (located in the White Building) on Monday, September 25, 2023 at 10am PST, unless delinquent taxes and interest are paid prior to the start of the sale

Successful bidders must immediately pay by cash, certified cheque, or debit card of not less than the upset price Failure to pay this amount will result in the property being offered for sale again. Any balance must be paid by cash or certified cheque by 3pm PST the same day Failure to pay the balance will result in the property being offered for sale again at 10am PST the following day.

Fruit

VOLUNTEERS, HOMEOWNERS AND BEARS ALL REAP THE BENEFITS OF THESE INNOVATIVE HARVESTS

BY RÓISÍN CULLEN

STEWARDSHIP PEMBERTON Society’s

(SPS) Fruit Tree Project is once again in full swing, offering to pick fruit for landowners who don’t have the time this season. The project aims to remove bear attractants in Pemberton while educating locals on the nature that surrounds them. It also reduces food waste and stocks people’s pantries for fall.

The fruit picked is spread equally between three groups. One third is given back to the owners, a third is given to the volunteers, and a third is donated to the food bank. Pique recently participated in one of these innovative harvests, and the sense of community in the air was palpable.

Kids were running around excited to see how much they could pick, while the adults made new friends over the task at hand. SPS’ Mojca Gomol is the leader of this year’s team of eager volunteers.

Gomol studied agriculture in university, making her the ideal candidate for the job. She told Pique the project has benefited the entire community. “The idea is that we try to keep the bears away from the town so that they don’t get killed, essentially,” she said. “When you remove the attractants from the village, the bears don’t come, because there is nothing for them.”

Pemberton homeowners can still reap the benefits of this project and keep bears from coming into their gardens. “We post on social media and then the owners contact us,” said Gomol. “I usually schedule the harvest ahead. When the fruit has ripened, I let the volunteers know. We meet at a location, pick up the crew and everything we need.”

Gomol believes the project has prevented

bears from being killed this year, and has educated locals on staying bear aware. “We have seen so many benefits,” she said. “This year we had zero waste. We didn’t waste any fruit. We donated everything. There were actually less bears killed this year. I think this project might have helped keep them away. The project has been going for over five years. It is also educating people who just came to town.”

The group’s social media also reminds families to check on their own garbage situation and to think about the bear attractants around their home. “A lot of people are not aware of how dangerous it is to leave food outside,” said Gomol. “Once people see our posts on Facebook and Instagram, they start to think about it.”

Just getting outdoors after a long day of being cooped up inside has been important for volunteers of all ages. “For me, it’s really important that I encourage kids to come,” said Gomol. “It’s important for them to learn. I try and make it fun because then the kids learn where their food comes from.”

The harvests are also a great way for newcomers to meet likeminded neighbours. “I got to meet so many amazing members of the community,” said Gomol. “Some days when we bring fruit to the food bank, the previous batch is already gone by then.”

Sometimes, the bears themselves cannot help but get involved in the exciting project. “We had nine or 10 harvests on Collins Road,” said Gomol. “We would pick a tree and then the bears would just come and pick the other trees.”

Homeowners and volunteers alike can still get involved in the project by emailing Mojca at pembyfruittree@gmail.com.

Find more info at stewardshippembertonsociety.com. n

The Village of Pemberton makes no representation express or implied as to the condition or quality of the properties for sale

The purchase of a tax sale property is subject to tax under the Property Transfer Tax Act on the fair market value of the property

Resort Municipality of Whistler Notice | Tax Sale Properties

Pursuant to Section 645 of the Local Government Act, the properties listed below will be offered for sale by public auction on Monday, September 25, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. in the Flute Room of Municipal Hall at 4325 Blackcomb Way, Whistler, BC , unless delinquent taxes plus interest are paid. Payment for either the settlement of outstanding taxes prior to tax sale, or purchase of property at tax sale must be CASH or CERTIFIED FUNDS .

Those who wish to bid on properties must register between 9:30 a.m. and 9:50 a.m. on Monday, September 25, 2023 at Municipal Hall. Photo ID is required for registration.

Please note that under Section 648 of the Local Government Act a person authorized by council may bid for the municipality at the tax sale up to a maximum amount set by council. Any person being declared the tax sale purchaser must pay the full amount of the purchase price by 1:00 p.m. the same day Failure to pay will result in the property being offered for sale again.

Property purchased at tax sale is subject to redemption by the registered property owner within one year from the day the annual tax sale began. Redemption price will be the upset price at the time of tax sale, plus required maintenance costs, plus any taxes paid by the purchaser, plus interest at rates established under section 11( 3) of the Taxation Act on the preceding and any surplus bid.

Tree Project helps keep bears out of Pemberton gardens by picking fruit for busy homeowners

PICK OF THE LITTER Some of the participants in the Stewardship Pemberton Society’s Fruit Tree Project.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Institutionalized

I JUST RETURNED from my annual sojourn to the meeting of the Canadian Herpetological Society. Sited in a different Canadian locale each year, this particular incarnation was held at Carleton University in Ottawa. And while I’ve written columns about this particular synod on a couple of occasions, I won’t subject you again (this time, anyway) to either the detail and nuance of all I learned about current and ongoing research in this country on the

BY LESLIE ANTHONY

evolution, physiology, behaviour, genetics and conservation of reptiles and amphibians—or the various treasure-hunt triumphs of the field-trip that followed (though we did rustle up a rare four-toed salamander and a pretty cool metre-and-a-half-long grey ratsnake, Canada’s largest ophidian and, unfortunately, quite endangered).

Instead, what I’m thinking about is how this yearly foray, along with other scientific conferences I attend for journalistic research reasons, have become important touchstones that reconnect me with something I continue to value highly: universities, colleges, museums and other aspects of post-secondary learning institutions.

Most folks I know have at least some good memories from time spent in university or college. I wouldn’t be going out on a limb,

however, to guess that the vast majority of these aren’t academic in nature, but centred more on social situations and events, and connections made with others that, in some cases, helped steer life directions. In my case, having spent 15 years in four such institutions as a student, instructor and researcher, I find my memories to have become somewhat blended and more gestalt-y, eschewing social watersheds to wrap more around the rhythms, look and feel of the particular crucible of campus life I inhabited—buildings, offices, laboratories, seminar rooms, lecture halls, etc.

Each of these, of course, arrives in different form. For instance, the types of

least some century structures in the marquee red sandstone of Nova Scotia or limestones of Southern Ontario that visually dilute an ugly plague of mid-century modernism (including the widespread concrete-heavy brutalist architecture of the 1950s/60s) and equally failed 1970s/80s postmodernism. Excellent examples of heritage buildings can be found at big inner-city unis like Queen’s, Toronto main campus and McGill (e.g., the Redpath Museum—if you can overlook the colonial imperialism of the Redpath sugar barons).

The Cambrian feel inside such old stone buildings is entirely different from that within the brutalist concrete bunkers and

a staff entrance.

Epoxy resin countertops have been a laboratory standard for decades. Extremely durable and both flame- and chemicalresistant, they’re something I became intimately acquainted with. While other colours are available for a slightly higher price, I never had a university lab that was anything but the cheapest standard black—a good thing given what we were doing to them and spilling across their surfaces. I also can’t help but remember the old lab storerooms, where you’d go to get your glass as an undergrad for various assigned experiments (and then “borrow” the best tubes and flasks to build a bong); in graduate school this exercise morphed to using your supervisor’s lab gear or ordering stuff from a catalogue that fit your particular research project.

spaces and distances between buildings conjure a physical echo of all the walking I once did to get from A to B, here to there, the library to home. Or the way the smell of a typical student-building cafeteria or pub is triggering of connection in a way that offcampus food-and-drink experiences never were—even if they still exist.

