Pique Newsmagazine 3146

WHISTLER MOUNTAIN

Whistler Mountain Warriors

A tight-knit gang of local ski racers continues to challenge the world, decades after the Crazy Canucks proved it was possible. - By David Song

06

OPENING REMARKS For all the information we’re bombarded with, many sure don’t seem capable of finding any sort of agreeable truth, writes editor Braden Dupuis.

08 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR This week’s letter writers share thanks and congratulations, while also weighing in on parking, pricing, and LNG.

11 PIQUE’N YER INTEREST Words have meanings, writes Andrew Mitchell—and we ignore them at our peril.

50 MAXED OUT Max unpacks the results of a pair of recent elections, while keeping one eye on the next municipal vote in 2026.

12 DISH UP A new culinary and hospitality training centre proposed for Whistler Village could further the resort’s status as a culinary destination.

13 FEE SIMPLE

The Resort Municipality of Whistler is looking to modernize its 21-yearold building bylaw and associated fee structure to streamline permit approvals.

32 ON TRACK The Whistler Sliding Centre hosted the 2024 Canadian Bobsleigh Championships this week, with no shortage of drama on the track.

36 BALANCING ACT A new short film puts the spotlight on highliners traversing the Stawamus Chief.

COVER Do Canucks really still have a monopoly on the word crazy? - By Jon Parris // @jon.parris.art

Publisher SARAH STROTHER - sstrother@piquenewsmagazine.com

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

Founding Publishers KATHY & BOB BARNETT www.piquenewsmagazine.com

Ignorance for the ages

DEPENDING ON which sources you consult, there is no shortage of “ages” defining the breadth of human history (and within them, an endless parade of “sub ages”).

The Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age; The Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Age of Exploration; The Industrial Age, the

BY BRADEN DUPUIS

Machine Age, the Age of Oil, the Jet Age, the Nuclear Age, the Space Age… the list (and its

According to historians, the Information Age began sometime in the mid-20th century, marking the shift from traditional technologies developed during the Industrial Revolution to a society centred on information technology.

Many say it is still ongoing today—though evidence suggests its decline began sometime around 2008, with the proliferation of smartphones, high-speed internet and social media.

But at the dawn of the so-called Information Age, there was surely no shortage of idealistic visions imagining a utopian society, replete with all the knowledge and understanding necessary for endless peace and prosperity.

So how on Earth did we find ourselves here on the brink of absolute uncertainty and confusion, our technology proving more hindrance than help in ushering in a new Age of Enlightenment?

That’s a big question, best left for future historians to muddle through once the dust has settled.

For now it’s enough to trust the Information Age is dead or dying fast, and facts are now merely a suggestion.

Case in point: the enthusiastic re-election, south of the border, of the walking embodiment of misinformation and outright lies.

For all that information we’re bombarded with, many sure don’t seem capable of parsing through it to get at any sort of agreeable truth.

If the Information Age is over, what comes next? Bloggers and columnists have probed the question for well over a decade already,

coming up with lame suggestions like The Data Age, or The Experience Age.

But in light of recent developments, there may be a better description for the time period we’re now entering: The Age of Ignorance.

Take some high-ranking Google search trends in the wake of the U.S. election as proof: queries like “did Biden drop out?”; “what do tariffs do?”; and, “can I change my vote?” show just how ill-informed the average voter is.

We’re not immune in Canada. As the editor of a small, weekly newspaper, my inbox is regularly blessed with absolute, batshit nonsense from faceless info warriors, sharing links to conspiracy theories and bad-faith “news” stories from muckrakers muddying the waters of truth and decency.

But then, it doesn’t matter what the truth is, anymore—we form our beliefs first, then build the “proof” around it. And nobody can tell us any different.

The well of information that is the internet has grown so deep, you can find said “proof” for any wild opinion you might have, and a small army of like-minded information warriors ready to take up the fight alongside

than those who saw the King follow-up.

The broad damage is already done—the internet and social media have muddied the waters so effectively, we no longer have a common baseline of understanding from which to work. But all hope is not yet lost.

Speaking at the International Institute of Communication (IIC) conference in Ottawa last month, Frank Graves, president of EKOS Research, and Don Lenihan, an expert in public engagement, broke down Graves’ “Vicious Cycle of Disinformation” for attendees.

The cycle consists of five stages: Economic insecurity; cultural insecurity and ordered populism; mistrust; disinformation; and polarization on key issues.

In their presentation to the IIC, Graves and Lenihan noted with AI evolving rapidly, its potential to amplify Graves’ cycle—or disrupt it—can’t be overstated.

Deepfakes like the bogus MLK Jr. video have the power to further erode trust in traditional information sources, they say, but as far as AI goes, deepfakes are “yesterday’s news.”

The real danger lies in AI’s ability to persuade.

an important question: How might people use these bots to shape public views?” Lenihan said.

“Bots are programmed to do as they’re told, so their methods depend entirely on the goals of those controlling them. Programmed respectfully and empathetically, they could be immensely helpful, say, in supporting aging or ill individuals. But if their goal is to sell a defective car or push a conspiracy theory, they’ll use disinformation, deception, and emotional manipulation to get the job done.”

Now imagine millions of bad-faith bots tasked with sowing social discord and disrupting accepted narratives—the Vicious Cycle of Disinformation becomes a roadmap to societal collapse.

But the authors are optimistic, stating with the right approach, Canadians, and democracies the world over, can “halt the cycle of disinformation” using two simple steps: AI literacy and individual opportunity.

First, Canadians must deepen their understanding of disinformation and how to counter it, especially “sophisticated forms driven by AI and algorithms … Democracies must make AI work for them, rather than

“Recent studies show chatbots are already 20 per cent more effective than humans at using facts and arguments to challenge deeply held beliefs.”

- DON LENIHAN

you—it doesn’t matter that many of them could be literal bots paid for by a foreign government.

With almost zero guardrails in place, it’s only going to get worse as artificial intelligence improves. How long until we can’t trust our own eyes anymore?

On election night in the U.S., a deepfake video was circulating of Martin Luther King Jr. spouting pro-Trump rhetoric—much to the disgust of the civil rights leader’s family.

“It’s vile, fake, irresponsible, and not at all reflective of what my father would say,” MLK’s daughter Bernice King wrote on social media. “And you gave no thought to our family.”

But how many saw the original video and took it at face value? Likely exponentially more

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“Recent studies show chatbots are already 20 per cent more effective than humans at using facts and arguments to challenge deeply held beliefs,” Lenihan said in a summary of the presentation. “That’s impressive, but suppose we give the bot a bit of personal information about the subject—say, their age, gender, or education level. The bot then performs twice as well as humans with the same information.”

Further, AI bots can now interact using sensory skills, reading a human’s tone, body language and other cues to determine emotional state.

“With this kind of personalization, bots are becoming adept at persuasion faster than we can test or regulate their capabilities. This raises

against them,” they say.

But addressing disinformation requires fixing the social and economic conditions that make people vulnerable to bad info.

“Governments must address root causes like economic inequality and wealth concentration to ensure that citizens have real opportunities for productive and meaningful lives. Democracy is nothing without individual opportunity,” Graves and Lenihan say. “These steps are ambitious but crucial. Canadians from all walks of life are calling for solutions to the threats posed by disinformation and polarization. Democracies are, it seems, at a tipping point. Can we mobilize the leadership and public will to make this vision a reality?” n

What’s On This Week

• Local’s Week! Take 25% off the cost of admission when booking online. Use code LOCALS25. Valid until November 18, 2024.

• Hatha Yoga | Thursdays from 9:30–10:30am Includes same-day gallery access.

• Public Guided Tour of the Permanent Collection | Sundays at 2:00pm Included with admission or membership.

• Curve! Women Carvers Panel Discussion | November 23, 2:00–4:00pm

Hosted at the Theatre at Maury Young Arts Centre. Tickets include admission to the Museum to see Curve! on opening day.

Congrats to Whistler’s newest Citizen of the Year

We are thrilled to congratulate our chair, Carol Leacy, on her well-deserved recognition as Whistler’s Citizen of the Year. Carol has devoted countless volunteer hours to ensure that our community has access to world class healthcare. Her dedication and vision have elevated health-care standards in Whistler and the Sea to Sky corridor, setting a gold standard across the province for small communities striving to meet primary care needs.

Under Carol’s leadership, our board has been able to make essential and impactful decisions, all while remaining accountable to our funders and the many community members who support our mission. Her work is making a lasting difference, building a stronger, healthier future for Whistler.

We are deeply honoured to work alongside Carol and to celebrate this remarkable achievement with the entire Whistler community.

Jen Black // Vice Chair, Whistler Health Care Foundation Board

Thanks for another successful Remembrance Day

The Whistler Remembrance Day Committee would like to thank everyone who made this year’s event a success. Thanks to the Whistler

Children’s Choir, the Whistler Chorus, the poetry readers, the speakers, the piper, the Guides and Scouts, Blackcomb Helicopters for the flypast, Arts Whistler for the technical support, the Whistler Fire Rescue Service for logistical support, Rotary, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, all those who marched in the parade and finally thanks to the veterans who served so bravely to guarantee the freedom we all enjoy today.

Steve LeClair // Whistler Remembrance Day Committee

As someone who is trying to do best for our environment, community, and liveability in Whistler by using my e-bike to commute from Alpine into the Village 12 months a year, I’m feeling let down with our parking situation in town now.

If I have to drive into the Village for the day twice a month it now costs me $20 for those two days. If I drive four times in a month I may as well buy a monthly pass which is only $40 (even then

you’re not guaranteed a spot if Lots 4/5 are full).

It seems unequitable for those like myself who are doing what they can to reduce traffic on our roads, parking spots in the Village and are just generally trying to do better for the environment that we aren’t offered the same discounts that an everyday single car driver has.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler should be looking at ways to give locals discounts on parking that extend beyond a monthly pass... moreso, now that you’ve stripped us of free parking in shoulder seasons and have already relented to Vail Resorts on the additional required parking spaces after adding the new Fitz chair it doesn’t seem like locals are a priority at all.

Wild that my only option is to “pony up” for a monthly pass when I’m trying to make a difference with alternative modes to commute to work—in line with Vail Resorts’ new carpooling strategy this winter.

A simple discount for a license plate registered with ICBC is not difficult to implement. I’m sure the apps you partner with who clip a percentage on every ticket and make a massive amount of profit off of our community can build this very quickly... if you tell them to...

Will Stewart // Whistler

Democracy needs more voices, not fewer G.D. Maxwell just can’t let it go. See his column in the Nov. 1 Pique: “The two Green MLAs will have about as much power as the legislature’s cafeteria staff.” That is a patronizing if not demeaning

Feeling ‘let down’ with parking situation in Whistler

comment, which I cannot leave unanswered.

First of all, in our riding, it was the Green Party who defeated the Conservatives, who he clearly doesn’t like. Secondly, G.D. Maxwell seems to think of politics as being a sports event where in the opinion of many, only the gold medal counts. That, in my opinion, is a very superficial attitude. It ignores all the physical and sociological health benefits that sports activities provide to youth and it ignores all the parents and volunteers who make it all happen. Similarly, in government there is a tremendous amount of work done in legislative committees by MLAs or MPs of all parties before new policies or pieces of legislature come to pass and impact all of our lives.

I would like to remind G.D. Maxwell of the policies that came to pass during the NDP/ Green coalition government 2017 to 2020 that he probably appreciates, such as: CleanBC acts and regulations to lower GHG emissions in B.C.; The Province of British Columbia commissioning a review of old-growth forest management in 2019, which was released in 2020 and resulted in better protection of our old-growth forests; the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, 2019, when B.C. became the first jurisdiction in Canada to enshrine UNDRIP into law. These pieces of crucial policies and regulations were substantially influenced by the hardworking Green MLAs at the time.

Finally, we only have to look to the south to see how a two-party-only system can lead to the tremendous polarization that we see today. We need more voices in the Victoria legislature to make our democracy work better and not fewer to represent all of us.

Erich Baumann // Pemberton

The hour is getting late to achieve carbon-free future

Yes, Jason Drury, the “Carbon-free future will take time” (Pique, Nov. 1) but the hour is getting late. Too late, certainly, to imagine that we are engaged in “a battle of narratives.” What about the facts?

Read the study published in the journal Energy Science and Engineering, authored by Robert Howarth, professor of ecology and environmental biology at Cornell University, which concludes that when the entirety of the LNG process is evaluated, the GHG footprint from LNG is 33 per cent worse than coal.

Also devoid of facts is the statement that LNG “reduces carbon emissions and improves air quality, particularly in countries like China.” According to the chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, “It is almost certain that China will peak emissions several years before 2030, perhaps as early as 2026,” which is four years before their target.

Meanwhile, Climate Action Tracker’s overall rating of Canada’s emission reduction is “Highly Insufficient.”

Julie Malcolm // Squamish

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

More on Meadow Park Sports Centre pricing

We are writing in response to recent letters about pricing at the Meadow Park Sports Centre.

As a municipally operated facility, our goal is to be affordable for the residents of Whistler, while meeting the operational costs of our taxpayer-funded facility.

When we set our pricing and format, we weigh the unique qualities of the recreation program at hand. Yoga is a popular and a pricier activity as it is taught by instructors with specialized training who can charge higher fees than most other forms of class-based recreation. The popularity means we need to provide prebooking of the class so as not to disappoint. On pricing, we looked at the market. Our yoga costs roughly half the price of private studio offerings in the Sea to Sky corridor.

Whistler can be an expensive place to live for all ages and stages of life. We offer a number of initiatives to remove barriers to accessing recreation. From our partnership with Whistler Community Services, to Tuesday and Friday night discounts, off-peak discount times, to volunteer options, we do try to ensure everyone can participate in a healthy lifestyle in our community. The details can be found on our website, whistler. ca, under “recreation promotions.”

We thank those who have voiced their concerns over this program and will keep a close eye on registration and resident feedback to ensure we’re being as fair and as inclusive as possible. We always appreciate when a community member takes the time to provide us with information on how to serve the community better.

Roger Weetman // RMOW manager of recreation

Whistler Waldorf School says thanks

On behalf of the Whistler Waldorf School, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who joined us for Shifting Perspectives: An Evening with Guy Felicella. This special event, the first in a three-part, youth-centred speaker series, was an inspiring evening that brought together our community to explore important conversations around mental health, resiliency, and hope.

Thank you to each attendee for joining us at the event, and to the Whistler Community Services Society, Foundry Sea to Sky, and members of Vancouver Coastal Health for sharing how they collaborate to provide essential services throughout the Sea to Sky corridor. Your presence and openness made a meaningful impact.

We also wish to express our appreciation to the Whistler Health Care Foundation for their generous grant, which made this evening possible, the Fairmont Whistler for support with accommodation, and to Guy Felicella for sharing his story with honesty and courage.

We look forward to welcoming everyone to our next event this coming February.

Jessica Averiss // Whistler Waldorf School n

Write to us! Letters to the editor must contain the writer’s name, address and a daytime telephone number. Maximum length is 450 words. Pique Newsmagazine reserves the right to edit, condense or refrain from publishing any contribution. Letters reflect the opinion of the writer and not that of Pique Newsmagazine. Send them to edit@ piquenewsmagazine.com before 11 a.m. on Tuesday for consideration in that week’s paper.

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Wrongs and rights

THERE’S AN OLD saying in politics that “the voter is never wrong,” but I don’t think that’s been true for a long time.

It definitely wasn’t the case with the recent U.S. election, where voters cast ballots against facts, reason, integrity, and their own self-interest in a way I’m sure will haunt the world for decades.

BY ANDREW MITCHELL

I do think it was true once upon a time when voters subscribed to a daily paper and watched reputable anchors present the evening news. Everybody had more or less the same information to go by when casting ballots. There also was a core of beliefs and values underlying everything that all voters and parties shared that minimized the consequences of voting one way or another. Politicians had different ideas but the same ideals.

These fraught days, people live in their own realities and echo chambers furnished with their own selective facts and beliefs, pretending it all adds up to “common sense.” It turns out there is no truth people won’t deny, rationalize or ignore.

Case in point: all the people who have claimed the economy was better under Trump

when it objectively was not by any metric— GDP, markets, wages and employment were all up under Biden, and manufacturing and exports were increasing.

Inflation was and still is painful, there’s no question there, but it was also globalized and had more to do with events like Russia’s war on Ukraine and price gouging by corporations than any one government’s economic policies. Meanwhile, not two weeks before the election, both Trump and Elon Musk admitted their economic policies—including tariffs, austerity, layoffs and mass deportations— would probably hurt the economy on at least a temporary basis, but none of the “it’s the economy stupid!” voters seemed to notice.

People are going to lose their jobs. The cost of living is about to go way up with migrant labourers being deported and new punitive tariffs on goods. That’s not my opinion either, that’s what economists are saying—and Musk agreed with them. Apparently Trump and Musk feel it’s a necessary pain (that they won’t feel in the slightest) to “fix” the most successful economy in the world.

I’m not suggesting voters were wrong because they didn’t understand who and what they were voting for. The terrifying reality is a lot of people knew exactly what was being proposed for America and voted for Trump anyway. I will admit it made a bit of sense in 2016—Trump was an outsider and former Democrat who promised to bring manufacturing back to America—but I have

yet to see a compelling intellectual defence for voting for Trump in 2020 or 2024.

What I am suggesting is voters were wrong in the sense they are blind to the actual consequences for them when it comes to the economy, women’s health, Ukraine and the Middle East, NATO, America’s traditional allies (including Canada), Russia’s attempts to reshape the world order in favour of authoritarians, climate change, equality, and human rights. Going backwards has never worked.

Looking forward, there will be stories for years about shocked people who voted Republican but never imagined these predictable consequences would happen to them. Shrugging and saying “Trump says stuff,” doesn’t change the fact that Trump also sometimes does stuff as well. They were warned.

I might hope some of those voters might feel some regret for their choice once the consequences are clear, but at this point I don’t think so. They’re all in, whatever happens.

I don’t know if there’s a lesson here for Canada we’re not already learning the hard way. We have our own growing extreme right movement at the national and provincial levels, which seems happy to provide a home for hardcore evangelicals, anti-abortion factions, white nationalists, racists, misogynists, fascists, climate change deniers, antivaxxers, isolationists, and other once-fringe-butincreasingly-mainstream provocateurs.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, a career politician, should know better but has

not been shy at breaking out accusations of communism and Marxism when referring to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. To my knowledge Trudeau has not seized the means of production, banned other political parties, redistributed wealth, denied private ownership of businesses or property, or done anything else that goes beyond mundane socialism.

At best, Trudeau is a weak democratic socialist compared to European standards, which isn’t a bad thing—all the world’s most livable and successful countries are socialist democrat, balancing free markets and capitalism with strong governments and social safety nets.

Words have meanings. We ignore those meanings at our peril.

I wish I could say everything is going to be fine. That Ukraine will survive four years of Trump. That this is a minor setback for progressive politics and global efforts to reverse climate change. That Canada won’t be hit with damaging tariffs on resource exports or overwhelmed by refugees afraid of deportation. That instead of dedicating his time in office to punishing rivals and critics, Trump will instead set out to prove everybody wrong about him by being a decent president. That he really doesn’t support Project 2025. That he’ll protect women like he said he would. That there won’t be a global spillover effect of emboldened rightwing extremism. That science and truth and reason and justice will eventually win out.

But I’d probably be lying. Dark days are ahead. n

Whistler Culinary and Hospitality Institute proposed for long-vacant Village space

WHISTLER INSTITUTE AND VANCOUVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE WANT TO MAKE TRAINING CENTRE AND CULINARY EXPERIENCE HUB AN INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION

BY BRANDON BARRETT

A NEW CULINARY and hospitality training centre proposed for a long-vacant commercial space in Whistler Village would further the resort’s status as a culinary destination and serve the needs of the local restaurant and hospitality sectors, proponents say.

On Friday, Nov. 8, resort restaurateurs, chefs, and hoteliers got their first glimpse at the concept behind the Whistler Culinary and Hospitality Institute and the Whistler Culinary & Experience HUB, a project years in the making spearheaded by the Whistler Institute, in conjunction with Vancouver Community College (VCC).

“For six, seven years, [Whistler Institute board chair] Sue Adams and I have been musing about why there is no cooking school in Whistler,” said Dr. Stephen Milstein, director at the Whistler Institute. “This really got sparked to happen when we were meeting with [Chief] Dean Nelson from Lil’wat about how we could get their people involved in working in Whistler. He just looked at me and said, ‘culinary.’”

The institute is proposed for the vacant underground space where the Village 8 Cinemas used to operate until the theatre

closed in early 2023, as well as the adjacent former AlpenRock space that has sat vacant for years. The 4,500-square-foot institute would house two fully equipped training kitchens with 20 workstations each, classrooms capable of accommodating up to 32 students each, and additional, adaptable spaces designed to host culinary demonstrations, guest lectures, industry seminars, and community events.

“It’s really a multi-purpose space we can use for education and the community can use for events,” explained Dennis Innes, dean of hospitality at VCC, which will be contracted to deliver educational programming.

Proponents said the institute would offer a range of educational courses meant to fit local industry needs. That could include pre-season skills training, youth trades training, apprenticeship courses, a six-month intensive culinary diploma course, and the seven-month Professional Cook 1 Indigenous Content course.

“This is a program that is growing across the province, and for Indigenous communities, there’s a lot of wraparound services available, like daycare, a daily allowance for food and transportation,” Innes said. “It involves mentors, Indigenous elders. It’s a comprehensive program that’s proving to be very successful for Indigenous students.”

The institute is aimed at cementing Whistler as a destination for aspiring chefs and hotel staff, as well as assisting local businesses in recruiting and retaining employees.

“You don’t want to keep recruiting and retraining staff. You want to up the quality of the people you have. You want them here committed,” said Milstein, addressing attendees at Legends in Creekside. “We

believe that this will get people who enjoy creating food and running hospitality for people. We’re going to have a program that will draw them to come here because it’s going to advance their individual needs.”

The intensive diploma course could also involve students working in local kitchens as part of the curriculum.

“It is important students are getting a good breadth of training while they’re in the kitchen so when they come back the next week, they’re actually practicing what they’re learning,” said Innes.

The aim, proponents said, is to work with industry leaders to shape the institute’s educational offerings.

“You’re here to help design these programs,” said Milstein. “We have a broad, wide ability to provide you with what you need, whether it’s butchering, whether it’s baking, whatever it is … The goal is to assist industry in meeting your goals.”

Ideally, the facility would double as an event space, which would serve a key tourism need.

“We’ve done some research of just what themes would draw visitor interest, and the No. 1 theme, no surprise, is culinary experiences,” said Barrett Fisher, president and CEO of Tourism Whistler. “A cooking school, chef showcases, wine pairings and tastings, educational seminars, all of those would dovetail into that.”

Second-floor office space above the training centre could accommodate up to 20 dormitory beds for students, which would require rezoning, according to Larco Investments, owner of the proposed space.

“I’m not opposed but the devil is always in the details. Whenever someone says we’ve

got 20 beds, that picks up our interest,” said Councillor Ralph Forsyth at Friday’s meeting.

One of Canada’s largest private real estate firms, Larco has kept the former AlpenRock space vacant for more than 20 years, despite fielding numerous proposals. With Village 8 gone, Larco now has 30,000 feet of contiguous space in the heart of Whistler Village, giving the company the opportunity to be “very imaginative with the space,” said VP of development Rick Amantea, adding Larco will consider other offers if they make economic sense.

“If somebody came to us tomorrow and said we’re going to take that entire chunk of real estate and do X, Y, Z with it, that would be great,” he said. “There’s lots of interest, but it may be better suited for one tenant to come in and lease the whole space and then figure out how all these components would fit together, as opposed to us doing it.”

Proponents now turn their sights to raising funds for the estimated $6.5-million project. Milstein said they would take a multipronged approach, seeking government and foundation grants, private and corporate sponsorship, and strategic partnerships with industry associations, educational bodies, and community groups.

“We raised $7 million for Millennium Place 24 years ago,” he said, referring to the building today known as the Maury Young Arts Centre. “This town is a lot richer today. Do we know we have work to do? Do we think it’s an easy walk? Of course not … But we do believe we have the potential to raise these funds to capitalize this building and this project.”

Milstein added proponents are currently looking for a guarantor for the project’s lease. n

TOP CHEFS The proponents behind the Whistler Culinary and Hospitality Institute say the training and event space could further the resort’s reputation as a destination for aspiring chefs and hotel staff.

PHOTO BY LYASHIK / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES

RMOW looks to modernize building bylaw and fee structure

MOVE IS AIMED AT STREAMLINING A PERMIT APPROVAL PROCESS WHISTLER BUILDERS HAVE CALLED INEFFICIENT

BY BRANDON BARRETT

THE RESORT MUNICIPALITY of Whistler (RMOW) is looking to modernize its 21-year-old building bylaw and associated fee structure, a move intended to streamline a permit approval process local builders have called inefficient and confusing.

“It will improve efficiency for staff because everyone will know the rules, whether it’s a builder, the inspection team, the plan review team, and others involved with a permitting closure,” explained Flywheel Building Solutions owner and consultant Ken Kunka, presenting to elected officials at the Nov. 5 committee of the whole meeting.

The existing bylaw, adopted in 2003 with several minor amendments over the years, is “quite outdated,” said the RMOW’s building department manager, Melissa Hollis, “and is creating some barriers for both staff and the community to deal effectively with processing permits and enforcement.”

RMOW staff proposed modelling the new bylaw after the Municipal Insurance Association of BC’s template building bylaw for large cities, which would help clarify the roles and responsibilities of both the municipality and the building permit applicant through the approval process.

“A very well-structured bylaw will provide a story from front to end. Who is involved in a permit? When [do] you need a permit? How do you obtain a permit? What do you need for inspections? How do you close a permit, and what happens if everything goes wrong on the compliancy side?” Kunka said. “Once you have that structure, it’s very easy to start rebuilding permitting systems to follow that process, and you’re eliminating documents.”

The local building community has been vocal about its frustrations with a permitting process it says is overly complicated and timeconsuming. In a lengthy letter sent to Pique

last month, the Sea to Sky chapter of the Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA) said members have experienced wait times of nine months just for an initial review of a home renovation project, compared to several weeks in other B.C. jurisdictions. Compounding the issue, according to builders, is that the RMOW will often request additional documents and information months into an application, “seemingly at the whim of whoever happens to be reviewing applications on a given day,” the letter read. In a recent Sea to Sky CHBA survey of primarily builders, 59 per cent of 29 respondents said they are “regularly” asked for additional, previously unrequired information and documentation in the permit application process, with four per cent saying they “always” were.

The bylaw modernization is meant to address the permit backlog, as well as facilitate the RMOW’s planned move to an online application process, which the local CHBA chapter has been pushing for since 2021.

“Rewriting our bylaw policy and making it very clear and concise will support the move to an online application process,” said Hollis. “It will also support our ability to follow a standardization for enforcement. For example, we have challenging situations when permits aren’t closed out.”

Along with the updated building bylaw, staff have proposed creating a separate bylaw that would set out a new permit fee structure, a “shift away from a very traditional way of calculating building permit fees into a more innovative approach,” Hollis said.

Currently, permit fees reflect a percentage of a project’s declared value of construction, “a very contentious subject for many years in the community,” added Hollis. Staff proposed a new fee structure based on a project’s square footage, as well as the permit and building type, a “more transparent and more predictable” approach, she said.

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BUILDING EFFICIENCY Municipal staff want to modernize Whistler’s 21-year-old building bylaw.

Tourists ‘shocked’ to see man approach black bear in Whistler

THE CONSERVATION OFFICER SERVICE IS REMINDING PEOPLE TO NEVER APPROACH BEARS

BY ALANNA KELLY

A PERSON WAS captured on video instigating and getting very close to a black bear in Whistler this week.

Svitlana Shyliakova was visiting Whistler over the long weekend with a few friends. As they were walking through the village on Monday at about 1 a.m., a stranger shouted to warn them to be careful as a bear was nearby.

“We had no plans to get close, and we even had bear spray with us just in case. Luckily, we didn’t need it. The bear was simply looking for food under benches and around trash cans,” Shyliakova told Glacier Media.

She took out her phone to film the black bear near the Roots clothing store.

A man can be seen in the video sitting on a railing nearby. He did not move as the bear approached him.

Another man can be seen walking up to the bear. With his phone in his hand, he appears to be filming it. As he approaches the animal, it turns and moves towards him. He can be heard saying “rawr” at the bear.

Two people shout, “Leave him alone,” in an attempt to get the man to stop bothering the bear.

“We were shocked to see that the guy went so close to him,” says Shyliakova. “No one

tried to touch the bear, but people still got a bit too close.”

The Conservation Officer Service (COS) said it was made aware of “several sightings” and videos of black bears in Whistler Village, including one video reported as recently as Monday.

“We understand residents and visitors may be accustomed to seeing black bears but we ask people to never feed or approach bears,” a spokesperson said.

Feeding bears is an unlawful activity that puts the safety of people, and bears, at risk, said the COS.

BLACK BEAR EUTHANIZED IN WHISTLER

On Sunday, Nov. 10, a black bear that did have a history of “conflict behaviour in Whistler Villager” was euthanized by conservation officers due to a risk to public safety.

“[N]ever feed or approach bears.”

- CONSERVATION OFFICER SERVICE

PERMIT PROCESS FROM PAGE 13

Hollis noted the proposed change would require “a lot of legal input” and, while larger Canadian cities such as Toronto and Calgary have considered a similar approach, it’s a fee structure that has not been implemented anywhere in B.C.

Local builders were critical of the RMOW after it increased building permit fees by 30 per cent in early 2024 despite the sector’s pushback. Staff said it was planning extensive

engagement with the local industry on its new bylaw and permit fee structure, but Councillor Ralph Forsyth wanted to take it a step further. He proposed creating a working group with industry members so they could have their say on the new bylaws.