When I first arrive on a new campus— usually of the self-contained and not disseminated form—I’m first given to noticing its overall location and geography with respect to the community, and how it’s pieced together in a cohesive (or not so much) layout. On the heels of that comes reckoning with the number and types of buildings; the most aesthetic Canadian campuses feature at

wide-hallway, fluorescent-sheen-on-linoleum high-school imitations—or even more recent buildings that channel high-concept, soundabsorbing theatre complexes. Yet they all share that unmistakable feel of information dissemination, learning and knowledgesharing. Likewise, though the stairs may differ in each, all fall into a panoply of institutional styles; trudging up any set in these places with a heavy backpack is an instant trip down memory lane for me—particularly any footworn stone reminiscent of the main stairs that spiral up within the Royal Ontario Museum, where I would preferentially swim through a daily cascade of schoolchildren rather than skip up a character-less staircase grafted on a hundred years later that led to my office from

In seminar rooms and lecture halls I find all sorts of items redolent with connection— like the folding or swinging seats and half-tables, some in old-style for taking notes and newer ones for setting your laptop or tablet on. When I sit through a presentation in a large lecture hall I recall my student days; when I give one, the other end of my academic career. All these years later both still feel familiar, comfortable and welcome.

Ultimately, however, the best part of meetings in institutions for me is plugging back into the rhythm of the academic year, one that added another decade and a half onto the elementary and secondary back-to-school cycle and will live in my mind and my bones for life. As a result, September will always remain a time to seek new horizons, learn new stuff, and satisfy curiosities—worth the price of any registration fee.

Leslie Anthony is a science/environment writer and author who holds a doctorate in connecting the dots. ■

September will always remain a time to seek new horizons, learn new stuff, and satisfy curiosities...

HALLOWED HALLS As September rolls along, millions of students and faculty are getting back into the post-secondary swing.

PHOTO BY KILITO CHAN / MOMENT / GETTY IMAGES

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Dinner is a distant memory when the rain finally stops. Immediately, a platoon heads toward a rack of canoes for an evening paddle. It’s the golden hour in Ontario’s lake country—when the wind has blown itself out, the water gone still and numinous, the forest lain quiet. A pause that awaits the night world.

When darkness descends, I join Algonquin Wildlife Research Station (AWRS) biologist Patrick Moldowan and several student assistants on a hike to nearby Bat Lake to see what a day’s rain has stirred from the forest floor. Sure enough, following an urge to return to water to breed that dates to their emergence onto land some 395 million years ago, amphibians are on the move. Yellowspotted salamanders, seemingly painted so, and their blue-spotted cousins, speckled like old enamelware, are joined by more familiar hopping forms—wood and green frogs, American toads, and even a tiny spring peeper whose sticky toe-pads allow it to clamber over a low fence encircling the lake that stops the rest of these denizens in their tracks.

Patrick is conducting a long-term population study of the yellow-spotted contingent—the number of males versus females, their respective rates of return, where females deposit eggs, and how many of these result in larval salamanders successfully metamorphosing at summer’s end. This logistical feat requires marking every new individual headed for the water, as well as identifying returnees from past years, each night and morning over the course of a month-long spring breeding period. With the bottom of the knee-high fence dug into the forest floor, migrating animals encountering either side must alter their trajectory to walk alongside it until they stumble into moss-filled boxes where they can be counted. Though “drift fences”—named for the catch-all drift nets employed in open-ocean fishing—are typically made of black construction plastic, Patrick’s long-haul version features more durable sheet metal. That doesn’t, however, make it problem free. “You find out how many trees actually fall in a forest when you put up a drift fence,” he notes.

It’s late in the breeding season, so outbound amphibian traffic is heavier than the stragglers heading in. Celia, a University of

Toronto undergraduate excited to experience a few days of fieldwork, sweeps ahead of us on the inside of the fence with headlamp and bucket, an eagle-eyed scanner quick to pick out cryptic forms on the forest’s variegated floor. In half an hour she plucks up over 100 salamanders—more than the average person would see in several lifetimes.

“You’re pretty calm about all of this,” says Patrick after she returns from the dark with yet another bucketful of the colourful creatures. “I’m actually screaming inside,” she smiles.

Set on Lake Sasajewun, a modest waterbody in venerable Algonquin Provincial Park, AWRS acts as a base from which researchers in sub-boreal ecosystems can access 30,000 pristine acres of park not open to the public. Since its inception in 1944 as a closed-door government facility, the station has provided scientists with logistical support in the form of accommodation, food, laboratory space and equipment. A decadeslong series of funding cuts saw it morph to an incorporated non-profit in 2009 to stay afloat, but the new paradigm came with an unexpected upside—bringing the AWRS’ rich history of scientific research and natural heritage programming into the public eye.

Comprising some of the most comprehensive studies of Canadian wildlife anywhere, AWRS research has generated more than 700 peer-reviewed papers in the primary scientific literature and innumerable PhDs. Every student who cycles through contributes to one or more long-term study while also executing their own dedicated project. With generations of researchers having passed through its musty cabins, the station’s influence is impressive and lasting, with ties to every corner of the globe. Many who carried out student projects here are now globally-renowned scientists, and during three summers in the late 1940s, iconic Canadian artist Robert Bateman studied small mammals here while also honing his

painting skills. The results for aficionados of Canadian art and iconography have been impressive.

Most AWRS long-term ecological studies— from snapping turtles (50 years) to spotted salamanders (24 years) to small mammals (70 years) to the Canada jay (54 years)—have been underway since before climate change came onto the biological radar, fortuitously providing baseline data against which recent trends may be measured. The Canada jay study, for instance, is one of few globally where a clear mechanism of precipitous decline—early spring thaws that effect food availability for hatchlings—is directly attributable to climate change.

Other long-term studies reveal the kind of mysteries that justify such patient data-gathering. In 2018, an enormous male snapping turtle, first captured and marked at age 40ish in 1979 and last seen in 1996, made its first reappearance in 22 years, age 80ish. Where had it been? What had it been doing?

Though out counting salamanders until 1 a.m., I’m up early to meet grad student Chris Angell, who I find seated outside a small, barn-like laboratory. Chris studies antler flies and is happy to share arcane details both biological and empirical. These tiny, grain-sized insects spend their entire lives on, or near, a single antler left behind by rutting moose. Chris’ work begins when he labels flies with differentcoloured symbols using a single-bristled brush. Once able to be identified, the flies are released back onto their home antler for observation. On the horn’s surface they forage for food, defend territories, and mate; females lay eggs in cracks in the antlers, where larvae hatch and grow within the spongy matrix of mineral-rich bone. When ready to pupate, the larvae emerge, leap off the antler, burrow into the forest floor, and emerge 10 days later as adults who then return directly to the same antler. This odd, spatially limited existence allows scientists like Chris to study everything in the insects’ lives—from sexual selection to aging. And, like other marvels of the boreal forest, the antler fly and its cradle-to-grave world were first described at AWRS.

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The Whistler Blackcomb Foundation is dedicated to providing financial support to community groups and charities whose activities provide benefit to residents of the Sea to Sky Corridor in the areas of health, human services, education, recreation, arts & culture and the environment Special emphasis is placed on children, youth and family programs For more information, eligibility requirements and to complete an application, please visit our website at whistlerblackcombfoundation.com. Or contact Mei Madden, Executive Director at mmadden@whistlerblackcombfoundation com

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Today, Chris and his assistants are wrapping moose antlers in tinfoil. They’ll weigh the amount of foil it takes to cover one, then compare this to the weight of a known area of tinfoil (e.g., a 1 x 1 metre square) to estimate the antler’s total surface area. Given the strips of red tape used to secure foil to antler, their efforts resemble the preparation of garish Christmas presents of quintessential Canadiana.

Meanwhile, antlers arrayed on the ground outside are hosting a party. Awakened by rain, the tiny larvae— resembling small, translucent pieces of thread—are collecting at the antler’s tips and flinging themselves into the litter. It’s actually both moisture and sound that are required, so when larvae are needed during a dry spell, Chris simply recreates the combination by spraying water on the antlers and drumming on them with sticks. The Pied Piper trick works, and the larvae always emerge.

The AWRS nerve-centre is its whitewashed and red-trimmed cookhouse, containing four eight-person dining tables, a few ratty easy chairs and couches, a small upright piano, guitars, and a stack of games. In addition to a glut of field guides and rainy-day trash fiction, bookshelves sag with the faded yellow spines of National Geographic, as well as arcane titles like The Search for the Giant Squid, and Patterns of Reproductive Behaviour. At the Formica table where Patrick and I eat a lunch of curried lentil soup and bannock beneath a wall of station alumni photos, we share our space with a dog-eared deck of cards, someone’s origami experiment, a worn map of Algonquin, and a box of assorted wingnuts.

Although it’s in the business of investigation, the vagaries of AWRS require no discussion, such that when the girl who sits down next to us with red streaks on her hands is casually asked “Is that blood or paint?” her reply of “Both” is absurdly truthful: she’d been taking blood samples from turtles and painting numbers on their shells for an upcoming study when things in the lab got messy. “I tried to clean up the paint because it looked like a murder scene,” she offers earnestly, “but now it just looks like someone tried to clean up a murder scene.”

Patrick offers a halting chuckle as he spoons the last of his soup. Among a dozen other responsibilities, including running AWRS’ social media, he was in the throes of planning its 75th anniversary celebration, a September weekend of events to be attended by old timers including a sage 88-year-old Robert Bateman. But, of course, he was also in the midst of the yellow-spotted salamander breeding season—the juggernaut in his juggling routine.

Duringthatmorning’sshiftatthe

salamander fence, the weather had been clear, Patrick’s team particularly cheery. Working when it was dry was surely a treat, but you also notice more when you are undistracted by precipitation—the emerging ferns, the carpet of wintergreen, and the downed wood demarcating the springtime forest; the songs of returning birds, the busy squirrels, the squish of bog under someone’s boot. Collectively, these paint a picture of the opportunity experienced by all who had tread here over the years. Three-quarters of a century on and there was still plenty of data being gathered. But it was the learning inherent to the process, the inculcation of a lifetime of reverence and stewardship for the near-north environment heard in students’ voices at the fence—happy, upbeat, excited, curious.

It seemed like that alone was worth 75 years of effort.

You can find out more or donate to Algonquin Wildlife Research Station at algonquinwrs.ca ■

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Collin Zwickel runs from Vancouver to Whistler, raises $56K for families in need

THE VANCOUVERITE COMPLETED A 122-KILOMETRE ULTRAMARATHON IN 18 HOURS

BY DAVID SONG

IF YOU’D TOLD Collin Zwickel back in his 20s that long-distance running was in his future, he would probably have laughed you out of the room. He was, after all, a lifelong skier and rugby player who grew up in a family with similar interests. By his own admission, he hated running. It was boring and painfully tedious in a way that his other athletic pursuits were not.

Historically, Zwickel had never run more than 50 kilometres during a calendar year. Last weekend, he embarked on a 122-kilometre ultramarathon from Vancouver to Whistler to raise money for the Happy Kids Foundation, a non-profit he started himself. Over the past 30 days, he and his backers have raised more than $56,000.

‘CHOOSE TO SUFFER’

There are many ways to fundraise. Why did Zwickel choose such an extreme method as a man whose physical vocabulary had never included endurance?

His friend Jon Hunwick, creative director at Magnafire Media, once said: “Choosing to suffer is a choice. Not all people in this world have that choice.” Those words have stuck

with Zwickel.

“I love that quote because it’s so simple, and if you have the ability, why not put yourself out there?” he said. “I’m not a longdistance ultra athlete. I’m just a regular guy that had a crazy idea and followed through with it and got it done with the support of my team.

“The idea behind this project was [going into something] that I didn’t think was physically possible for myself. I guess what’s drawn me to running this year is the challenge.”

Zwickel grinded his way through the brisk wee hours of the day, with legs and lungs fatiguing as he began the final stretch to Whistler. He focused simply on reaching each of the 12 checkpoints established by his support unit, where he could refuel with fresh water and a quick snack. The Vancouverite really hit a wall at Function Junction, and with “less than zero left in the tank,” it took everything in his soul to push on to Day Lot 3 in Whistler Village.

Friends, family and strangers alike cheered Zwickel on through the home

of living has gone up. I’m [doing this] for underprivileged kids that don’t have the opportunity to experience little things that are so impactful in lives and shape future adults: just lying under the stars and dreaming, or rock climbing, or kayaking, or swimming in the lake. Those memories stay with you for life, so to be able to provide for kids to have that experience is super special.”

Born in New York and raised in Vancouver, Zwickel has always found time to volunteer. He’s served with Big Brothers in the past, and felt called to launch the Happy Kids Foundation despite a busy career as an investment advisor. To prepare for his ultramarathon, he rose at 5 a.m. to run 10 kilometres a day, five days a week for three months straight.

At 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, Zwickel departed his downtown Vancouver apartment with a lively crew to see him off. He ran the first 17 kilometres or so with a friend before heading up the Sea to Sky highway. It took him until 3:30 a.m. the following morning to reach Squamish, at which point he still felt good.

“I never did a training run through the night, so it was new to me as well,” Zwickel explained. “It was like I was running in a vortex. All I could see was 20 feet in front of me with a light on the ground, and it was a bit of a blur, like a dream, because I couldn’t see anything else around me. On the other hand, it was so stunning. I mean, just the quietness of the nighttime, the stars illuminating above.”

stretch, and a group of loved ones awaited him at the end.

“I probably couldn’t even run another kilometre if I had to,” he admitted. “That was it. I gave it my all and it was quite special.”

RUNNING AND LIFE

Money raised during Zwickel’s campaign is going towards two charities: Backpack Buddies, which aims to feed underprivileged kids and their families, as well as Zajac Ranch, a summer camp equipped to accommodate youngsters with disabilities and medical conditions.

“It’s a challenging time,” Zwickel recognized. “Inflation is high and the cost

At that point, Zwickel still harboured considerable doubts that a 120-km ultra was within his grasp, but decided to commit anyway. He thanks his family, his girlfriend Rain Korab, and those at Magnafire Media, Backpack Buddies and Zajac Ranch for making his journey possible. Above all, he hopes said journey can inspire a child or two to try something new.

Zwickel is still trying to decide if he likes running, but either way, he finds it an apt metaphor for life.

“There are a lot of similarities between running and life,” he said. “Some runs, I feel absolutely amazing and on top of the world, and other runs, every step feels painful and I question why I’m doing this. But that’s life. There’s good times and there’s bad times, and I’ve definitely learned a lot from running.” n

CHARITY CHALLENGE Collin Zwickel out on a run in downtown Vancouver.

PHOTO BY JON HUNWICK/MAGNAFIRE MEDIA

“It was like I was running in a vortex.”

- COLLIN ZWICKEL

Whistlerite Hiroaki Yano helps Renbu Dojo to first-ever Kendo Nationals victory

YANO WENT UNDEFEATED THROUGH FOUR MATCHES EARLIER THIS SUMMER IN ONTARIO

BY DAVID SONG

ALTHOUGH HE IS NOW the leader of a fledgling kendo club in Whistler, Hiroaki Yano’s competitive days are far from over. The 31-year-old participated in this year’s Canadian National Kendo Championships in Markham, Ont., helping Renbu Dojo to victory at the country’s largest tournament.

Yano, the lone Whistlerite in a group full of Vancouver-area martial artists, prevailed in all four of his matches to launch the Renbu club to its first nationals breakthrough since being founded in 1975. As a seasoned master with competitive experience in Japan, South America, Europe and the United States, Yano’s poise and sharpness of mind helped prepare him for the task at hand.

“I just focused on each match [at a time],” he said. “One match, one match, one match.”

It’s been six years since the last kendo nationals were held in Canada, with the 2020 edition wiped out by COVID-19. Athletes from coast to coast were no doubt raring to get back at it, with more than 200 taking part in the festivities from Aug. 12 to 13 in Markham. Yano’s club only meets once a week at Myrtle Philip Community School, but he supplanted that with plenty of training at home and a trip to Burnaby to practice at Renbu Dojo.

The Japanese national describes it as “the hardest practice compared to any other dojo in Canada” and vital to the club’s success. After all, not everyone on the Renbu squad brings a wealth of experience to the table.

On one hand, you have veterans like Yano and Eiji Kita, a Team Canada member with two World Kendo Championships in 2015 and 2018 under his belt. At the other end of the spectrum are Clark Liao and Kenta Yoshimura—who at 15 and 16 years of age, respectively, were entering their first contest in the open club team division. Yano remembers both youngsters being nervous at first, and understandably so, but esteems

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them for being diligent nonetheless.

Yano’s own level of skill and experience was not lost on his peers.