“I’m sick to death of having to play Solomon between our municipal staff and the building community,” said Forsyth. “It is an awkward and terrible position for us to be in.

This bear entered an occupied facility in Whistler Village for food. The bear also previously accessed an unsecured grease food trap and frequented confined spaces.

Last year, the bear was tagged and relocated to a wilderness area but returned.

A COS spokesperson confirmed the bear that was euthanized on Nov. 10 is not the same bear in the video from Monday at 1 a.m.

People are being reminded that bears will find any opportunity to access food. The public is asked to secure all attractants and to lock doors.

Whistler RCMP confirmed the public can call them at 604-932-3044 or report all bear conflicts to conservation officers at 1-877-952-7277.

- Akelly@glaciermedia.ca n

If I have something from a working group that includes members of the building community that say, ‘Yes, we are supportive of these bylaw changes,’ then good. I don’t need to play Solomon anymore.”

Forsyth’s amendment passed 4 to 3, with some councillors questioning whether creating a working group would slow down the process. The RMOW is targeting April for adoption of the new bylaws. n

‘Give it a couple of weeks, everyone will be hiring’

INCLUSIVE JOB FAIR IN WHISTLER AIMS TO CONNECT WORKERS AND EMPLOYERS AHEAD OF A BUSY SKI SEASON

BY LIZ MCDONALD

JOB SEEKERS in Whistler got a helping hand Nov. 6, thanks to a WorkBC Sea to Sky inclusive job hiring event.

Hundreds of attendees showed up to size up employers at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC). The event was focused on inclusivity for hiring, and between preregistered attendees and drop-ins, more than 300 people were on the hunt for a new career.

Nick Stenner, employer relations specialists at Open Door Group, explained having an inclusive job fair makes it clear to job seekers they are welcome.

“Inclusivity on its own is obviously something that all employers should want to shoot for,” he said. “But you know, more and more these days we’re learning about the benefits of being an inclusive employer. Different viewpoints, the different experiences, the different skill sets that come from different nationality, gender and neurodivergent people bring different skills to the table.”

SEASONAL WORKFORCE AND WHISTLER

“[W]e know that there are a lot of employers that need to fill gaps...”

- TALYA SHORE

Talya Shore, program manager for WorkBC Sea to Sky, explained the seasonality of work in Whistler means a lot of new and old residents are looking for work this time of year. Bringing them together under one roof provides opportunity for mixing and mingling.

“There are going to be a lot of people coming into town and we know that there are a lot of employers that need to fill gaps in their businesses and organizations,” she said.

Hosting it at the SLCC also worked well for the Indigenous Youth Ambassadors who

Data from the Whistler Multicultural Society indicates Whistler had the highest percentage of immigration in the Sea to Sky and Sunshine Coast from 2016 to 2021, and has the highest percentage of temporary foreign workers. Many come for the lifestyle of the Sea to Sky, but it can also come with peaks and valleys due to the seasonal nature of employment.

are on the hunt for a job. WorkBC Sea to Sky provided help for the cohort on resumes, which they can also do for free for anyone looking for employment.

Some attendees, like Brennan Lloyd, have done a season in Whistler before and came back to get the best of both worlds from working in Whistler.

“I’d like to do something in the afternoons, so I could still have my ski days, and that’s my main criteria,” he said.

Others, like Julie Escoffier and Jean Peltier, came to the fair because they’ve struggled to find work in Squamish. The two moved from France for work and improving their English.

“It’s difficult to find a job in Squamish, that’s why we’re coming to Whistler,” Peltier said. “We think there are more job opportunities.”

EMPLOYERS AND ORGANIZATIONS

And while employers made up the bulk of booths at the event, there were also inclusive organizations on hand, like the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program (WASP).

Ellie Taylor is the athlete coordinator for WASP, and the group was providing outreach about its adaptive sports programming.

“We rely very heavily on volunteers in our program, so this is a great chance for

us to connect with people and talk to them about their volunteer journey, which then can eventually end up in a paid role,” she said.

With many newcomers to Whistler, they may not know about the important work WASP does, and it’s a good opportunity to give back and get to know new people when settling into the ski town.

The Lil’wat Nation was also on hand, and is hiring for a range of positions. Sushilkumar Dige, human resources generalist for the Nation, said the most important qualification for them is a willingness to work in First Nations communities and having housing in the area. Many front-line positions don’t require advanced skills. Leadership positions usually require experience working with First Nations, and highly technical roles require advanced education, like a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

Jacki Bissillion is the owner and president of Whistler Personnel Solutions, which helps fill gaps for employees looking for extra income and employers needing extra hands. She said people looking for jobs right now should be patient, because the tourism season is right around the corner.

“Be patient. I think this town needs them eventually,” she said. “And I know it feels really hard right now that nobody’s hiring, but they will, I promise. Give it a couple of weeks, everyone will be hiring.” n

Sheep, naked swords, and a silken noose: The (outdated) perks of Whistler’s Freedom of the Municipality

INSPIRED BY THE CITY OF LONDON, THE RMOW JOKINGLY CITES A LIST OF HISTORICAL PRIVILEGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE HIGHEST HONOUR IT CAN BESTOW ON CITIZENS

BY BRANDON BARRETT

HUGE SMYTHE DOESN’T own any sheep, but he’s considering getting a herd of his own after receiving the Freedom of the Municipality last month.

“I have been looking into the residential bylaws and I’m pretty sure they don’t allow sheep, but I’m checking into that just in case,” he said. “I could drive my sheep across the Ted Nebelling Bridge.” The ski-industry visionary is considering this new career in shepherding after receiving the highest honour Whistler can bestow, alongside Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, at an Oct. 22 ceremony at the Maury Young Arts Centre, where Mayor Jack Crompton listed off the perks historically associated with similar distinctions around the world.

“One is the right to drive sheep and cattle through the town square, the right to a silken rope if hanged, the right to carry a naked sword in public, or that, if the police find the free person drunk and incapable, they will bundle him or her into a taxi and send them home, rather than allow them to spend the night in a

cell,” Crompton said to rousing applause.

Inspired by the privileges bestowed by the City of London dating back to medieval times, it is Sue Adams, free person since 2015, who reminded the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) of these traditional benefits.

“Nancy [Wilhelm-Morden] was the mayor at the time … and she said there’s no parking pass or anything like that that goes with it, but one thing the municipality had to do was fly the flag at half-mast if you die,” Adams recalled. “I thought that wasn’t much fun, and it was the day before my 70th birthday, so I was feeling a bit sensitive.”

Adams did some research into the honour, typically granted by local governments to citizens who have contributed significantly to their communities, and discovered the ageold perks, including the right to drive sheep through the town moor, “which is great for me because I grew up on a sheep farm,” she added.

In a statement, the RMOW said it mentions these apocryphal perks “more for a bit of a laugh than anything else,” but also to highlight the long and storied history these kinds of distinctions have around the world.

“Founding and running a town is no easy feat, so it’s no surprise that it’s something

that’s been recognized with, in addition to honour and celebration, a wide range of perks (many hilariously out-of-date),” the statement went on.

Funnily enough, although the privileges today are largely symbolic, London officials have granted the right to drive sheep to freepersons on several occasions in modern times, including as recently as 2019.

There are, of course, actual perks that come with being granted the Freedom of the Municipality in Whistler. They can legally vote in local elections even if they reside outside of Whistler, and the sitting mayor recognizes freepersons whenever they attend a council meeting—even if they don’t love the spotlight.

“I don’t attend a lot of council meetings and I’m always embarrassed when they do recognize me,” laughed Joan Richoz, freeperson since 2012.

Honourees also have their photos framed in municipal hall, something former Councillor John Grills liked to remind Adams of when he was in office. “He always used to tease me that he had to sit there on council and my face was glaring back at him,” she said.

Eric Martin, who received the Freedom of

the Municipality alongside Adams nine years ago, said the one perk people regularly ask him about is one that used to go to Citizen of the Year recipients.

“People have said, ‘Oh I see you’re a Freedom of the Municipality holder, what does that come with? Free parking?’” he recalled. “It doesn’t, but it probably should.”

Richoz, former Whistler Citizen of the Year, concurred.

“I remember how great that was. That was a hard pass to turn in at the end of the year,” she said.

Jokes aside, it’s not the free parking or silken noose or even the right to drive cattle on the Village Stroll that means the most to the select few locals who have received the Freedom of the Municipality designation.

“I look at the people who received it before me, people like Drew Meredith, like Al Raine and Garry Watson and Jim Godfrey, going way back to Pat Carleton and Myrtle Philip and Franz Wilhelmsen as well,” said Martin. “I just go down that list and think about what an impressive group of people that is, and what they’ve done and the commitment they’ve made to this community, it’s quite the company to be included in.” n

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Whistlerites in favour of testing alternative approach to wildfire mitigation

‘THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT FUEL-THINNING AND FIRESMART STOP WILDFIRE IN B.C.’: RETIRED ECOLOGIST

BY BRANDON BARRETT

A SURVEY AND PETITION organized by a local retired ecologist shows Whistlerites are eager to pilot an alternative approach to the municipality’s current wildfire strategy.

Dr. Rhonda Millikin presented the petition as well as some of her recent research on wildfire mitigation to elected officials on Tuesday, Nov. 5, not the first time the ecologist has lobbied the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) to rethink its current approach.

As it turns out, Whistlerites seem to share her stance.

The petition, signed by 193 people, calls on the RMOW to stop its current fuel-thinning and FireSmart practices in favour of rainwater catchments, sprinkler systems, and green fuel breaks, “proven methods that protect homes while enhancing the health and resilience of our landscape,” the petition read.

A related poll showed 100 per cent of respondents in favour of piloting an alternative strategy in two local neighbourhoods, while 95 per cent said they were in favour of a corridorwide pilot program. Twenty-nine per cent of

those surveyed said they were disappointed in the RMOW’s current approach, and 80 per cent said they wanted an immediate stop to fuel-thinning and FireSmart in the resort.

“There is no evidence that fuel-thinning and FireSmart stop wildfire in B.C., and not in Coastal wet forest,” Millikin said, addressing council.

The researcher cited Jasper, Alta. and Victoria, Australia as examples of places where the prevailing thinking on wildfire management has been put to the test. In Jasper, Parks Canada and the municipality there have for years removed trees and branches, logged a fire break, carried out controlled burns, and asked residents to clear yard debris to prevent fires. It didn’t prevent this summer’s devastating wildfires that caused tens of millions of dollars in damage and forced mass evacuations. Researchers in Victoria in southeastern Australia analyzed before-and-after pictures of 455 homes “overwhelmed” by fire, Millikin said, and found “even a total disregard for FireSmart— having a person in attendance with water was the thing that increased the probability of the house surviving the most extreme fire.”

Fuel-thinning adds to the risk in forested landscapes because it “increases solar

radiation, the heat, wind speed, oxygen and ambient air temperature, drying the fuels,” compromising Coastal wet forests’ natural resilience to fire, Millkin said.

Instead, she wants the municipality to install fuel sprinklers that would offer

“We’re going to be making policy based on the best information we can collect...”

- JACK CROMPTON

humidity to reduce a fire’s heat, and green fuel breaks, a “wall of perennial vegetation” that would block oxygen.

“Healthy vegetation holds the humidity and allows fungi to break down the litter,” Millikin noted.

The award-winning ecologist pointed to Logan Lake, B.C., where Fire Chief Doug Wilson initiated sprinklers on 400 buildings during the 2021 Tremont Creek wildfire that

officials there credit with saving the town of 2,000.

“For us, it was the difference between being here and not being here,” Logan Lake Mayor Robin Smith told Glacier Media in a 2022 interview.

The industrial sprinklers, which can be connected to a simple garden hose, cost roughly $80 each.

A former council candidate, Millikin has made it her mission to persuade RMOW officials to consider alternatives to the status quo, going so far as to fund her own research. While mayor and council have been receptive to her messaging, a sea change in how the resort community tackles wildfire does not appear likely anytime soon. In September, council referred Millikin’s study to staff, but Mayor Jack Crompton said policy change was not going to happen based off a single report.

“We’re going to be making policy based on the best information we can collect from experts in the field and for our professional staff here,” he said at the time.

Work on the RMOW’s fuel-thinning monitoring program is ongoing, expected for completion by 2026. That data will inform whether the municipality’s fire-thinning program will need to be updated. n

Whistler Community Foundation hosting inaugural gala

THE

GLOW GALA AIMS TO KICK OFF FUNDRAISING FOR THE FOUNDATION’S ENDOWMENT WHICH INCREASES THE AMOUNT OF GRANTS FOR PEMBERTON AND WHISTLER CHARITIES

BY LIZ MCDONALD

THE WHISTLER Community Foundation (WCF) is celebrating 25 years of giving with an inaugural gala.

Held at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Nov. 29 and stylishly titled the Glow Gala, the event includes a cocktail reception and auction preview before dinner and an afterparty.

The gala is intended to grow WCF’s endowment funds, which go towards Pemberton and Whistler charities.

Clare Mozes, CEO for the WCF, said the concept started sparkling last year as they started considering how to mark 25 years of community work.

“It was really just an opportunity to look in reverse of 25 years, and think about some of the milestones that we’ve hit,” she said.

In 25 years, the WCF has granted $5 million to local groups. The number is representative of countless stories of organizations doing important work in the area.

“What that really means is that local kids have scholarships. Charities have operational funding to do the important work they’re doing. Environmental charities are supported to run their operations,” Mozes said.

The gala will help grow the endowment funds, with a goal of $10 million by 2026. Donations are invested and the interest is granted out each year to local community groups.

The fund currently has about $8 million.

“The community has great need and

people that are in the community are really aware of that. We’re no different than any other small town of 14,000 people,” Mozes said, referencing food security, mental health and addictions as just a few of the challenges residents face.

“There’s lots going on. We want to support

people,” she said. “Growing that endowment fund means growing our granting capability.”

While the theme is a popular choice this year, with the Whistler Excellence Awards also going neon, the gala’s name inspiration came from a feeling.

“We’re thinking about the warm and fuzzy of Whistler, and glow is inspiring and warm,” Mozes said.

It’s an invitation to community members who already know the foundation and for new ones to get to know the work it does.

The online silent auction bidding starts Nov. 17, which allows people who can’t attend to support fundraising efforts.

Prizes run the gamut from lavish trips to gift cards to local companies. Some useful auction items anyone could need include window washing, jackets and grocery store gift cards.

“The timing is really great,” Mozes said. “It’s right before Christmas, so people can use it as an opportunity to get a gift card for Whistler Bungee. Some of the bigger prizes might take you out of Whistler. A nice mix is happening,”

Organizers are still accepting auction items before the auction starts, and more details about the event can be found at whistlerfoundation.com. n

GLOW UP From left to right: Sue Adams, WCF fund holder and gala committee member; Doug Forseth, WCF fund holder; Karin Williamson, past WCF director; Bob Adams, WCF fund holder; Anne Townley, WCF grant committee member; and Claire Mozes, WCF CEO at the Foundation’s AGM in June.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WHISTLER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Zero Ceiling targeting $350K fundraising goal by end of year

WHISTLER ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO ENDING YOUTH HOMELESSNESS WILL MATCH DONATIONS

BY BRANDON BARRETT

FUNDRAISING FOR non-profits can be an uphill battle at the best of times. But emerging out of a pandemic and into a period of rising costs across the board? The challenge is even greater.