“I met Hiroaki Yano only recently, but I feel like he is one of the most talented and passionate people I’ve met,” said Betty Park, a 22-year-old Renbu Dojo member. “Watching him compete is so fun and all I can think is that: ‘wow this guy is insanely good.’ It takes a lot of time and effort to run your own dojo, so it shows that he really cares about teaching kendo to the community. I respect him a lot and am glad that we are friends.”

Park, who has practiced kendo for 15 years herself, emerged victorious in the women’s division at nationals.

“Winning the national championships last month was an incredible experience,” she added. “It definitely was a journey full of ups and downs, filled with intense training and building confidence in myself. When we won, I remember just feeling a mix of relief and pride. It was a surreal moment knowing that our hard work had paid off, and we were able to come out on top.”

For his part, Yano remains disciplined and committed to a life of self-improvement. Never one to brag about his own achievements, he instead gives due credit to those who have his back.

“Our parents, friends and family, and all other club members who were not participating supported our team,” Yano said. “During the practices, we were so tired but they cheered us up, and before the tournament, they prepared a lot of stuff. We couldn’t do this by ourselves, and we couldn’t succeed without their help.”

Closer to home, the Whistler Kendo Club has gained a few new students. Club members performed at the Whistler Multicultural Festival in June, gaining exposure for their art and organization. Yano praises his students for improving considerably over the last few months, and hopes to ready them for next year’s Canadian National Junior Kendo Championships. n

Join us for fun pre-season scrimmage games Sept. 28th • 8:30PM & 10PM

*Registration for both scrimmage and draft are required* Email Michelle at fish19@g mail.com for more information visit our FB page: Whistler Women’s Hockey

KENDO ATTITUDE Members of Renbu Dojo, victors of the 2023 Canadian National Kendo Championships.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The raw power of cacao

THE TROPICAL PLANT THAT HAS BEGUILED CIVILIZATIONS FOR CENTURIES

BY BRANDON BARRETT

TOVE REDEBY describes the feeling she felt stumbling upon a cacao orchard in 2012 near the Peruvian jungle city of Tarapoto as “love at first sight.”

“I randomly ended up on this farm, and before then, it wasn’t that I didn’t like chocolate, but I was never one of those crazy chocolate lovers. So I didn’t really expect that I was going to have this amazing connection, and it was really an experience for me to be in this orchard,” she recalled. “I really felt a deep connection and passion.”

For the Swedish nutritionist, it was a chance encounter with the plant that has since led to an eight-year love affair through the founding of Cacao Now, the Whistler Farmers Market staple that sells a range of organic, vegan cacao snacks.

“This is maybe too personal, but until that point I realized that I had only ever been passionate about sport. Of course, it’s easy to be passionate about skiing or surfing, but it was the first time I felt passion for something that wasn’t so about me and my fun,” Redeby explained. “Also it was the first time I felt so passionate about something that I wanted to work with it, I wanted to make it my living.”

For Redeby, it wasn’t just the nutritional benefits raw cacao, rich in antioxidants and proven to reduce the risk of everything from diabetes to heart disease, offered that appealed to her, but something deeper.

“For me, it was about the spirit of the actual plant, because I really believe that all plants have spirits,” Redeby said. “So it was more of a calling of the actual plant. Like this is my plant ally, this is my plant friend.”

Redeby knows how unlikely that might sound to some, but she is far from the only one to feel the pull of a plant that has beguiled civilizations for centuries. Cacao held deep significance for the ancient Aztecs and Mayans, who believed its “bean” (actually the plant’s dried and fermented seed) to be divine. Used in rituals marking a birth, marriage or death, cacao was often served

as a drink that was prepared based on the occasion or ceremony of the day. Cacao seeds were regularly offered up to the gods. Aztec soldiers were given chocolate beverages to steel them for battle, and chocolate was so beloved by Aztec emperor Moctezuma II that Spanish Conquistadors reported he refused to drink any other beverage, and only out of a golden goblet. Convinced of its healing power, the Mayans often prepared cacao drinks for medicinal purposes. The miracle plant was so valued in Mesoamerican society that it was even used as currency. (Historical records show that 200 cacao beans could secure you a male turkey in Ancient Mesoamerica—what a steal!)

For generations, the cacao bean also sat at the centre of the European slave trade, filling Spanish royal coffers, a terrible legacy that has bled into the 21st century.

These days, Western African countries, primarily Ghana and the Ivory Coast, produce more than 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa, where a cacao farmer is lucky to earn $2 a day.

As the demand for chocolate skyrocketed over the years, farmers increasingly resorted to child labour to keep their prices competitive, and even today, the practice is rampant in

West Africa, despite large chocolate makers such as Mars, Nestle and Hersheys pledging to end child labour in their chocolate production. Estimates peg the total number of children working in the West African chocolate trade at 2 million.

Thankfully, between the rise of veganism and conscious eating, paired with the fractures in the global food supply chain exposed by the pandemic, more and more consumers are taking the time to consider where their food— cacao included—comes from, noted Redeby.

“It makes me so happy that people are more aware of what they’re eating, and not just eating more veggies, but asking where their food is coming from, who grew it and people are more willing to learn more about it and spend more money on their food,” she said. “With COVID, there’s been this whole quest and thirst for knowing more about the source of food … The whole pandemic mindset, it kind of fast-tracked this movement a little bit.”

Check out Cacao Now’s line of products at cacaonow.ca.

This article first ran in the Dec. 10, 2020 issue of Pique. n

For more information, please contact homestay@tamwood.com

POWER PLANT Tove Redeby described the feeling of stumbling upon a cacao orchard in 2012 near the Peruvian jungle city of Tarapoto as ‘love at first sight.’

MPSC Annual Pool Maintenance Closure

The MPSC fitness centre, studio, arena, changerooms and showers are now open to the public!

The pool, hot tub, sauna, and steam room will re-open on Monday, October 2. Thank you for your patience, we hope to see you soon!

Check whistler.ca/notices for more information.

Arts Whistler Live! returns Sept. 22 with Qairo

THE DIVERSE ENSEMBLE BLENDS SPANISH FLAMENCO MUSIC WITH MULTIPLE TYPES OF DANCE

BY DAVID SONG

IN MUSIC, THERE’S A NICHE for every listener. You have your rock bands, your pop groups and your symphony orchestras. Some specialize in the acoustic, salt-of-theearth flavour of country, while others drop head-bopping hip-hop beats that often blare through the noise-cancelling headphones of pro athletes. Others still deliver funky piano and saxophone riffs that call to mind the sights and sounds of Mardi Gras.

Qairo, which is set to kick off this year’s Arts Whistler Live! lineup on Friday at the Maury Young Arts Centre, fits none of those boxes. They are an eclectic ensemble consisting of singer Alejandro Mendia, flamenco guitarist Manuel Vazquez, clarinetist and saxophonist Dorian Zavatta, as well as dancers Lia Grainger and Deborah “La Caramelita.” Rounding out the lineup are percussionist Alex Carrasco and drummer Gaetan Diaz.

Together, the men and women of Qairo pride themselves on blending music and dance in a way that will get you out of your seat—no matter who you are.

“[Our stuff] has got roots in flamenco and Turkish music, so flamenco singing and flamenco guitar, but then it has Middle

Eastern clarinet and horns—exotic, spicy sounds,” explains Grainger. “And then it also has a bass synth and a full drum kit. We try to create a spectacle, a full show, rather than just a concert.”

TRADITION AND INNOVATION

In case you didn’t know, flamenco is an art form born in southern Spain out of traditional dance and folk music. It is defined by complex rhythms, percussive footwork, intense vocal crescendos and unconventional time signatures that stand out from the 4/4s and 6/8s prevalent in Western music. The archetypal flamenco dancer is a woman in a long red dress, her hair adorned with flowers.

Flamenco captivated Grainger’s imagination in her early 20s, when she saw a performance at the now-closed Kino Cafe in her native Vancouver. Her pursuit of the medium took her to Spain on multiple occasions, first to Granada and then to Seville. It was in the latter city in 2012 that Grainger met Deborah, a fellow Vancouverite, as well as the Frenchman Mendia.

The trio toured Europe and Canada for several years as Fin de Fiesta Flamenco, but performing traditional versions of the genre eventually got old. Grainger describes flamenco as a sit-and-watch type of art, but she and her peers desired to put on the kind of show that would get viewers to party. In 2019, that aim brought them into partnership with Vazquez and Zavatta.

The newfound partners met up in Granada and wrapped up their first round of creative

exploration in March 2020. After enduring a pandemic-related disruption, Qairo began to put itself on the map.

Rare is the musical group that contains such ethnic, cultural and artistic diversity as this one. In fact, the band’s members don’t even share a common language—Grainger figures that only three of the seven speak English, while five command Spanish and six speak French. They’ve all gone out on a limb to pursue their craft in new and foreign arenas.

“I feel like everybody in the group has been super brave in pursuing this thing that they’re passionate about,” Grainger says. “For me, I’m just really happy that I took the chances I did to follow this path, because you meet the most amazing people, and you gain a broader perspective of the world by having experienced more of it through these art forms.”

BRINGING THE PARTY

It is only fitting, then, that a place as diverse as Whistler will soon host one of the most kaleidoscopic musical acts around. For decades, people from all walks of life have passed through (or settled in) this town, bringing their own worldviews and sociocultural backgrounds.

“It’s such a great community,” Grainger says. “I’ve actually performed there once before with a different group, and it was just so fun. Of course, everybody around the world knows Whistler. The guys in the band are so excited. They’ve never seen it. So amazing to be able to show these guys from Europe these

spectacular parts of Canada.”

Grainger knows a thing or two about diversifying oneself. She has worked for years in the print and audio journalism industry, both freelance and for recognized publications like the National Post . Her media background equips her with an understanding of how to tell stories, which in turn helps her and her associates to connect with prospective audiences.

Qairo hopes to make an appearance at each of Canada’s major folk music festivals in the not-so-distant future: Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and beyond. They look forward to sharing their unique brand of art with like-minded and appreciative communities, and Whistler will be a step in the right direction.

“I think it’s really hard to do something new in any creative art form—to find something that hasn’t really been said or done before—and I do feel like we’ve found this [distinctive] combination of sounds,” Grainger says. “We always wanted to be in this kind of group: the sort of group that we like to see at a festival, the one that brings the party but is also musically interesting and creative.

“It’s been really fun performing some of our stuff because there [can be] roots of a famous Turkish song or a famous Spanish song in the music. Sometimes, you can see the audience start to recognize it and get excited, and I definitely see that happening in Whistler.”

Tickets and more info can be found at artswhistler.com. n

PARTY PEOPLE Qairo performs onstage, delivering their unique blend of European-flavoured music and dance.

PHOTO BY CYLLA VON TIEDEMANN

Whistlerite Becky Mason self-publishes a lighthearted guide for the girls

F*CK YEAH, YOU GOT THIS GIRL! PROMISES ‘HUMOROUS INSIGHT ON NAVIGATING

SOCIAL MEDIA, LOVE, MONEY AND FRIENDSHIP’

BY MEGAN LALONDE

AFTER FIVE WINTERS spent living and skiing in Whistler, it finally happened.

Becky Mason’s disdain for the cold caught up with her. Well, the circulation challenges she inherited, more specifically.

“I remember the other winter just being horrendous with the queues—waiting in the [lift] queue for over an hour, I just can’t do it if it’s below, like, -9” degrees, she says. That’s usually the point where her hands turn white, before inevitably deepening to a concerning shade of blue.

So, last winter, Mason, originally from the northeast U.K., decided to give herself— and her hands—a break from the slopes. She imagined that would mean picking up a new hobby to add to the wood-burning masterpieces she designs as a side hustle, or maybe a different sport to occupy her free time. Writing a book wasn’t exactly on her radar. But, like so many good ideas, this one was born out of good chats with close friends.

“It just kind of happened,” she recalls. “I was talking to some girlfriends when we were gone for coffees or dinner, and we’d just start chatting about things we’d all been through— like, if someone’s telling a story, quite a few people would be like, ‘That happened to me!’ or ‘Oh my God, I’ve done that!’ When we’d laugh about those things, I kind of started thinking, ‘Why has no one wrote a funny book or something about the things women have been through together?’ Just to let each other know, like, it’s normal, everyone goes through this.”

Mason’s thoughts kept drifting to one of her own favourite reads, Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.

“I love that book, I think because he’s just so blunt, to the point,” she says. “I thought, ‘Why is there nothing like that for girls talking about random stuff you talk to your friends or your sisters about?”

When Mason’s Google searches for a book fitting that description didn’t turn up any particularly interesting results, she started asking search engines “how to write a book” instead. “I just kind of went down a wormhole … because I had nothing else to do, really,” she says.

Plus, “I like to dip my toe in lots of areas to see what I enjoy,” she admits. “I guess it was just the challenge of something.”

The result is F*ck Yeah, You Got This Girl!, a lighthearted book promising “A Humorous Insight on Navigating Social Media, Love, Money and Friendship,” written mostly during the cosy mornings or afternoons Mason spent with her laptop and a warm drink in Blenz Coffee Shop over several months last winter.

“I wanted to do something short and snappy for people like me who kind of enjoy reading but just have a short attention span and want to do other things with their day,” she says.

Mason drew on her own experiences and

a few friends’ stories to compile the 154-page collection of relatable, short stories filled with valuable nuggets of advice about everything from dating to money management habits she’s learned over the years. That wisdom begins with the first chapter. Titled “I will block your fake ass,” it tackles maturing in the internet age. “That was a big thing for me, because we all go through this love-hate relationship with social media,” the 30-yearold says. “It offers such a good platform, but we’re all mentally falling apart.”

Essentially, Mason’s book is a guide filled with advice she wishes she had in her early-20s, and stories she can reminisce on laughing—even if those experiences made her cringe at the time.

Mason even picked out a pen name: R.J. Pepper, for her initials and the horse she rode growing up. Initially, “I was very unsure if I wanted to share [the book] with people or just keep it anonymous,” she says.

Mostly because “I didn’t want to put pressure on myself because I didn’t know how it was actually going to turn out,” she adds, but a couple NSFW passages, including one having to do with certain activities conducted in notso-private places, contributed to her hesitation.

“I haven’t told my dad yet,” she says with a laugh. “I told my mom, but very reluctantly— my mom was like, ‘I want to read it,’ And I was like, ‘please don’t.’”

One chapter “talks about not being able to keep your hands off your partner in the first year,” she offers as an example.

F*ck Yeah, You Got This Girl! is available to purchase in e-book form on Amazon and through the kindle store, but locals looking for a hard copy are in luck: Mason’s also heard from local businesses interested in carrying physical copies of her book, including Whistler Village boutique 3 singing birds. n

GIRL POWER A break from the slopes prompted Whistler local Becky Mason to self-publish her debut book this year, offering “Humorous Insight on Navigating Social Media, Love, Money and Friendship.”

PHOTO BY ALEX CLAPIN /MEDIABYTHEUNTAMED

Book Review—Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart by Jen Sookfong Lee

BY NICOLA BENTLEY

SUPERFAN: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart is much more than Jen Sookfong Lee’s commentary on five decades of television, art, music, and popular celebrities and their role in her life; it is a heartbreaking testimony to family, identity, grief and belonging.

From the adventures of Anne of Green Gables to episodes of ease-inducing painting with Bob Ross and Nora from Queens, Lee is devoted to the lives of characters and celebrities who she is uplifted by (Anne of Green Gables), adores (Princess Diana), criticizes (Gwyneth Paltrow) and inspired by (Kris Jenner). Tragic, absurd, and raw, her collection of personal essays forms an extraordinary and deeply personal memoir.

Born as the last of five daughters into a family hoping for a boy, Jen Sookfong Lee quickly learns to measure and compare her family’s Asian-Canadian life, with the books she reads, the music she listens to, and what she and her four sisters are devoted to watching on television.

Lee is eight years old when her father dies of cancer. Her mother, who came to Canada from China at 19 to be a bride, is left a widow, and plunges deeper into depression, grief, and rage. She has little left to provide for Lee or her sisters, either as a mother, guide, or nurturer.

Navigating her own loss and loneliness, Lee

escapes into the world of Anne of Green Gables She learns that Anne Shirley, while orphaned, was loved deeply by her parents. Anne finds love and belonging again with her adoptive parents who recognize her for giving them “new life.” Another favourite read, The Secret Garden, defines a version of family and love that is in stark contrast to the anger and isolation that the young Lee lives with nearly every day.