“It’s been a big shift this year. Through the pandemic, and after the pandemic, there was so much investment privately and publicly in non-profit work and social programs,” said Lizi McLoughlin, co-executive director of Whistler’s Zero Ceiling. “Between that, interest rates rising earlier in the year, inflation, and then coming into a provincial election cycle this year and a federal election cycle next year, we’ve seen the change on all fronts.”

For the Whistler-based organization dedicated to ending youth homelessness, it has meant thinking strategically about where to invest its funding most efficiently. It has also meant leaning on the ample support it has received locally over the past quarter century to aim for an ambitious fundraising goal in 2024: hitting the $350,000 mark by the end of the year. Nearly 30 per cent of the way there, Zero Ceiling will match donations up to $10,000 until Dec. 1.

Along with individual, one-time contributions, Zero Ceiling is also eager to

develop lasting relationships with partners that could “provide core funding for some of those core programs we offer,” McLoughlin said. “We would love to partner with individuals, foundations and organizations that want to make more significant, longerterm investments in this kind of work.”

Thanks in part to the community, as well as the partnerships Zero Ceiling has inked with organizations like Whistler Blackcomb, the Whistler Housing Authority (WHA), and

UP TO $10K UNTIL DEC. 1

affordable rental project that earmarked a portion of its units based on social need, with half of its 30 units allocated to social service providers, and the other half for eligible Whistler-based workers. Eight participants of Zero Ceiling’s Work 2 Live program, which provides young adults at risk of homelessness subsidized housing and employment locally, now reside in The Nest, with the other three in WHA housing.

“We’ve been able to create a continuum

“It’s been a big shift this year.”

- LIZI MCLOUGHLIN

the Whistler Valley Housing Society, the nonprofit has expanded the supportive housing it provides to young adults facing homelessness from eight to 11 beds in 2024.

“That’s the big headline story of the year for us,” McLoughlin said.

A fundamental shift in how Whistler tackles housing also meant Zero Ceiling was able to secure five units in the Whistler Valley Housing Society’s new building in Cheakamus Crossing, which opened in July. Called The Nest, it is the resort’s first

of housing so when the youth first move in, they move into The Nest, which has onsite staff, staff space, a common area and office space for counselling and things like that,” McLoughlin explained. “When they’re ready to graduate from the program, we can offer them an opportunity to move into WHA units, so they’re paying higher rent, but they also have more independence.”

The other essential component of the Work 2 Live program is the supportive employment Zero Ceiling, working with local businesses, can

match participants to. Whistler Blackcomb is a longstanding employment partner and has, over nearly three decades, hired participants across a diversity of departments at the ski resort.

“We’re very lucky to have had a number of participants in a variety of roles, including retail, rental, product sales and services, life operations,” said Ellody Spike-Porter, senior manager of special projects at WB, who added participants have also moved into leadership roles after their initial time at the ski resort.

“It’s a great growth opportunity for both the departments and the Work 2 Live participants to end their season with some new skills and relationships. That’s the biggest thing that comes out of it. It’s not just about coming to work; it’s developing those relationships with their peers and others.”

Zero Ceiling has also grown its twiceyearly Adventure Sessions, which introduce at-risk youth to the outdoors and the range of recreation Whistler has to offer, in both the winter and summer. Its winter sessions, which take place this month, will host more than 200 participants.

“For some people, it’s a one-off, and for some it’s something they pursue or maybe they join the Work 2 Live program the next year and it sparks a lifelong love,” said McLoughlin.

Donate at zeroceiling.org/donate. n

Pemberton’s food bank gets a helping hand

LOCALS CREATED A FARM FOOD RESCUE PROGRAM TO CONNECT EXCESS FARM PRODUCE TO PEOPLE WHO NEED IT MOST

BY LIZ MCDONALD

WHEN CONNECTED, caring individuals put their minds together, they can create real change.

Just ask Megan Black, Nikki Lax and Maeghan Waters. This spring, the three started a new initiative called the Farm Food Rescue Program, helping divert unsold produce from local farms to Pemberton’s food bank. In the process, they help farmers reduce unnecessary food waste and ensure access to nutritious food for residents.

The program runs through the Stewardship Pemberton Society’s Garden Committee and Feasting for Change, and since Lax and Waters were already connected to the Society and to farms in their work, they saw on opportunity to help fill a gap in available food at the food bank.

“The puzzle pieces fell into place, and it made sense to get started on it right away. So, we started thinking about it in May, and then

mid-July, it was in full force, and we were bringing a car full of veggies every week for the food bank,” Waters said.

To date, the organization has delivered more than 3,500 lbs of fresh produce to Pemberton’s food bank, helping fill the fridges for the first time in a while.

‘WE DON’T HAVE THE FUNDS’

Loralee Seitz with the Pemberton Food Bank said without the program, produce fridges sit

Items they do receive or purchase are non-perishable, which have a long shelf life.

Heading into winter, some larger farms that specialize in root vegetables like potatoes and carrots have decided to keep donating when they can, and Seitz said farmers interested can reach out to join in the program. If they do, they receive a charitable tax receipt.

Despite the small size of Pemberton, each month the food bank sees new faces, with 23 new people accessing the service last month alone.

“Anyone else out there that wants to hop on board with that program, just reach out and let us know.”

- LORALEE SEITZ

empty. The organization, run by Sea to Sky Community Services, has no funding and relies entirely on donations and grants for everything from food purchases to rent and wages.

“In all honesty, I think without the program people that access the food bank would not have fresh produce, because it’s something we don’t purchase. We don’t have the funds,” Seitz explained.

According to Statistics Canada, between 2021 and 2022, the national average of food prices increased by almost 10 per cent.

Despite the high cost of food, a lot of it still goes to waste. Programs like this can help reduce unnecessary food waste, with “almost 12.2 million tonnes of edible food wasted each year” in Canada, according to the province.

With the high cost of rent, groceries and

medical bills, Seitz said food is often the last thing people will spend their money on. And in a food-rich place like Pemberton, innovative ideas like the Farm Food Rescue Program are just one way the food bank is trying to address food insecurity.

“Anyone else out there that wants to hop on board with that program, just reach out and let us know. We’re always looking for more ways for fresh, healthy food to get to people’s plates that may not be able to afford to purchase otherwise,” Seitz said.

Anyone who wants to access the food bank is welcome on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1343 Aster Street.

While farmers and Pemberton’s food bank have worked together on initiatives like this before, Lax said it’s an added challenge for farmers to find the time to deliver and for the food bank to coordinate accepting the donations, as each are working to their full capacity.

“We have the capacity to be the middle people and connect all of the pieces with our experience in farming and project management and in our work with the food bank, so we were able to be the conduit between all the folks involved to make it happen pretty quickly,” Lax said.

Now that it’s fall, they’re picking up produce on an as-needed basis and will start the program in full swing again next spring. n

FARM FRESH Maeghan Waters and Sharon Day stand together at the Pemberton Food Bank. Loralee Seitz, coordinator for the Pemberton Food Bank, said they wouldn’t have fresh produce without the program.

COS investigation ongoing after grizzlies killed in Mount Currie

LIL’WAT NATION ANNOUNCED THE BEARS WERE SHOT BY A COMMUNITY MEMBER DURING A CLOSE ENCOUNTER

BY LIZ MCDONALD

THE LIL’WAT NATION has issued new information regarding the events leading up to the shooting of two grizzlies on Lil’wat territory earlier this month, though the BC Conservation Officer Service (COS) disputes some of the Nation’s claims.

According to a Lil’wat Nation release, the grizzlies were shot because of safety concerns. They ate livestock, and the Nation said their scat contained household garbage, making it unlikely the grizzlies would leave the area.

The grizzlies repeatedly returned to the same property, making their way onto the porch. The property owners attempted to scare them away with loud noises but “the bears’ behaviour remained unafraid,” the Nation said, adding the bears were shot by a community member in “a close encounter.” The release said the community member had repeatedly asked for help with the situation from the community and the COS prior to shooting the grizzlies.

“Our community is grieving the loss of these spectacular animals,” said Skalúlmecw Chief Dean Nelson. “We hope that by disclosing this additional information, we can help the community gain a better understanding of the situation and assist in the healing process following this loss.”

The Nation also said prior to the shooting, at an emergency meeting with a Lil’wat Nation representative present, the COS recommended destroying the male grizzly and collaring and relocating the female to Pemberton Meadows, where her two halfsiblings live.

But in an emailed statement, the COS disputed the Nation’s claim it recommended destroying the bears.

“The Conservation Officer Service was present at the referenced meeting but did not make any statements recommending the destruction or relocation of the grizzly bears,” a spokesperson with the Ministry of Environment said in the statement.

“Conservation Officers have been in contact with officials at the Lil’wat Nation since the death of the grizzly bears. As the COS investigation is ongoing, we are unable to provide further information at this time.”

The Nation said they repeatedly contacted the COS requesting action because of concerns the bears were unafraid of humans, and worked with Coast to Cascades (C2C) on hazing. The Nation and C2C are not authorized to take action during close encounters.

“The Líl’wat Nation hopes to continue to work together with Coast to Cascades,” said Nelson. “It’s strongly recommended that community members learn more about

the programs Coast to Cascades has in place that can help remove attractants from yards and learn more about finding ways to coexist with our bear kin. We all have a responsibility to recreating a balance in our relationship to the bears of our area.”

Pique initially reported the death occurred Nov. 4, but the COS said the shooting occurred on Sunday, Nov. 3. On Nov. 4, the Nation posted on Facebook that the grizzlies were shot and given a ceremony before burial, but did not provide a date.

Pemberton Mayor Mike Richman told Pique Nov. 6 the Village is discussing allocating funding for a wildlife safety coordinator to educate the public on how to prevent conflict with bears after the incident.

“We’re looking at sharing that with Area C [of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District]. This is in addition to the conservation officers that work in the corridor. Whistler and Squamish have put some budget towards this last year,” he said.

“Conservation Officers do some great work, but I feel they’re stretched pretty thin. So this wildlife safety coordinator would be not so much responding to calls when there’s a human/bear conflict, but more on the education and prevention side of things.”

While Pemberton is not a Bear Smart certified community, it does have an attractant bylaw. However, budget constraints can make enforcement difficult, according to Richman.

“In terms of the two grizzlies, that certainly was a decision outside of the village of Pemberton, and I’d like to understand a little bit more,” he said. “But I certainly respect the decision-making, knowledge and wisdom of Lil’wat Nation.”

Check back with Pique for more as this story develops. n

UNDER INVESTIGATION One of the yearling grizzlies shot earlier this month in Mount Currie.

PHOTO BY ERICA VAN LOON

Pemberton officially adopts new housing strategy

THE STRATEGY IS FUNDED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S HOUSING ACCELERATOR FUND

BY LIZ MCDONALD

THE VILLAGE OF Pemberton officially adopted its new housing strategy at a council meeting Nov. 5.

The strategy is a guiding framework for future housing development in Pemberton, and work for the program is paid for by the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF). The fund granted the VOP $2.7 million for a housing action plan to “permit almost 100 new housing units above the current growth trends,” according to a release by the VOP.

Work on the strategy ran from April to October and is focused on six principles: Choice and Accessibility: mixed housing development for varying income brackets; Balanced Trade-offs: accept trade-offs are part of the process for diverse housing; Responsible Growth: focus development to match community needs and sustainability; Proactive Compliance: adhere to current and future provincial legislation; Collaborative Solutions: use partnerships for housing options; and Long-Term Planning: proactively plan for the future.

The plan’s strategic direction includes sweeping updates to regulations and development approval processes, has a focus on delivering high-priority housing types,

and builds partnerships while advocating for housing needs.

Mayor Mike Richman said some of the milestones already completed include the housing needs assessment in addition to the housing strategy, pre-zoning for density, removing barriers for development while ensuring housing types meet community needs, a new e-permitting system, and assessing the village’s water and sanitary infrastructure for future growth.

Patrick Weiler, member of Parliament for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, said in the release the HAF will

greatly benefit Pemberton.

“The Government of Canada is committed to work in partnership with local governments to get the housing they need built faster,” Weiler said. “The Housing Accelerator Fund partnership with the Village of Pemberton is helping fast track almost a hundred additional new homes in Pemberton over the next few years, and almost two thousand additional homes over the next decade. This investment is creating the conditions for a range of housing types from rental, to co-ops, to missing middle to supply the diverse range of housing that families are seeking in this community, while

proactively planning for infrastructure and launching an e-permitting system.”

The strategy was announced soon after Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre announced he would scrap the HAF program if he takes office in the next federal election. Numerous Conservative MPs seem to disagree with the stance, as they wrote letters to the federal government advocating for their communities to receive funding, according to reporting by CBC and numerous other news outlets.

On Oct. 30, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser sent a letter asking Richman about what impact a culled HAF would have on Pemberton.

Richman said because they have responded swiftly to meeting targets for the HAF, and because they receive funding as milestones are reached, he’s not worried about a potential change in federal policy should the Conservatives form government in the upcoming election.

“I did receive the letter, and I paid a little attention, but I’m not too concerned, selfishly, because we are moving along at a really good pace with our work, and we’re hitting our targets,” Richman said. “So, I’m pretty confident that we’ll get hard value here in Pemberton out of the HAF fund, no matter what happens at a federal political level next.” n

HIT THE GAS MP Patrick Weiler and Pemberton Mayor Mike Richman at the Housing Accelerator Fund announcement this spring.

PHOTO BY ROISIN CULLEN, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

ExploreCapU Open House inSquamish!

Saturday, December7

11am–2pm

Capilano University

3200 University Blvd Squamish Discover Squamish programs, explorethecampusandmeet our facultyand students!RSVP at capilanou.ca/explore

PublicNotice

NOTICEOF ZONINGAMENDMENTBYLAWNO.975, 2024,PUBLIC HEARINGNOT TOBE HELD

NOTICE ISHEARBY GIVENunderSection467oftheLocal GovernmentActthat theVillageofPembertonCouncil willconsiderfirst,second,andthirdreadingfor “ZoningAmendmentBylawNo.975,2024(HAFInitiatives– SSMUH –Density–Parking)”duringtheRegularCouncil Meetingtobeheldat9:00amon Tuesday, November19,2024.CouncilisauthorizedunderSection135ofthe Community Charter andSection480ofthe Local GovernmentAct,togivetheBylawuptothree readingsatthis meeting.