Through adolescence and university, Lee maintains her obsession with popular culture. She follows Princess Diana’s courtship, marriage, and divorce as the royal mother and activist finds her voice, and proves she is more than a princess with a crown.

The life lessons gleaned from celebrities continue for Lee as she navigates her own marriage and divorce. The strength and resiliency of Rhianna, the unattainable discipline of Gwyneth Paltrow, the vulnerability of Justin Bieber and the steadfast devotion of his wife Hailey, and the sheer drive and business savvy of Kris Jenner. Each provides her with a framework through which to contemplate and assess her own life and her future choices.

As Lee herself writes in the introduction to the book, “Sometimes they threw my own failings, longings, and aspirations into stark relief. Sometimes they showed me solutions, potential problems, other ways of being. But, they were my constant companions—there on lonely nights or quiet mornings, when I was so anxious I couldn’t focus on anything but TMZ

and the outlandish outfits at Met Gala, after my marriage died and the bed I slept in felt impossibly vast.”

In Superfan, Lee cuts right to the core of discrimination and being Asian in North America. She was compelled to write the book after the murder of eight people, six of them Asian women, at the height of the pandemic in 2021 during a rampage at three Atlanta spas. The memoir is dedicated to their memory. In the chapter Boys on Film, Lee writes about Asian fetish, when white men believe all Asian women are submissive and demur in public and sex kittens in the bedroom. To learn that the man in your bed is

there not because he’s besotted with you, but because his vision is of a petit, narrow-hipped, tigress, is to be reduced to a subhuman object.

Throughout her life, when times seemed impossible to bear; from the loss of her father, to the disintegration of her own marriage, Lee used popular culture as a “glue” to hold her together. From loneliness to anger, from isolation to depression, the lives of celebrities, the music and the shows provided a different script, a reframing that was brighter, more balanced and much more hopeful.

Lee’s essays are a profound commentary on the foundations of identity and belonging. They shine a revealing light on our collective obsessions and invite us to reconsider where we look for our own meaning.

Lee’s writing is brave and honest, raunchy, and humorous, and above all–real.

Lee will join the Whistler Writers Festival on Thursday, Oct. 12, from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. for WORKSHOP 1: Insights from Insiders: Navigating Canada’s Traditional Publishing Landscape (Online). On Friday, Oct. 18 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Lee will listen to attendees pitch their stories in WORKSHOP 2: Pitch Your Heart Out! One-on-One Time with a Trade Publishing Pro (Online). On Friday evening from 8 to 10 p.m., Lee will also take part in the music and words mashup, The Literary Cabaret. For tickets, go to whistlerwritersfest. com.

Nicola Bentley lives in Whistler where she is a fan of reading, writing, and playing outdoors. ■

HEARTBREAKER Jen Sookfong Lee will join the Whistler Writers Festival on Oct. 12 and 18.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

PIQUE’S GUIDE TO LOCAL EVENTS & NIGHTLIFE

Here’s a quick look at some events happening in Whistler this week and beyond. FIND MORE LOCAL EVENT LISTINGS (and submit your own for free!) at piquenewsmagazine.com/local-events

THE WITSEND

SEPT.22-28

THE WITSEND WOMEN’S ENDURO

WORCA is proud to announce The Witsend, a Women’s Enduro presented by Mons Royale. This enduro is for challenge-seeking female mountain bikers, however, you don’t have to be a racer to join in the fun. This year’s inaugural enduro features a fun and challenging course in our amazing Whistler trail network. The course is approximately 20-kilometres long with roughly 1,000 metres in elevation. A percentage of proceeds goes towards the Howe Sound Women’s Centre. Registration is capped at 200 riders. Read more at worca.com/the-witsend.

> Sept. 24

> Multiple trails

> $100

WHISTLER INSTITUTE SPEAKER SERIES: CANADA, THE ASIAN CENTURY, AND WHAT COMES NEXT

Join the Whistler Institute at this Global Perspectives Speaker Series event designed to stimulate discussion and inspire action around major issues facing Whistler and beyond.

China’s rise as a global power presents profound economic, diplomatic, and moral challenges globally. Is the competition between the U.S. and China veering towards a new kind of Cold War? How is Canada being impacted by advanced technology, political values, and military primacy? Join Paul Evans, Professor Emeritus in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia, as he discusses how Canada can navigate these turbulent waters.

Resort Municipality of Whistler NOTICE 2024 Council Meeting Dates

Council will meet in the Franz Wilhelmsen Theatre at Maury Young Ar ts Centre, 4335 Blackcomb Way, Whistler, British Columbia, star ting at 5:30 p m on the following Tuesdays in 2024:

January 9

January 23

April 9

April 23

July 9

Find more info at whistlerinstitute.com.

> Sept. 28, 6 p.m.

> Maury Young Arts Centre

> $30

KARIN BUBAŠ: GARDEN OF SHADOWS AT THE AUDAIN ART MUSEUM

This special exhibition is a mix of old and new work by Karin Bubaš, centred around the tension between the summer and winter season. Monochromatic photographs taken in cold arctic conditions (such as icebergs in Iceland, frozen waterfalls and snowcovered forests) are juxtaposed against the bright hues of summer, with fields of dahlias, sunflowers and rose gardens.

> Sept. 23 to Jan. 29

> Audain Art Museum

> $20

MAKING CONNECTIONS DEMENTIA-FRIENDLY SOCIAL CLUB

MAC’s Making Connections is a weekly program for people with early stage dementia and their caregivers on Wednesday mornings.

More like a social club, this program starts with 45 minutes of gentle fitness, followed by games and brain-stimulating activities, and socializing over a light lunch.

The goal is to slow cognitive decline in the afflicted and allow caregivers to bond, share experiences and develop their own support network.

Register at whistlermac.org under the events tab, Making Connections Program.

Prepay by e-transfer to treasurer@whistlermac.org.

> Sept. 27, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

> Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church

> $5

July 23

October 8

October 22

February 6 March 5

February 20

May 14

May 28

August 6

November 5

November 19

March 19

June 11

June 25

September 10

September 24

December 3

December 17

Notice of the 2024 Council Meeting Schedule is given in accordance with sections 94 and 127 of the Community Charter

Pauline Lysaght, Corporate Officer

Resort Municipality of Whistler Whistler.ca /councilmeetings

FOOTBALL IS BACK!

Catch all the games on Thursdays, Sundays & Mondays (with volume)

Join us for Monday Night Football when our dinner special is MNF Flatbread! $19.50 plus tax with a choice of 3 toppings.

Buckets of 4 Budweiser, Bud Light, or Moosehead for $32 including taxes on Sundays & Mondays

PHOTO BY DOUG BERRY/ THE IMAGE BANK / GETTY IMAGES

autumn Sale

Licence to thrill

BY ALLYN PRINGLE

WITH RESTAURANTS , bars, and even an annual beer festival (which just wrapped on Sept. 17), there are quite a few places in Whistler today serving alcohol. Whether through stories of Alex Philip sharing a few drinks with guests in the 1920s, the Witsend girls having gin delivered in a shoebox by train in the 1950s, or a homebrew contest getting established in the 1970s, we know that visitors and residents of the area have been bringing and making their own drinks for decades.

While searching through past editions of the Whistler Question, however, we came across a three-part series written by Stew Muir and Kevin Griffin in 1984 entitled “Bar War,” in which the two looked at the history of licensed establishments in the valley.

Liquor regulations in British Columbia meant until the mid-1950s, liquor could only be served in beer parlours, social clubs, and veterans clubs, and these venues had strict regulations around entertainment and food (both forbidden in beer parlours), as well as how liquor was served. According to “Bar Wars,” Rainbow Lodge got its licence after these regulations changed in the mid-1950s (years after Alex and Myrtle Philip had sold the lodge and retired), followed by Hillcrest Lodge in 1961.

After Whistler Mountain opened for skiing during the winter of 1965-66, ski lodges like Mount Whistler Lodge (formerly Hillcrest) and the Cheakamus Inn served guests and visitors in lounges and, in some cases, restaurants. The Christiana Inn, opened by Sandy and Puddy Martin in 1967, included a lounge and dining room and was reportedly the first establishment in B.C. licensed to serve liquor outdoors on its poolside patio.

When Garibaldi Lifts Ltd. opened L’Apres at the base of Whistler Mountain in 1968, it was not connected to any accommodations, and so was regulated differently than the lodges. According to Jack Bright, then the

mountain manager for the lift company, L’Apres was granted a cabaret licence, which required that any alcohol be served with food and that patrons pay a fee to enter. A lift ticket was accepted as proof of payment, and L’Apres became known for fondue, though Bright recalled one RCMP constable who was not convinced fondue fulfilled the food requirements.

Through the 1970s, more options were opened to thirsty skiers (and non-skiers). The Ski Boot Motel, which opened in the late 1960s, added a beer parlour and dining room in 1972 and, according to Muir and Griffin, was the first place in Whistler to receive a licence to serve draft beer rather than bottled. (Though they don’t name their sources, “locals helped build the bar addition to the existing hotel in the early 1970s,” they also reported. “Some wanted the new pub so badly they worked for free.”) Restaurants such as Rudi’s Steakhouse were licensed to serve alcohol with meals, and in 1974, the Keg N’ Cleaver restaurant, better known as The Keg, opened on the shores of Alta Lake at Adventures West. The Highland Lodge received its liquor licence in 1978.

According to Allan Gould, at one time the general manager of the Liquor Control and Licencing Branch of B.C., the 1970s also saw the government bring in special recreational centre licences for ski resorts, and so the lift company was able to get a licence for the Roundhouse. Leo Lucas, who worked as a bartender at the Roundhouse, recalled they served only beer and wine, all poured into plastic cups to reduce the potential hazards of broken bottles.

By the time businesses began opening in Whistler Village in the 1980s, the regulations around liquor in B.C. had changed a lot from the requirements of the 1920s, and food and entertainment of various types could be found alongside liquor in pubs, bars and restaurants. Since Muir and Griffin’s “Bar Wars” series of 1984, regulations have continued to change, and many more licensed establishments have opened, closed and evolved in Whistler. n

PARTY DOWN The outside of L’Aprés in today’s Creekside.

WHISTLER MOUNTAIN SKI CORPORATION COLLECTION

best western attire and headed downtown for the legendary annual Barn Dance on Saturday night, Sept. 16, with local acts the Courageous Mountain Rangers, The Big Love Band and Dakota Pearl keeping the dance floor full all night long. PHOTO BY

locals pulled out

COSGROVE / LENS & LISTINGS 2 CHEERING SECTION A group of Pemberton Secondary School students put in a few volunteer hours at the Whistler XTERRA off-road triathlon held at Lost Lake over the weekend, from Sept. 16 to 17. PHOTO SUBMITTED 3 ATTENTION PLEASE Shelter staff at Whistler Animals Galore (WAG) know just how to keep Stevie (left) and Togo’s attention. Looking to add a furry, four-legged member to your family? Both Stevie, an approximately one-year-old Collie/Shepherd cross, and her pal Togo, a one-and-a-half-year-old Shepherd/Hound mix, are available for adoption. Head to whistlerwag.com to learn more. PHOTO SUBMITTED 4 CHEERS TO BEER Sunny, clear skies made Saturday, Sept. 16 the perfect day to spend sampling a few of the more than 100 varieties of craft beverages brewers were pouring in Whistler Olympic Plaza during the 10th Whistler Village Beer Festival’s main event. Despite the range of offerings from across the province, Function Junction’s

The Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler is looking for housing for our Staff Associates

We take pride in the homes we lease and you can rest easy knowing your home is looked after with The Westin. We have:

• A designated Housing Manager

• Monthly rent paid by the hotel directly

• Maintenance issues overseen by our Engineering team

• Scheduled Monthly Inspections

• No Visitors, smoking or pets allowed at any time

PLEASE CONTACT

Megan O'Donnell on 604.2037854 or people@westinwhistler.com

Resor t Municipality of Whistler

TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

The Resor t Municipality of Whistler is seeking a qualified applicant to serve in a voluntary capacity on the Technology Advisory Commit tee (TAC) for the 2023 to 2025 term.

The TAC is a Select Commit tee of Council comprising local stakeholder organizations and community representatives. The commit tee’s aim is to secure, share, and learn from Whistler’s digital ecosystem, while fostering data-driven innovation that enables bet ter decision-making and experiences.

Apply by submit ting a resume and brief statement that reflects your interest in par ticipating on this commit tee in PDF format to bsullivan@whistler.ca. Include ‘ TAC Membership’ in the subject line.

Submission deadline:

Friday, September 29th, 2023 at 4 p.m.

Committee Details:

Resor t Municipality of Whistler whistler.ca

Free Will Astrology

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 22 BY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): So it begins: the Building and Nurturing Togetherness phase of your astrological cycle. The next eight weeks will bring excellent opportunities to shed bad relationship habits and grow good new ones. Let’s get you in the mood with some suggestions from intimacy counsellors Mary D. Esselman and Elizabeth Ash Vélez: “No matter how long you’ve been together or how well you think you know each other, you still need to romance your partner, especially in stability. Don’t run off and get an extreme makeover or buy into the red-roses-and-champagne bit. Instead, try being kind, receptive, and respectful. Show your partner, often and in whatever tender, goofy way you both understand, that their heart is your home.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): From May 2023 to May 2024, the planets Jupiter and Uranus have been and will be in Taurus. I suspect that many Taurus revolutionaries will be born during this time. And yes, Tauruses can be revolutionaries. Here’s a list of some prominent rebel Bulls: Karl Marx, Malcolm X, activist Kathleen Cleaver, lesbian feminist author Adrienne Rich, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, artist Salvador Dali, playwright Lorraine Hansberry, and dancer Martha Graham. All were wildly original innovators who left a bold mark on their cultures. May their examples inspire you to clarify and deepen the uniquely stirring impact you would like to make, Taurus.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini writer Joe Hill believes the only fight that matters is “the struggle to take the world’s chaos and make it mean something.” I can think of many other fights that matter, too, but Hill’s choice is a good one that can be both interesting and rewarding. I especially recommend it to you in the coming weeks, Gemini. You are poised at a threshold that promises substantial breakthroughs in your ongoing wrangles with confusion, ambiguity, and enigma. My blessings go with you as you wade into the evocative challenges.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Author Crescent Dragonwagon has written more than 50 books, so we might conclude she has no problem expressing herself fully. But a character in one of her novels says the following: “I don’t know exactly what I mean by ‘hold something back,’ except that I do it. I don’t know what the ‘something’ is. It’s some part that’s a mystery, maybe even to me. I feel it may be my essence or what I am deep down under all the layers. But if I don’t know what it is, how can I give it or share it with someone even if I wanted to?” I bring these thoughts to your attention, Cancerian, because I believe the coming weeks will be a favourable time for you to overcome your own inclination to “hold something back.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In her book Undercurrents: A Life Beneath the Surface, psychologist and author Martha Manning says she is more likely to experience epiphanies in “grocery stores and laundromats, rather than in the more traditional places of reverence and prayer.” She marvels that “it’s in the most ordinary aspects of life” that she is “offered glimpses of the extraordinary.” During these breakthrough moments, “the baseline about what is good and important in my life changes.” I suspect you will be in a similar groove during the coming weeks, Leo. Are you ready to find the sacred in the mundane? Are you willing to shed your expectations of how magic occurs so you will be receptive to it when it arrives unexpectedly?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “These are the bad facts,” says author Fran Lebowitz. “Men have much easier lives than women. Men have the advantage. So do white people. So do rich people. So do beautiful people.” Do you agree, Virgo? I do. I’m not rich or beautiful, but I’m a white man, and I have received enormous advantages because of it. What about you? Now is a good time to tally any unearned blessings you have benefited from, give thanks for them, and atone by offering help to people who have