Purpose: Theproposedbylawamendments willupdateVillageofPemberton ZoningBylaw832,2023,andproactivelypre-zoningselectedareasfor more densityandamendparkingrequirements withtheintentionofpermitting more housing.SmallScaleMulti UnitHousing(SSMUH)isintroducedtoalignwithfuture legislativerequirementsthatwillallowforuptofour(4)housingunitsonproperties insingle-familyneighbourhoods.Higherdensityisproposedonselectedlarge parcelsclosetodowntown,and workforcehousingisproposedtobeallowedon publiclandswithintheVillage.Proposedchangestooff-streetparkingregulations includereductionsforeligibleaffordableandrentalhousing,sharedparkingand transportationdemand managementconsiderations,andreduceddimensionsfor parkingspaces.

SubjectLands: ProposedSSMUHamendmentsapplytoallpropertiescurrentlyin thefollowingzones:

Residential1 (R-1)

SmallLotResidential2 (R-2)

DuplexLotResidential3 (R-3)

ComprehensiveDevelopment 5(CD-5) Area 2andArea 3Only

ResidentialAmenity 1(RSA-1)

ResidentialAmenity 2(RSA-2)

ResidentialAmenity 3(RSA-3)

ResidentialTownhouseAmenity 1(RTA-1)

ResidentialTownhouseAmenity 2(RTA-2)

Proposedpre-zoningamendmentsforhigherdensityapplytoproperties describedandidentifiedonthemapas: LOT25DISTRICTLOT 165LILLOOETDISTRICTPLAN883 PARCEL ADISTRICTLOTS203AND7026LILLOOETDISTRICTPLANEPP95387

BylawReading: Considerationoffirst,second,andthirdreadingoftheproposed bylawisscheduledattheRegular Council MeetingonTuesday,November19, 2024.Finaladoption willfollowaftertheproposedbylawhasreceivedapprovalfrom theMinistryofTransportationandInfrastructure.

HowdoI getmoreinformation?

Acopyoftheproposedbylawandrelevantinformationmaybeinspectedatthe VillageofPembertonOffice,7400ProspectStreetfromTuesday,November5, 2024,untilthebylawsareadopted,duringofficehours9:00amto4:00pm(closed 12:00pm-1:00pm),MondaytoFriday(closedonstatutoryholidays),andonlineat: pemberton.ca/departments/development-services/regulatory-bylaws

LandAct:

NoticeofIntentiontoApplyforaDispositionof CrownLand

Takenoticethatthe VillageofPemberton of Pemberton, BC, hasappliedtotheMinistryofForests(FOR),Surrey foratenureforinstitutionallocal/regionalparkpurpose situatedonProvincialCrownlandlocatedatOneMileLake TheLandsFileNumberforthisapplicationis 2412832. Commentsonthisapplicationmaybesubmittedintwo ways: 1)OnlineviatheApplicationsandReasonsforDecision Databasewebsiteat: https://comment.nrs.gov.bc.ca/applications 2)BymailtotheSeniorLandOfficerat200–10428153rd Street,Surrey,BCV3R1E1.Commentswillbe received bytheMinistryofForestsuntilDecember22,2024. Comments receivedafterthisdatemaynotbeconsidered. Beadvisedthatany responsetothisadvertisementwillbe consideredpartofthepublic record.Forinformation, contactInformationAccessOperationsattheMinistryof Technology,InnovationandCitizens’ServicesinVictoriaat: www.gov.bc.ca/citz/iao/.

BC NDP’s massive rebate promise deserves debate, not a cabinet order

BY ROB SHAW

WITH THE BC NDP landslide victory now confirmed at 22 votes, step one for the robust new majority government is simple: Get the cash it promised in the election into the hands of British Columbians.

That means turning Premier David Eby’s rebate promise—a.k.a. the “Ebybate”—into reality.

this place behind me works for British Columbians, especially on the priorities that were so evident during the campaign, cost of living, the pressure that people are feeling on their monthly bills at the end of every month, feeling like they’re just getting by or not even getting by, let alone getting ahead,” Eby said in a press conference a couple weeks ago, outside the legislative chamber.

If the NDP have more ideas on the affordability front, they haven’t dropped any hints.

The election promise calls for a one-time rebate cheque of up to $500 for single people with a salary up to $100,000 (phasing out at $125,000), and up to $1,000 for households phasing out at $250,000. After that, the rebate turns into an income tax cut on the first $22,580 earned annually, resulting in what New Democrats say will be similar savings.

The government’s affordability agenda the last seven years has consisted mostly of small-scale tax credits that apply only to the lowest income of British Columbians, alongside occasional rebates delivered through ICBC and BC Hydro.

The underwhelming performance on affordability was one of the factors that led to the surge of the BC Conservatives in the October election.

There’s much consternation inside the government about what regulatory or legal mechanisms are required to do this. And considerable effort is being made to research the issue by the “transition team” created to help ease the changeover between the Eby government and—er, well, the Eby government.

Conservative Leader John Rustad promised to allow British Columbians to write off up to $3,000 a month in housing costs, such as rent and mortgage, which could then result in an annual tax rebate of up to $1,600.

One school of thought is to just scrawl out a few cabinet orders, rejig a couple of regulations and blast the money out as quickly as possible. This falls squarely under the “get stuff done” philosophy that defined the first 22 months of the Eby premiership,

It wasn’t a bad idea—in fact, it would have been one of the largest tax breaks in provincial history—but Eby mocked it mercilessly for the four-year implementation timeline.

Still, why wouldn’t the NDP, having barely won re-election, look at the popular

Why not let people write off the single biggest expense in their lives in the form of housing?

where the ends justify the means and process is an inconvenient roadblock to expediency.

But the “Eby-bate” is massive. It will cost $1.8 billion just for the first phase of rebate cheques, and then another $1.3 billion annually in foregone income tax revenue.

That kind of change, involving that kind of money, deserves to be debated in the legislature.

Even if the NDP could finagle it all by cabinet order, it shouldn’t. Permanent tax cuts, affecting 90 per cent of British Columbians, ought to be detailed on the floor of the people’s house, scrutinized by MLAs and passed by a vote of the legislative assembly.

We’ll hear more about the “Eby-bate” when the premier swears in his next cabinet Nov. 18. It will likely form the centrepiece of the throne speech in the promised late fall session of the legislature as well.

“Our goal here is to make sure that

Conservative proposal and try to do something similar? Why not let people write off the single biggest expense in their lives in the form of housing?

Simple: The petty tribalism of politics, and a knee-jerk refusal by the NDP to scoff at any ideas from its opponents, no matter how much sense they might make.

Which is why a team of highly paid partisans is working behind the scenes right now to implement the “Eby-bate” and reinvent the wheel on a whole new slate of affordability policies, while ignoring the ones sitting right in front of their faces.

Rob Shaw has spent more than 16 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for Glacier Media. He is the co-author of the national bestselling book  A Matter of Confidence , host of the weekly podcast  Political Capital , and a regular guest on CBC Radio. rob@ robshawnews.com n

And so, here we are…

“When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent.” —Isaac Asimov

“Tis the times’ plague, when madmen lead the blind.” —Shakespeare, King Lear

“How sad it must be—believing that scientists, scholars, historians, economists, and journalists have devoted their entire lives to deceiving you, while a reality TV star with decades of fraud and exhaustively documented lying is your only beacon of truth and honesty.” —Neil deGrasse Tyson

I COULD FILL this column with quotes from the most educated and erudite people the world has ever known, but, sadly, the horse is already dead.

An unfortunate thing about democracy is that no progressive dream of building a

BY LESLIE ANTHONY

better world can ever be fully realized; given its aversion to lying or cheating, and the grimy bones continuously demanded by howling conservative dogs, the left takes what it can get and cheers it on. More unfortunate, however, is that the converse doesn’t also hold; indeed, conservative dreams—always of tearing down—borne on the wings of money, propaganda, lies and even the tiniest fissures in the democratic bulwark, can be fully realized, resulting in a living nightmare for the rest.

And so, here we are. Again.

In the quantitatively largest example of mass-delusion and communal cognitive dissonance in the history of mankind, 74.3

million Americans voted not only for a brutal mass deportation of undocumented immigrants with the risibly deluded outcome of saving a few pennies on eggs or gas, but an ancillary contempt for climate policy, human rights and gun control, a national abortion ban, weakening of NATO, and an even more reactionary and biased Supreme Court under a government, as David Remnick of The New Yorker put it, “stocked with mediocrities whose highest qualification is fealty to the Great Leader.” Not surprisingly, given the level of engagement by the electorate (one to two issues for most), a vast majority of voters weren’t even aware of the malign parlay they made.

“preserving democracy,” but when they had a chance to actually do this on Nov. 5, 2024, they failed to even recognize it.

It’s instructive to understand the collective cognizance at play here. In the 1980s, A&W launched a one-third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s popular quarter pounder; the product flopped because most American consumers believed 1/4 to be a larger number than 1/3. Indeed, among American adults today: 40 per cent believe Earth is less than 10,000 years old; only 24 per cent accept the scientific theory of evolution; 54 per cent have less-than 6th Grade reading skills; 56 per cent think “Arabic” numerals should be banned from schools; 69 per cent

America has a habit of making history in all the worst ways, and so these coming years will be recorded much as 2016–2020 was.

While the explainoverse busies itself with charts of county-by-county demographic breakdowns, it doesn’t really matter. There’s no excuse for what happened but that of a country—as Wade Davis examines with a pair of searing essays in his recent book, Beneath the Surface of Things—in serious decline. In a defector.com essay a few days ago, the always brilliant David Roth summed it in one astute line: “A healthy culture could not have produced a Trump, let alone elevated him in the way that ours has.”

A surprise victory in 2016 despite all that was known then was bad enough; eight years later, with a now unprecedented rap sheet for a world leader, what would it have taken to disqualify Trump in the eyes of voters? Not rape. Not a litany of felonies. Not blatant racism, misogyny, stealing from a charity or fellating a microphone. Trump’s supporters, at his clear behest, stormed the U.S. capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, supposedly in the name of

believe in angels. Turbocharged by social media, it’s thus incredibly easy to manipulate large numbers of people—who self-affirm within their own family, school, work and online bubbles—to believe almost anything.

Yet, this isn’t a failure of individuals so much as current manifestation of longrunning societal trends. As Isaac Asimov summed it decades ago, “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

While you feel for people just struggling to get by who don’t have the wherewithal to sort farce from fact, it’s hard to have empathy for those who possess such capacity but are made wooden by their convictions, whether political, ideological or religious.

Appealing to such dogma, the ground for this latest invasion of ignorance was softened considerably by a relentless online, television and podcast carpet-bombing of lies and disinformation about immigration, climate and the economy, as well as malign changes to a previously balanced Supreme Court that yielded rulings both usurping women’s freedom and favouring the unchallenged rule of a criminal.

Cooler, more-respected minds had no hope of prevailing. When venerated conservative organ The Economist endorsed Harris, it aimed squarely at readers “who see a vote for Donald Trump as a calculated risk. They may not see [him] as a person they would want to do business with, or any kind of role model for their children. But they probably think that when he was president he did more good than bad, and that in a second term he may do so again. We believe this analysis is recklessly complacent. It overlooks the tail risk of a second Trump presidency,” a risk detailed as no less than the end of much of world order.

While Harris offered stability, campaigning cautiously near the centre, The Economist averred, “you couldn’t imagine her bringing about a catastrophe.” Nor could we imagine how much promise for the world would be squandered in her defeat.

Which brings us to another thing about democracy: there will always be situations where nobody wins—even the people who think they did. On Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, the world staggered as if woken from a drunken nightmare only to discover it was all real. And so here we are. Again.

America has a habit of making history in all the worst ways, and so these coming years will be recorded much as 2016–2020 was: a devastating panorama of human folly and failure.

Just how bad is it?

For a so-called democracy, it can’t be any worse.

Leslie Anthony is a science/environment writer and author who holds a doctorate in reversing political spin. n

WHISTLER MOUNTAIN

A TIGHT-KNIT GANG OF LOCAL SKI RACERS CONTINUES TO CHALLENGE THE WORLD, DECADES AFTER THE CRAZY CANUCKS PROVED IT WAS POSSIBLE

BY DAVID SONG

ALPINE SKIING GREATNESS in Canada tends to come in waves.

The Crazy Canucks (Dave Irwin, Ken Read, Steve Podborski, Jim Hunter, Dave Murray and Todd Brooker) burst onto the scene in the mid-1970s and showed Europe’s ski titans were not as invincible as folks may have thought. Building on a foundation laid by trailblazers like Ernie McCulloch and Nancy Greene Raine, the seminal six combined for 51 FIS World Cup podium finishes over more than a decade of dominance.

Remarkable women like Gerry Sorensen, Laurie Graham, Betsy Clifford and Kathy Kreiner earned their fair share of hardware too, helping their male peers put Canadian ski racing on the map.

Brooker, the last of the original group, retired in 1987… but more would come to bear the now-iconic name. Brian Stemmle, Edi Podivinsky, Kerrin Lee-Gartner, Liisa Savijarvi and others kept the legacy alive as they duelled greats from Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The Crazy Canuck era would eventually end, but not before paving the way for a second round of standouts.

John Kucera, Jan Hudec, Erik Guay and Manuel Osborne-Paradis took up the torch in the new millennium as the Canadian Cowboys.

Kucera secured his nation’s first-ever World Championships title in Val-d’Isère, France in 2009. Five years later, Hudec ended a two-decade Canadian Olympic medal drought when he tied for super-G bronze in Sochi. Guay is the most decorated male skier to ever wear the Maple Leaf: his 25 World Cup medals eclipse Podborski’s former record of 20. Osborne-Paradis added 11 podiums of his own.

Alpine Canada’s present battery of elite downhillers doesn’t have a catchy group name. What they do have is potential, experience and drive, led by alumni of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC).

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

SEVERAL CANADIAN GREATS have had memorable nicknames: Dave “Thunder Thighs” Irwin, “Jungle” Jim Hunter, Steve “The Young One” Podborski and so forth. If you were to give Jack Crawford one, perhaps you’d call him “Clutch.”

At Beijing 2022, Crawford became the first Canadian to win an Olympic alpine combined medal—a demanding event that forced him out of his comfort zone to navigate slalom gates. The Thornbury, Ont. native shook off a near miss in the downhill (fourth by seven onehundredths of a second) to pick up where Hudec left off, standing on the podium with bronze around his neck.

Crawford spread his wings again in February 2023 at Courchevel, France. There he joined Kucera and Guay as the only Team Canada men to strike gold at the World Championships, beating Norwegian powerhouse Aleksander Aamodt Kilde by one one-hundredth of a second in super-G.

This year didn’t bring the Whistlerite to such lofty heights, but he still managed to place fifth in a super-G event at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Now why is Crawford so cool under pressure?

“I’ve always felt good at big events. I don’t know why,” he says, referencing the fact Olympic and World Championship races don’t count towards each year’s overall World Cup standings. “For most people, I would say it builds nerves and stress and you only have one shot, but whenever I get into those scenarios, I always feel very comfortable.

“There’s no pressure of the World Cup season. It’s just a one-off, and if you don’t bring your best, there’s really no point in doing it. For me, that’s kind of a comfort place.”

Cameron Alexander admits Crawford’s triumphant run gave him a little extra fuel to perform. He broke through for his first World Championships medal in Courchevel: downhill bronze.