ROB BREZSNY

obtained fewer favours. And if you have not received many advantages, the coming months will be an excellent time to ask for and even demand more.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): My favourite creativity teacher is author Roger von Oech. He produced the Creative Whack Pack, a card deck with prompts to stimulate imaginative thinking. I decided to draw one such card for your use in the coming weeks. It’s titled EXAGGERATE. Here’s its advice: “Imagine a joke so funny you can’t stop laughing for a month. Paper stronger than steel. An apple the size of a hotel. A jet engine quieter than a moth beating its wings. A home-cooked dinner for 25,000 people. Try exaggerating your idea. What if it were a thousand times bigger, louder, stronger, faster, and brighter?” (PS: It’s a favourable time for you to entertain brainstorms and heartstorms and soulstorms. For best results, EXAGGERATE!)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): If you buy a bag of popcorn and cook it in your microwave oven, there are usually kernels at the bottom that fail to pop. As tasty as your snack is, you may still feel cheated by the duds. I will be bold and predict that you won’t have to deal with such duds in the near future—not in your popcorn bags and not in any other area of your life, either literally or metaphorically. You’re due for a series of experiences that are complete and thorough and fully bloomed.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Writer George Bernard Shaw observed that new ideas and novel perspectives “often appear first as jokes and fancies, then as blasphemies and treason, then as questions open to discussion, and finally as established truths.” As you strive to get people to consider fresh approaches, Sagittarius, I advise you to skip the “blasphemies and treason” stage. If you proceed with compassion and good humour, you can go directly from “jokes and fancies” to “questions open to discussion.” But one way or another, please be a leader who initiates shifts in your favourite groups and organizations. Shake things up with panache and good humour.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Novelist and astrologer Forrest E. Fickling researched which signs are the worst and best in various activities. He discovered that Capricorns are the hardest workers, as well as the most efficient. They get a lot done, and they are expeditious about it. I suspect you will be at the peak of your ability to express these Capricornian strengths in the coming weeks. Here’s a bonus: You will also be at the height of your power to enjoy your work and be extra likely to produce good work. Take maximum advantage of this grace period!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The British band Oasis has sold more than 95 million records. The first song they ever released was “Supersonic.” Guitarist Noel Gallagher wrote most of its music and lyrics in half an hour while the rest of the band was eating Chinese take-out food. I suspect you will have that kind of agile, succinct, matterof-fact creativity in the coming days. If you are wise, you will channel it into dreaming up solutions for two of your current dilemmas. This is one time when life should be easier and more efficient than usual.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “When sex is really, really good,” writes Piscean novelist Geoff Nicholson, “I feel as though I’m disappearing, being pulverized, so that I’m nothing, just particles of debris, smog, soot, and skin floating through the air.” Hmmmm. I guess that’s one version of wonderful sex. And if you want it, you can have it in abundance during the coming weeks. But I encourage you to explore other kinds of wonderful sex, as well—like the kind that makes you feel like a genius animal or a gorgeous storm or a super-powered deity.

Homework: Spend 10 minutes showering yourself with praise. Speak your accolades out loud. Newsletter. FreeWillAstrology.com.

In addition to this column, Rob Brezsny creates

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ACROSS

DOWN

LAST WEEKS’ ANSWERS

How to give back to B.C.’s parks

FOR MANY years now, tourism has been the province’s breadwinner. Tourism has delivered a larger, direct contribution to B.C.’s gross domestic product than forestry and logging, than agriculture and fishing, and even than oil and gas.

At the same time, the budgets for BC Parks have historically been meagre. At the beginning of this century, an already strained budget was cut by 30 per cent. The result? A serious reduction in staff and a serious lack of funds for maintenance and new projects.

As recently as 2009, Parks’ budget stood at $30 million. Big number? A decrease of 29 per cent from its previous high budget of $42 million. And that was spread over 650 provincial parks spanning 13.5 million hectares. By comparison, Metro Vancouver’s

BY G.D. MAXWELL

parks budget was $21 million... for 21 regional parks totting up to 3,700 hectares.

The government, having read the tea leaves, came out in 2021 with a splashy plan to invest $83 million into provincial parks. Over a three-year period. While $83 million sounds great, $27.7 million per year sounds, well, less great. Especially against the $100 million per year a group of 19 tourism and recreation organizations had asked for.

That was then. Now? The budget announced by the Finance Minister this February tossed out another big number. How big? $70 million for operations and $31 million for capital improvements. Again, over three years. Close, but still meagre.

As far back as 2001, a study commissioned by BC Parks, titled Economic Benefits of BC Parks, found that for every one dollar spent on parks by the B.C. government, $10 flowed into the economy. Any investor capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time would happily plough money into something with that kind of return.

But during the same 22 years, on numerous forays into the same park, Bowron Lake Provincial Park, I’ve witnessed the degradation of the portages to the point where some of them are simply impassable for anyone without considerable stamina.

On top of that, tourism providers who operate within Parks’ land have watched their royalty cheques go not to Parks, but to the province’s general revenue fund, the black hole of finance. Rather than seeing their tithe go into maintaining and improving parks, or even keeping up with the tsunami of people recreating within BC Parks, their funds disappear like a fart on the breeze.

Faced with repeated calls to provide more funding, the BC Parks Foundation, a registered charity, was formed in 2017 and became operational a year later. Depending on your level of cynicism, the Foundation is either a great thing, a lesson in downloading expenses by the provincial government, or a voluntary user-pay system. Whatever your feelings, the Foundation plays a role, fills a

need, and brings much-needed funding to making provincial parks better.

While we might rankle at the need to raise charitable dollars to keep the province’s parks healthy, this model is well established in B.C. We raise private donations through, for example, the Whistler Health Care Foundation, to purchase medical equipment the province, through Vancouver Coastal Health, should be providing. If you want decent health-care, if you want decent parks, charity is a well-established highway to get there.

But B.C. is a big place, and while we happily

In June 2019, Kirby decided to do something about it. With the help of Gondola employee Christy Allan, buy-in from the Gondola’s owners, Trevor Dunn, Michael Hutchison and David Greenfield, and CEO of the Foundation, Andrew Day, Kirby tacked a buck onto the price of a lift ticket and set up the Sea to Sky Legacy Fund within the Foundation.

the buck-a-ticket increase, and if the record numbers of visitors is any indication, none care. But this grassroots effort is already paying off, and already attracting other organizations to become supporters.

travel to explore it, our excursions more often than not take place in our own backyard—the Sea to Sky corridor. So, suppose there was some way to earmark those charitable dollars for efforts within it?

Enter the inimitable Kirby Brown.

Having cut a wide swath through Whistler in his years here, Kirby’s been the general manager of the Sea to Sky Gondola since it opened, closed, opened, closed, and opened again. Kirby’s a glass-half-full guy, and a guy who’ll fill your glass the rest of the way given half a chance.

“From inception, this fund idea was created out of frustration after watching our regional parks and rec sites get increasingly overwhelmed with visitation pressure on the one hand and budget cuts on the other,” he said.

“Fast forward to this spring and through the fund, we’ve been able to add a full-time park ranger to the region, the first new ranger position created in decades. We’d like to see that one ranger turn into many, many more and add back a layer of management, stewardship. I think we can really change course a lot of issues that arise from overuse and abuse, including garbage, fires, and degradation, by turning back the clock on the parks management model.”

No one’s complained or even noticed

Whistleratics have evidenced two very outstanding behaviours in the past—they are passionate users of outdoor spaces, and they’ve rallied again and again for good causes. And while the Sea to Sky Legacy Fund welcomes any and all donations, that’s not exactly what Kirby has in mind.

“We believe it’s time for visitors and businesses to contribute even more directly to protecting and caring for B.C.’s sacred public spaces,” he writes, adding the fund “provides a simple and effective mechanism for businesses to make a direct and meaningful difference to the places we all use and love.”

Make the experience better? It’s as easy as an unnoticeable amount added to each ticket. Or a donation option offered to customers who may be happy to give a bit back for the enjoyment they receive.

The fund is administered by the BC Parks Foundation with guidance from contributing businesses. The money gets reinvested in the corridor for everyone’s enjoyment. What could be better?

Well, getting more corporate sponsors would definitely be better. Hey, there, Vail Resorts. Don’t mean to single out the big dog, and there are a whole roster of businesses in Whistler alone whose names it would be nice to see as contributors to the fund.

If you’re interested—you are, aren’t you?—find out more at seatoskygondola.com/ sea-to-sky-legacy-fund or contact jennie. mccaffrey@bcparksfoundation.com. ■

[A] study commissioned by BC Parks, titled Economic Benefits of BC Parks, found that for every one dollar spent on parks by the B.C. government, $10 flowed into the economy.

PHOTO BY LEONU / GETTY IMAGES

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