A nickname for Alexander might be “Iron Man” because he’s had to battle back from two significant knee injuries.

JAMES CRAWFORD

The North Vancouver native blew out his ACL in December 2020, but rebounded two years later in Kvitfjell, Norway with the first Canadian World Cup downhill victory since Guay’s in 2014. Alexander tore his meniscus in the same knee in 2022 and again bounced back.

“It takes a lot of hard work,” he says of the recovery process. “We’re lucky we have a really good strength team and really good physio, which gives you the confidence that when they say your leg is good to go, you know that it is … just took a little bit to get into my rhythm after that.

“[The bronze medal] was a moment I’ll never forget, for sure. An emotional, special moment, same as winning the year before in Norway.”

At 2023’s end, Alexander reached a World Cup podium for the second time in his career (third place in Bormio, Italy). He kept rolling in 2024 with three top-fives headlined by another bronze in Kvitfjell.

Yet when it comes to sheer grit, nobody can match Broderick Thompson—whom we might call “Phoenix” for his ability to rise from one of the most cataclysmic crashes in recent memory.

Nov. 29, 2023 is an infamous day for Alpine Canada because it’s the day Thompson went down extremely hard during a training run in Beaver Creek, Colo. He hasn’t seen footage of the incident, but knows it’s one of the harshest his coaches have witnessed. Therefore, he was promptly airlifted to Denver and spent the next two-plus months in hospital.  Thompson’s brain took the brunt of the impact, even though he was wearing all the standard safety gear.

Doctors weren’t at first sure if the two-time Olympian would ever regain his previous level of cognitive function. His ability to drive, follow instructions and live independently were not guaranteed, let alone his ability to ski. However, a combination of willpower and great fortune propelled Thompson through the darkest days of his life, and he announced his return to snow 11 months after the accident.

“I just want to keep progressing and not regret quitting at this point, because coming full circle from an injury is an important thing for an athlete to do,” says the 29-year-old.

Thompson locked up his first World Cup medal (bronze) in December 2021—ironically at Beaver Creek. Much like Alexander, Thompson rehabilitated a shattered knee to get there, and he was the first Canadian man on a World Cup podium in more than four years at the time.

‘WE

JUST END UP PUSHING EACH OTHER’

THE WMSC HAS FORGED A GENERATION of alpine speed merchants who now carry the banner for Canada. Alexander and Crawford have had the most recent podium success, but don’t overlook the Seger brothers or Alexander’s own younger sibling, Kyle.

Brodie Seger made his Olympic debut in 2022 and ranked third in the downhill portion of the alpine combined (ninth overall). He became an outspoken advocate for ALS research after his dad, Mark, was diagnosed with the disease 10 years ago. In this goal, Brodie is united with his younger brother Riley: a University of Montana grad who placed second in super-G and giant slalom at the 2023 Canadian National Championships.

As far as skiing is concerned, Brodie and Riley often clash as they attempt to maximize bragging rights. Some of their teammates likewise know what it’s like to grow up with a fellow athlete.

Crawford’s sister Candace retired last year after earning team silver at the 2015 World Championships and a berth on the 2018 Olympic squad. Thompson’s sister Marielle is a former Olympic ski-cross champ and four-time Crystal Globe recipient. Then there’s Kyle Alexander, who has a bevy of Nor-Am Cup medals under his belt.

It is a recipe for ferocious contention.

“Kyle is very competitive and I am very competitive, so naturally we just end up pushing each other,” says Alexander. “He’s very talented and very hard-nosed, and we’re able to use

BRODIE SEGER

each other a lot—even though sometimes, it felt like we wanted to kill each other.”

As one of the team’s younger members, Kyle no doubt looks to upset his big brother Cameron on the World Cup circuit in the near future.

Crawford, though, enjoys a somewhat less adversarial relationship with his sister.

“We’re three years apart, so we didn’t cross over that much [in ski racing],” he says. “Skiing is one of those things that I’ve fixated on, and having competitiveness from the guys around me is where I got that extra little kick from. [Candace and I] are still from the same family, so we both are extremely competitive in what we’re doing … but when it came to sports, we were less so.”

HIGH SPEED, HIGH STAKES

ALPINE SKIERS LIVE ON THE RAZOR’S EDGE. Hundredths of a second separate champions from the also-ran, and tiny margins separate each athlete from resounding failure. Miscalculate ever so slightly from a physical or mental standpoint, and you could veer off track with all hopes of a medal gone—or worse, crash out in a tangle of flailing limbs at hundreds of kilometres per hour.

So many skiers bear the scars that come from playing this high-velocity game, but it’s the life they chose, and they must learn to thrive in the face of risk. There is, after all, a reason why past Canadian legends were dubbed “crazy” and “cowboys”: racing is not for the faint of heart.

Once in a blue moon, the unthinkable happens.

Italian junior champion Matilde Lorenzi died on Oct. 29 after a fatal training accident. She was just 19 years of age, and her tragic demise elicited an outpouring of international sympathy with icons like Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn paying tribute. For Thompson, the news puts his own journey further into perspective.

“That totally could have been the way I went, but it’s not, and I’m grateful,” he says soberly.

How then, do ski racers push out of their starting gates every day? How do they mitigate risk while reaching for the necessary speed to win?

“You need to have a good inspection of the course and a clear plan of what you want to do, but I think on race day, the biggest thing is just allowing yourself to let go,” Alexander says. “If you’re thinking too much when you’re skiing, you’re usually going slow … and you actually put yourself in a more compromised position.”

Brodie has seen the reverse happen as well.

“There’s times where somebody will come down and they’re sending it so hard,” he says. “It seems like they’re making mistakes all over the place, but it’s not really slowing them down because they’ve just got their gas pedal glued to the ground.”

Aksel Lund Svindal, once a top talent in Norway’s top-flight stable of “Attacking Vikings,” did just that to win downhill gold at Pyeongchang 2018.

Equally significant are weather conditions on any given race day. Is it sunny? Is the snow fresh, and therefore, slow? Are there low-hanging clouds or other elements that could impede visibility?

Sometimes even the start order can impact the end result. Athletes who drop in late deal with a rougher, bumpier course that saps their speed, but those who go first or second face snow that can be a little too fresh.

“Generally there’s a bit of a sweet spot closer to the front of the race, but not at the very beginning,” Brodie explains. “Your average viewer might not necessarily understand how much is going on in a race.”

There will definitely be a lot going on during the 2024-25 season. Alpine World Championships are scheduled for Feb. 4 to 16 in Saalbach, Austria, and the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are just 16 months away. Thompson won’t be rejoining his teammates anytime soon, but they’ll no doubt continue to race with him in their hearts.

Feels like it’s just a matter of time before the skiing media is forced to ponder an official name for this crop of Canadians who continue to embody the Crazy Canuck spirit.  n

Lotholz repeats as monobob national champ; Norton and Bruggeling win two-man race

WHISTLER SLIDING CENTRE HOSTS THE 2024 CANADIAN BOBSLEIGH CHAMPIONSHIPS

BY DAVID SONG

DAY 1 OF THIS YEAR’S Canadian Bobsleigh Championships unfolded without a hitch, but there was still a pinch of drama to be found.

Not so in the women’s monobob event, where Melissa Lotholz retained her crown in decisive fashion: one minute and 53.29 seconds to be exact. Erica Voss was nearly six tenths of a second behind (+0.59), edging out Bianca Ribi (+0.61) for the silver medal.

The two-man contest, however, saw Patrick Norton and Keaton Bruggeling lock up their inaugural Canadian title (1:47.36) with a slim one one-hundredth of a second lead over Taylor Austin and Yohan Eskrick-Parkinson. Austin and Eskrick-Parkinson were ultimately disqualified, which pushed Jay Dearborn and Kenny M’Pindou into runner-up position (+0.91). Cyrus Gray and Shaquille MurrayLawrence settled for bronze (+1.09).

“My goal going into this week was just to be consistent, and I want to put down four good runs,” said Lotholz. “That’s what you need at the World Championships or the Olympics, so I did it in monobob today and need [two more runs] again in two-woman. There were mistakes … it’s hard to have a perfect run and there’s room for improvement, but it was fun.”

BY DAVID SONG

Norton remarked: “We’ve come a long way, I think, as a crew, and especially my driving on this track. Whistler’s [posed] some difficulty for me in the past, so it was good to walk away with two really good, consistent runs and go into the four-man.”

‘WE’RE BUILDING, FOR SURE’

The Whistler Sliding Centre (WSC) boasts Earth’s fastest ice, but damp conditions throughout the week meant track records were unlikely to occur. Even so, Lotholz ripped off the quickest push time among ladies for the

be competing in the World Cup this year and lining up against the best of the best in the sport, whereas last year I came back [from a hiatus] and had to re-qualify for that top World Cup position. The goal is not to be Canadian champion. The goal is more than that: World Cups, World Champs this year and Olympics in 2026.”

Meanwhile Norton voiced his respect for Austin, who is essentially Canada’s lead male bobsled pilot.

“Taylor’s got a lot of talent on this track,” said Norton. “He’s got many runs and it’s a home course for him. Even to be within a

“My goal going into this week was just to be consistent, and I want to put down four good runs.”

- MELISSA LOTHOLZ

day, besting skilled teammates like 2022 World Cup winner Ribi and Beijing Olympian Cynthia Appiah, who finished fourth.

“You’re not going to win a race at the start, but you can definitely lose a race at the start,” Lotholz explained. “If you have a head start on everybody else, it means you can afford a couple mistakes on the way down. I was a brakewoman before jumping into the front seat … so obviously I can push fast, but I’m sometimes a bit of a smaller athlete so I always have to add more weight in my sled.

“We’re building, for sure. The plan is to

tenth [of a second] is a good sign for us. To get the win by one one-hundredth is a tip of my cap to Taylor. He really does carry the team here in terms of his knowledge for the track.”

Added Bruggeling: “Today is really a tribute to the crew in general. One one-hundredth is not just us, but it’s everything—the sled work and testing. And it’s really the Norton show. I just push for the first five seconds.”

NOT TOO HIGH,

NOT

TOO

LOW  2024-25 might be another turbulent season for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS) in the

wake of president Tara McNeil resigning. The organization grapples with major financial difficulty, not unlike other national sport governing bodies, which has forced all Canadian bobsledders to self-fund their upcoming campaigns.

There have been other key departures, too: former team members Leanna Garcia and Alexandra Klein now represent Spain and Romania, respectively.

At the same time, bobsled has granted a second chance to competitors who have plateaued in other sports. Lotholz was a former track and field athlete, for example, while Norton once played high-level hockey. Bruggeling plays wide receiver for the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) Ottawa Redblacks, and Eskrick-Parkinson was previously a diver for Team Jamaica.

Three-time Olympian and former CFL running back Jesse Lumsden finds himself at the helm as BCS’ new High-Performance Director.

Driving coach and 2010 Olympic bronze medallist Lyndon Rush sees potential in the whole roster, from athletes to staff, but emphasized the importance of an even-keeled approach to sport.

“It is the Canadian Championships and that’s really cool, but it actually helps us get ready for the international events we’re going to be doing pretty soon—learning the procedures of how a race goes,” Rush said. “Don’t let your highs be too high and your lows be too low.  Stay humble if you did really well, and maybe build yourself up a little if you did really poorly … but for [the next race] we need everyone to show up ready to perform.”  n

PODIUM PURSUIT The 2024 Canadian Bobsled Nationals two-man podium, left to right: Kenny M’Pindou, Jay Dearborn, Pat Norton, Keaton Bruggeling, Cyrus Gray, Shaq Murray-Lawrence (front).

PHOTO

Rory Bushfield first man to barefoot waterski behind fixed-wing airplane

BAREFOOT PILOT DOCUMENTS THE FORMER X GAMES SKIER’S LANDMARK ACHIEVEMENT AT THE VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL

BY DAVID SONG

EVERY TIME RORY Bushfield puts his mind to something, he wants to do it better and bigger the next time.

The Squamolian has already built quite a career. Freestyle skiing? Check. Backcountry skiing? Check. World Cups and X Games appearances? You bet.

Bushfield is also a prolific adventure sports filmmaker and on-screen celebrity. He’s featured in dozens of major ski movies, and in 2013 he won the American reality high-diving show Splash! over Baywatch actress Nicole Eggert, singer-songwriter Drake Bell, NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and others.

Did I also mention that on July 17, 2023, Bushfield became the first individual to barefoot water-ski out of a wheeled fixedwing plane and exit without assistance—no parachute, nothing? We probably shouldn’t overlook that minor detail.

It’s a feat most would consider insane and oddly specific in equal measure, but for Bushfield it’s a rousing intersection of two favoured hobbies. The man has flown for 15 years and considers the Seagull Feather, his 1953 Cessna 180, to be the best aircraft ever built. He’s also a lifelong waterskier.

“I have always loved riding on water: lakes, rivers, puddles, the ocean,” Bushfield explained. “Some of my earliest childhood memories are of my dad pulling me waterskiing. Another huge factor was when I started skimming my airplane on water—my first thought was that I could be barefooting behind it!”

Bushfield documented his record-setting day in Barefoot Pilot, a short film that will play on Nov. 20 at Squamish’s Howe Sound Brewing as part of the current Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF) lineup.

A CALCULATED RISK

One can be forgiven for typecasting Bushfield as a reckless daredevil. He’s put his body on the line time and again in search of adrenaline, and three of his four limbs have metal in them as a result. Yet his partner, Stacey Paradine, remarks during Barefoot Pilot that “he’s actually super calculated.”

Bushfield knows full well that many of his pursuits, including aviation, must be taken seriously. Errors in judgment or execution are rarely met with second chances. Yet he also reasoned that an act like barefooting out of a plane can be done—at a certain speed, water becomes a perfectly smooth and solid landing strip.

He elaborates: “I’ve got a solid crew with me. Barefooting behind my airplane wasn’t about pushing the limit in a reckless way; it was just another goal I wanted to accomplish … being able to exit my plane onto any calm lake. People skydive into parties all the time,

imagine being able to slide into one from a skimming airplane?”

An experienced pilot with the steady hands of a surgeon would be required to help Bushfield pull it off. That man was Lambert Bourgeois: the one who initially taught Bushfield how to skim an aircraft’s wheels across a river or lake surface while in flight.

“It was important to have all my close friends involved on this project because it meant so much to me, but also because I have the most talented friends,” said Bushfield. “It was an easy call who would be involved once everything started coming together. I’m so stoked that everyone could be a part of it.”

If Paradine harbours reservations about her partner’s thrill-seeking ways, she hasn’t voiced them openly.

“Rory always has ideas,” she said in the film. “I’ve never been one to ever doubt his abilities.”

MAKING LIFE MORE BEAUTIFUL

Bushfield hasn’t made it through his highflying existence unscathed. He’s absorbed not only myriad injuries, but also deep grief.

Sarah Burke, Bushfield’s late wife, died on Jan. 19, 2012 after falling on her head in Park City, Utah. She was one of Canada’s original freestyle skiing greats: a five-time X Games halfpipe champ and the first woman to land a 720, 900 and 1080 in competition. After her tragic passing at age 29, Bushfield founded the Sarah Burke Foundation in her honour.

“The foundation will preserve Sarah’s goodwill and her actions, by supporting and inspiring current and future generations,” he wrote on the group’s website in a joint statement also signed by Anna Phelan, Berkley Brown, Haynes Gallagher, Tim Schuetz and Tory Gossage.

The statement goes on: “Regardless of her status as an athlete superstar, [Sarah] was always a kind, humble and generous person, full of integrity. This was what endeared her to all, and made the worldwide reaction to her loss so dramatic … all the hearts she deeply touched in her life. She made life more beautiful.”

Burke’s unforgettable memory helps drive Bushfield on to make the most of his remaining years on Earth.

“I’ve lost a lot of good people in my life, and they taught me to enjoy every single moment,” he said. “You’ve got to celebrate every chance you get. Don’t take life for granted.

“I think everyone should live to the fullest whenever you can, because it is so precious. That’s what drives my creative process—to channel those emotions and experiences into something meaningful.”

Check out more details about Barefoot Pilot and the 2024 VIMFF at vimff.org/film/ barefoot-pilot.  n

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Volunteer at Whistler Sliding Centre!

Volunteers Required for Events: Bobsleigh and Skeleton Racing – North America Cup Series

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Cornucopia channels Gatsby and the Roaring ’20s at new signature event

STRAIGHT UP: GATSBY GOLD FEATURES OPEN DRINK TASTING, DANCING, AND LIVE MUSIC

BY BRANDON BARRETT

AT CORNUCOPIA’S latest signature event, you don’t have to be borne back ceaselessly into the past, but for just one night? Absolutely.

The organizers of Whistler’s annual food and drink festival take you back to the Roaring ’20s on Nov. 16 for Straight Up: Gatsby Gold, a night of glitz and glam, live music, dancing, and enough giggle water to flood a gin joint. (I’m trying, OK?) Straight Up represents the festival’s newest signature event, and will come with a fresh theme each year. For the inaugural edition, organizers went with The Great Gatsby theme for its accessibility.

“Everyone can dress up like flapper girl or a gangster or whatever in between. It’s for people who want to dress up without having to get too costume-y,” said Sue Eckersley, president of Cornucopia producer Watermark Communications. “Especially in the first

year, we want events to be barrier-free, so the price is accessible, and what you’re wearing is accessible.” (That rule applies to everyone but her staff, Eckersley joked: “I don’t think I’ve ever turned anyone away for how they dressed—except my ops guys. ‘It doesn’t look like you’ve had a shower from your shift. Go put on clean clothes.’”)

The flapper festivities kick off with a one-hour open tasting, featuring a selection of curated wines, spirits, craft beers, cider,

10-piece Famous Players Band, playing modern favourites along with some ’20s classics to get the Sheiks and Shebas dancing.

“[O]ther than the Summer Concert Series in the summer, you don’t get to see many bands in Whistler anymore. You see DJs,” Eckersley said. “This is live, big band-era music. It’s gonna be fabulous.”

Straight Up was envisioned, at least in part, as a replacement for the Cornucopia-closing, boozy bacchanal that was the World Oyster

“This is live, big band-era music. It’s gonna be fabulous.”

- SUE ECKERSLEY

sake, and signature cocktails. Always ones to support local, Cornucopia organizers will feature beers from the good folks at Whistler Brewing and cider from new producer Lillooet Cider Co.

After that, the night moves to a cash bar, so attendees can continue enjoying their favourites from the tasting, or sample something new.

Providing the soundtrack for the tasting will be a jazz trio, followed by Vancouver

Invitational, known by locals as Oyster Fest. With Bearfoot Bistro, the primary organizer, stepping back from the event this year to focus on winemaker dinners and afterparties during the festival, Eckersley hopes Gatsby Gold, as well as Cornucopia’s flagship food and wine tasting event, Crush, will help fill its Caesar-stained shoes.

“Oyster Fest is irreplaceable, but we wanted to have opportunities that would meet the needs of people who would have

gone to Oyster Fest,” she said. “Go to Crush if you want to go to a food-tasting event in that party style. For the dancing and the scene, great music, that’s definitely the Gatsby event.”

Cornucopia’s other signature event this year is Drag me to Après on Nov. 17. Expect wine, beer and cocktail tastings, après-sized bites, and of course QUEENS. Four of them, to be precise, including host Gia Metric from Canada’s Drag Race Season 2.

“It includes light snacks, and we’ve never run out of booze at our events,” Eckersley said. “We hope locals will come out and celebrate, dance and have fun.”

That’s on top of Cornucopia’s crammed lineup of drink seminars, Culinary Stage multi-course feasts, and winemaker dinners. The festival runs from Nov. 7 to 17.

“Every year we have our concerns that people still love it and wonder if they are still coming,” said Eckersley, adding that despite the rising cost of living and the fact typically fewer Americans come in an election year, “ticket sales are great [and] events are selling out.

“We are super excited about the lineup,” she added. “Our drink seminar and Culinary Stage lineup has never been better.” Learn more, and get tickets, at whistlercornucopia.com. n

GREAT ESCAPE Whistler’s food and drink festival, Cornucopia, features three signature events this year, including a Great Gatsby-themed night of drinks and dancing on Nov. 16.

PHOTO BY DARBY MAGILL / TOURISM WHISTLER

MEADOWPARKSPORTSCENTRE

SWIM • SKAT E • SWEA T • SQUASH

LASSSCHEDULE

F FLEXIBLEREGISTRATION Flex-reg’classeshavea separatefeeand allowyoutoregisterfor classesonthedaysthatfit yourschedule.

R REGISTEREDFITNESS Registeredfitnessclasses have aseparatefeeanda definedstartandenddate. Pre-registrationisrequired fortheentire setofclasses.

I INCLUDEDFITNESS Theseclassesareincluded withyourpriceofadmission fornoextracharge.

Local highliners traverse Stawamus Chief in new short film, A Line to Nowhere

THE

AIDAN MIDDLETON-HELMED PROJECT PREMIERES NOV. 20 AT HOWE SOUND BREWING

BY DAVID SONG

HIGHLINING ENTHUSIAST and filmmaker Aidan Middleton wants to dispel one particular misconception about his favoured pursuit: that it’s an adrenaline rush.

One can be forgiven for believing so. Why wouldn’t your heart be pounding when you’re trying to balance upon a thin line, dozens or hundreds of metres up in the air? It’s a natural response, but those who let it master them are hard-pressed to become proficient at the sport.

“I think that highlining is more like a forced meditation,” says Middleton. “It’s something that you have to be calm in order to do. When you get out on a line for the first time, there’s absolutely adrenaline, you absolutely are scared out of your mind, and you’d be ridiculous not to [feel that way].

“Your brain tells you that it is wrong for you to be in that space, but it is really, really safe. We have backups for everything. [We’re harnessed in] and we walk on fully redundant systems. It’s really about training your mind to get over the adrenaline.”

Those principles hold true, even when you’re navigating a highline atop the mighty Stawamus Chief.

HEAVEN’S EDGE

Rising more than 700 metres above the ground, the Chief is a monolithic granite dome treasured by the people of Squamish. It dominates the local skyline, is witnessed by all who pass through, and it’s a hub of activity for highliners, climbers, mountain bikers, paragliders and hikers alike.

One of the area’s most iconic lines is aptly dubbed “Heaven,” and it is situated on the Chief’s highest point. A most worthy challenge for anyone, but Middleton and his gang decided to go one step further: utilizing Heaven as a central hauling point to establish a three-pointed line running down the middle of the North North Gully.

They documented their adventure in a short movie:  A Line to Nowhere Middleton explains a traditional highline connects two locations one can stand at (like both sides of a gorge). In this case, the crew made their own endpoint: a spacenet suspended in air where all three lines would meet.

It took an early morning start and six or seven hours to ready the apparatus and inspect it for safety purposes. Coincidentally, a group of Middleton’s friends were ropeswinging from a place lower in the gully around the same time—their exhilarated

hollers providing an apt soundtrack to the anticipation of the “line to nowhere.”

“We wanted to do something new, obviously,” Middleton explains. “For years as highliners, we’ve been coming up to the Chief … and [the three-pointed line] had been in everyone’s head for a very long time. We saw that as a way to give us one long leg of net that you could walk down [the middle of the gully] and have a view that looks like forever.”

You’ll have to watch the film to see exactly how things unfolded, but rest assured: the experience was worth the wait.

‘SOMETHING YOU CAN GET INVOLVED IN’

Having created videos since youth, Middleton recently began to film his gang’s exploits into social media-friendly reels. A year ago, he attended the premiere of Cheakamus Canyon, an episode in a series called The Squamish Highliner’s Journey to 1.1k by fellow highliner Jérôme RattéLeblanc. It inspired him to work towards his own movie.

Middleton chose to shoot his debut flick with a 70-year-old camera.

“I like the visual aesthetic of 8mm film, but I do think that there is something to be said for using old formats to evoke timelessness,” he says. “Slacklining hasn’t existed for that long, and highlining even less so … but [the old camera] gives you a lens where you’re looking at those sports as though

they’ve existed basically forever. It lets you forget about when the thing is happening, and focus on groups of people going after their silly goals out in nature.”

Some outdoor films depict a sense of hazardous, high-octane tension, with viewers allowed to imagine fatal results if the daredevils they’re observing make a critical error. Yet Middleton wants to present highlining as a safe activity defined by fun, leisure and quality time spent with a thriving community.

It is a hobby that average Joes can pick up with the appropriate training, practice and mindset.

“If you see highlining and it interests you, it’s something that you can get involved in,” Middleton elaborates. “Ask anyone who does it now if they thought [they would start] five years ago, they’d probably say no. It’s an incredibly valuable thing to train your mind to get over stressful situations. Highlining has done so much for me and others in all aspects of life.”

Interested? Consider heading down to Squamish’s Junction Park on Thursday evenings throughout the summer and partaking in a weekly meetup of local slackliners.

Don’t forget to catch the premiere of A Line to Nowhere at Howe Sound Brewing on Nov. 20 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. as part of the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival. Tickets are available at vimff.org/ show/squamish-mountain-mixer. n

HIGH HEAVENS A highliner traverses a line on the Stawamus Chief in the Aidan Middleton short A Line to Nowhere.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AIDAN MIDDLETON

‘Know yourself, but dream big’

FOUR SQUAMOLIANS CHRONICLE BAFFIN ISLAND CLIMBING EXPEDITION IN THE GNAR-WHAL’S ODYSSEY

BY DAVID SONG

SQUAMISH CLIMBERS James

Klemmensen, Amanda Bischke, Noah Besen and Shira Biner are not professional athletes, but in the summer of 2023 they elected to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Let’s be clear: they were not the first people to visit Baffin Island’s Coronation Glacier, but they were the first to climb the rock walls around said glacier. Forty-four days they spent in the air, on the road and upon frigid Arctic water, with roughly 2.5 of those weeks passed on the glacier itself.

The crew made a variety of first ascents ranging from 350 to 800 metres in elevation gain, and they documented the highlights in an upcoming film: The Gnar-Whal’s Odyssey.

Klemmensen, who directed the movie, found it hard to describe the scope and significance of the trip.

“I’m really proud of what we did, and it’s not necessarily because we were the first,” he says after a brief pause. “It’s not about conquest or ego or any of that—a lot of people have done very similar expeditions in other parts of Baffin Island, and they’ve put up much more impressive climbs than us. We just happened to be the first to open routes in [the area we chose].

“It really creates a meaningful experience, not having as much guidance and information. You have to be very self-reliant, and that created a really powerful adventure. Naming first ascents is a pretty common convention in climbing … and I hope that at some point someone will go climb the routes we did because it would be so cool to hear about their experience in this place.”

A GNARLY IDEA

Klemmensen has known Bischke and Besen for three or four years to date, and is particularly close with the latter. Meanwhile, Biner is a good friend of Bischke’s. Once the quartet decided to attempt some type of expedition, they began researching and found their interest piqued by Cory Trépanier’s paintings of Baffin Island, in Nunavut.

Next they reached out to sea-ice physicist and mountain guide Christian Katlein, who provided them with intel about Coronation Glacier and its surroundings. Then the team got to work.

Bischke quarterbacked the operation, making logistical arrangements and keeping track of them via comprehensive spreadsheets. Biner kept the mood light with her penchant for song and dance, and her nursing background represented a medical safety net if necessary. Besen is the only one with big wall first ascent experience, and Klemmensen filmed it all.

The gang amassed 1,000 pounds of checked luggage, not including carry-on items. Their itinerary had them flying multiple legs to the hamlet of Qikiqtarjuaq, from which they would sea-kayak 70 kilometres to the eastern edge of Coronation Glacier. An

additional 10 kilometres of hiking from there was required to reach their destination.

Before you ask: there is no deeper meaning behind the nickname “Gnar-Whal.” Klemmensen and company just needed a name for their film, and in a lighthearted manner combined the words “gnarly” and “narwhal” because narwhals frequent Coronation Fjord.

OPEN AND VULNERABLE

Things did not exactly go according to plan. A whole host of hurdles, from late-melting sea ice to unforeseen terrain, detoured the crew’s journey on multiple occasions.

“We didn’t have a ton of info on the area. It’s not like climbing the Rockies, where you have hundreds of people going there and really detailed information on what to expect,” Klemmensen says. “[Roadblocks] can be frustrating, but at the end of the day you know that you’re going to have to adapt and come up with Plan Bs. I tried to start with a mindset of not being overly attached to expectations and remind myself: as long as we’re coming home alive, I could appreciate the experience overall.”

Even the tightest friendships can be strained when you’re spending each waking hour with the same people in an unfamiliar environment, but the party members managed to keep leaning on each other.

“Sharing risk with people is a powerful way to connect. You’d be foolish to deny that doing a trip like this is really, really dangerous, and in order to manage that risk you’re forced to be open and vulnerable about your fears and ambitions—then listen to others when they do the same,” Klemmensen says. “It’s four of us out there for a long time, so even when [you do have] some conflict, you eventually have to talk it out and move forwards as a team.”

After returning to the mainland, Klemmensen used his filmmaking background to prune many hours of footage down to 28 minutes of runtime. That meant leaving lots of fun and meaningful moments on the cutting room floor, but it moulded the story the Gnar-Whals wanted to tell: a lighthearted and uplifting narrative of everyday people venturing outside the boundaries of everyday life.

Perhaps somebody else will be inspired to do the same.

“I know a lot of people who are more than capable of pulling off a trip like this, but it can be hard to believe in your ability to do that when most of the climbing media out there are focused on really high-level athletes,” Klemmensen says. “I hope other people can see themselves in us. Of course, it’s important to be realistic about your skills and your past experience … but if you figure out the building blocks for the skill set you need, you can use those skills for a bigger adventure. Know yourself, but dream big.”

The Gnar-Whal’s Odyssey premieres Nov. 18 at the Rio Theatre as part of this year’s Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival lineup. Check out details at vimff.org/ film/the-gnar-whals-odyssey.  n

BirkenFireDepartment

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

KARAOKE

BLACK’S PIZZA HOUSE PARTY

A night out featuring jumbo pizza slices, carefully selected wine pairings and a live DJ bringing the groove to your Friday night. Gourmet pizzas are tossed by hand and baked fresh using only the best, local ingredients. Premium Italian wines from Sicily, Tuscany, and d’Abruzzo.

> Nov. 15, 6 p.m.

> Black’s Pub

CORNUCOPIA’S FOUR SEASONS WHISTLER: DRUNKEN A5 WAGYU

YOGA, WINE AND CHEESE

Flow yoga class for all levels followed by wine, cheese and charcuterie provided by French’eese Whistler.

> Nov. 16, 6 p.m.

> ALGN Whistler

> $43.93

KARAOKE

Sing your heart out at karaoke every Monday night. In need of some liquid courage to get the vocals ready? Dead season deals and drink specials are on all day, every day.

> Nov. 18, 6 p.m.

> RMU Whistler

Join Sidecut Steakhouse, part of the award-winning Four Seasons Resort Whistler, for an exclusive tasting menu crafted by Executive Chef Sajish Kumar Das. The menu highlights the exclusive Drunken A5 Wagyu, sourced from Yamaguchi, Japan. Marinated in sake and select herbs, this premium Wagyu boasts rich umami flavors and a buttery texture. This five-course journey also includes Hokkaido scallops, Carabinero shrimp, Alaskan king crab, and seared foie gras.

> Nov. 15, 6 p.m.

> Four Seasons Resort Whistler

> $225

ADULT LINO PRINT NIGHT

Create a Lino print stamp out of a 4”x5” rubber block. Make a set of cards for the holidays, a special birthday, or just an image you love—it’s up to you! No experience necessary; if you can draw a stick figure, you can do this.

> Nov. 16, 6 p.m.

> Art Pop Whistler

> Tickets start at $55

THE PEOPLE’S FILM PRESENTS: ANCHORMAN

Prepare for absurdity and endless laughs as The People’s Film brings you the cult comedy classic Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy! Step back into the wild world of 1970s broadcast news, where the suits are polyester, the hair is big, and the egos are even bigger. Suit up in your best sports jacket, show off your finest mustache and brace yourself for a news anchor showdown at intermission with prizes to be won.

> Nov. 20, 7 p.m.

> Maury Young Arts Centre

> Tickets start at $10

PHOTO

What: Notice ofAnnualGeneralMeeting

Who: Notice to Members

When: TuesdayDecember10th,2024at12:00pm-12:45pm Where: VirtualviaZoom

Please emailWVHS.info@gmail.com forZoomcallin information,a copy oftheagendaandtheproposed Bylaws to beadopted at the AGM.

TheWhistler ValleyHousingSocietyisanot-for-profit establishedin1983andthe ownerofTheNest,a30-unit rentalhousingprojectas wellasthe ownerofWhistler Creek Court,a20-unit rentalhousingproject.Our tenantsareClientsofSocialServiceAgencies,Essential Service WorkersandotherWhistleremployees.

OurVision

To provide,andadvocate for, abroaderspectrumof housingopportunities fortheWhistler community.

Winter ServiceChange

Effective Nov22,2024toApr2025

Seasonal return of:

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Whistler’s early daycare offerings

BY ALLYN PRINGLE

IN 1983 , plans for a community centre that included daycare space and the need for more childcare options in Whistler led to the founding of the Dandelion Daycare Society (DDS). Though the community centre did not come to fruition, the DDS raised funds for the community centre that were then put towards its own daycare facility. In January 1984, the DDS began operating out of the former Beau’s Restaurant at the Rainbow Ski Area while working towards its own purpose-built facility. The DDS ran a “licensed, cooperative daycare” and could take up to 35 children ages three to five.

By the summer of 1984, talk of a community centre had died down, but plans for a daycare building were moving ahead. In June, the Baxter Group offered the DDS two A-frames it had been using for its development in today’s Creekside area, if the society could find a site to move them to. Whistler’s mayor and council considered a site for the buildings at Meadow Park, which was under development; however, the use of this site was not approved by the province.

Still searching for a permanent home, the DDS continued to explore various sites and fundraise, beginning with its first annual Children’s Walk-a-Thon in August 1983. Fortyfour children aged one to eight (and their parents) participated in the one-kilometre walk from Alta Vista to the Myrtle Philip School and raised more than $1,000 for the building. The daycare also held auctions (in June 1984, Jon and Sue Paine won a year’s worth of overnight babysitting courtesy of Sophie Trouwborst, while Dave Cathers bid on his own contribution of babysitting when he learned how many children he and Connie could end up responsible for) and had fundraising tables at community events like the Fall Fair.

Following the publication of a Community

Facilities Study in March 1985 that called for expanded daycare facilities in Whistler, the municipality asked the province for a Crown land grant for a daycare site located beside the BC Telephone building on Lorimer Road. Their application was successful and, with a confirmed site, work on a new preschool facility moved quickly. By the time the first Whistler’s Night, a gala dinner and auction that raised more than $12,000 for the building, took place in April, construction had reportedly already begun.

By November 1985, thanks to continued fundraising efforts and a lot of volunteer construction work, the DDS was planning an open house in the new building, as well as preregistration for December and January spots. It also hosted a party for everyone who participated in the construction of the building on Nov. 29, though the official opening of the daycare facility was delayed by a week as organizers and volunteers had to complete the building before it could be licensed. According to DDS president Connie Cathers, they still needed to finish the interior plumbing and wiring and were also looking for donations of educational toys.

The Dandelion Daycare Society opened its first purpose-built preschool facility in Whistler on Dec. 9, 1985, with an official ribboncutting in January 1986. The facility was built entirely from community contributions, whether through fundraising efforts or donated labour, and some businesses and the Whistler Rotary Club continued to fundraise to help outfit the new building with more equipment and supplies.

Seventeen children attended the first day of operations, though it was expected it would quickly reach capacity. It wasn’t long before planning began for another facility, the Whistler Children’s Centre that opened next to the Dandelion Daycare building in 1991. Other programs and facilities have also opened in the valley as childcare needs in Whistler have continued to grow, with waiting lists a common phenomenon for families. n

DAY TO DAY Children join Mayor Terry Rodgers at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony in January 1986.

WHISTLER QUESTION COLLECTION, 1986.

1 SONGS OF PRAISE Local birders Karl Ricker and Heather Baines each received an outstanding birder award for their steadfast service in observing and reporting birds during the Whistler Naturalists’ annual general meeting Nov. 12. Also honoured was Chris Dale, who received an award for his years of service. Dale recently passed away, but speakers for the evening said he leaves a long legacy of mentorship and biodiversity research. PHOTO BY LIZ MCDONALD 2 SLIDING INTO A NEW SEASON Canadian bobsledders Taylor Austin and Yohan Eskrick-Parkinson prepare for their two-man race at the Whistler Sliding Centre Nov. 12. PHOTO BY DAVID SONG 3 GRAPE GUEST SPEAKERS Eckhard Zeidler from Cliff & Gorge Vineyards asks Jeff and Decoa Harder a question after their presentation titled ‘Mother Nature v. Okanagan Wineries: a Climate Conundrum.’ The presentation was part of the Whistler Institute’s Global Speaker Series and presented in partnership with Cornucopia. Wine merchants, vintners and consumers joined the event on Nov. 8 and engaged in a robust Q&A session following the speakers’ presentation. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WHISTLER INSTITUTE 4 IT’S MEXICO SOMEWHERE Friends Czybel and Alpha joined “The Return of Radiante” at the Fairmont Chateau Nov. 8. The pair celebrated their birthdays together in the Mexican-inspired event. They said

moves.

ASTROLOGY

Free Will Astrology

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 15 BY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You may be on the verge of the breakthrough I prophesied a while back. Remember? I said you would be searching for the solution to a boring problem, and on the way you would discover a more interesting and useful problem. That exact scenario is about to happen. I also predict that the coming weeks will be a time when you tame an out-of-control aspect of your life and infuse more wildness into an overly tame part of you. I will speculate on one further stroke of good fortune: You will attract an influence that motivates you to be more passionately pragmatic about one of your key dreams.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It’s time for some friendly warnings that will, if heeded, enable you to avoid problematic developments. 1. An overhaul in your selfimage is looming; your persona requires tinkering. 2. Old boundaries are shifting and in some places disappearing. Be brave and draw up new boundaries. 3. Familiar allies may be in a state of flux. Help them find their new centres of gravity. 4. Potential future allies will become actual allies if you are bold in engaging them. 5. Be allergic to easy answers and simplistic solutions. Insist on the wisdom of uncertainty.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): To honour and celebrate your melancholy, I’m turning this horoscope over to Gemini author T. H. White and his superb formulation of the redemptive power of sadness. He wrote: “The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then—to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22): A Massachusetts woman named Andrea Martin loves chickens so much she treats them as family. A few years ago, she took pity on one of her favourites, a young bird named Cecily, who had been born with a damaged tendon in one of her legs. Martin arranged to have the limb amputated. Then she made a prosthetic device on a 3-D printer and had it surgically grafted onto Cecily’s body. Success! The $2,500 cost was well worth it, she testified. I propose we make Andrea Martin one of your role models for the coming weeks. May she inspire you to take extra good care of and shower bonus blessings on everyone and everything you love. (PS: This will be really good for your own health.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Once a year, the city of Seoul in South Korea stages a Space-Out Festival. Participants compete to do absolutely nothing for 90 minutes. They are not allowed to fall asleep, talk, or check their phones. To test how well they are banishing stress, burnout, and worries, their heart rates are monitored. The winner is the person who has the slowest and most stable pulse. If there were an event like this in your part of the world sometime soon, Leo, I’d urge you to join in. I expect the winner would be a member of your astrological tribe, as you Leos now have a high potential for revitalizing relaxation. Even if you don’t compete in a Space-Out Festival, I hope you will fully cash in on this excellent chance to recharge your spiritual batteries.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): My favourite Virgos love to learn. They are eager to add to their knowledge. They have a highly honed curiosity that is always percolating, continually drawing them towards new comprehension. On the other hand, some of my favourite Virgos are inefficient at shedding long-held ideas and information that no longer serve them. As a result, their psyches may get plugged up, interfering with their absorption of fun new input. That’s why I recommend that you Virgos engage in regular purges of your mental debris. Now would be an excellent time for

ROB BREZSNY

one of these sessions. PS: The futurist Alvin Toffler said that a key to intelligence is the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn. I invite you to act on that counsel.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I endorse Libran tennis star Serena Williams’ approach to self-evaluation—especially for you right now. She testified, “I’m really exciting. I smile a lot, I win a lot, and I’m really sexy.” I’m convinced you have the right to talk like that in the coming weeks—so convinced that I suggest you use it as a mantra and prayer. When you wake up each morning, say what Williams said. When you’re asking life for a sweet breakthrough or big favour, remind life why it should give you what you want. Feel free to add other brags, too, like, “I’m a brilliant thinker, a persuasive negotiator, and a crafty communicator.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You are entering a phase when you can acquire more mastery in the arts of self-care and self-sufficiency. I hope you will become more skilful in giving yourself everything that nurtures your emotional and physical health. Have you gathered all you need to know about that subject? Probably not. Most of us haven’t. But the coming weeks will be a favourable time to make this your main research project. By the way, now is also an excellent time to kick your own ass and unbreak your own heart.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): My father was a big fan of the military. As a young man, he served as a lieutenant in the army and for a time considered making that job his career. I’m the opposite of him. I keenly avoided becoming a soldier and have always been passionately anti-war. I bring this subject to your attention because I think now is an excellent time for you to get clearer than ever about how you don’t resemble your parents and don’t want to be like them. Meditate on why your life is better and can get even better by not following their paths and ways. There’s no need to do this with anger and blame. In fact, the healthiest approach is to be lucid, calm, and dispassionate.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): At age 49, James Patterson retired from his job as an advertising writer. Until then, he had produced a few novels in his spare time. But once free of his 9 to 5 gig, he began churning out books at a rapid pace. Now, at age 77, he has published more than 305 million copies of 200-plus novels, including 67 that have been #1 New York Times bestsellers. Would you like to make an almost equally memorable transition, Capricorn? The coming weeks and months will be an excellent time to plan it and launch it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The Breakfast Club was an iconic 1985 film about teenagers coming of age. Critics liked it. At the box office, it earned 100 times more than it cost to make. Aquarian director John Hughes wrote the screenplay for the 97-minute movie in two days, on July 4 and 5 of 1982. I predict that many of you Aquarians will have a similar level of productivity in the coming weeks. You could create lasting improvements and useful goodies in short bursts of intense effort.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Ben & Jerry’s is a wildly successful ice cream maker that sells its products all over the world. Its founders are two Pisceans who met in seventh grade. More than 45 years since they launched their business, they have become renowned for their wide variety of innovative flavors and their political activism. When they first decided to work together, though, their plans were to start a bagel business. They only abandoned that idea when they discovered how expensive the bagelmaking equipment was. I suspect that you are near a comparable pivot in your life, Pisces: a time to switch from one decent project to an even better one.

Homework: Can you feel less anger about a person who wronged you? It would be good for your health to do so. Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

In addition to this column, Rob Brezsny creates

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ANNOUNCEMENTS OBITUARIES

BAKER,BRANDONJOHN. Dec08,1981-Sep27,2024

Itiswithheavyheartsthatwesadly announcethepassingofourbeloved son,BrandonJohnBaker,whopassed awayonSeptember27,2024aftera courageousbattlewithcancer.

Brandon’szestforlifewasevidentin hisadventurousspiritandloveforthe outdoors.Anexpertdownhill mountainbikerandskier,hethrivedon thethrillandchallengeofthe mountains.Beyondthemountains, Brandonalsoenjoyedgolf,ocean kayakingandagreatgameofchess.

Brandonwillbedeeplymissedand foreverlovedbyhisfamily,friends,his dogandbestfriendHobbes,andallof thosewhohadtheprivilegeofsharing hismanyadventures.

AcelebrationofBrandonwillbeheld intheSpringof2025athismountain biketrail(DieselWolf)inPemberton, BC.

Restinpeaceoursweetboy.May yourjourneybesmooth,yourtrailsbe endlessandyourspiritforeverfree.

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Throw the bums out?

THERE WERE a lot of reasons the U.S. presidential election turned out the way it did. Same for the B.C. election. It seems like both elections should have been a lot easier and, in the case of the U.S., had a different result.

BY G.D. MAXWELL

The culprits in both cases came down to arrogance and self interest. One man’s opinion but by no means unique.

Too many U.S. voters found the Democratic candidate a bit highbrow, condescending, and that fatal epithet, elite. While saying she was a candidate and would be a president for everyone, quite a few voters didn’t believe her. They found her too polished.

Her opponent, on the other hand, was down and dirty. A fear-mongering man of the people. He spoke to the masses.

While many didn’t necessarily buy his rhetoric about immigrants being criminals and dog- and cat-eaters, there was one thing they all bought. It became his catchphrase and it resonated with voters who might have held their nose when they voted for him.

“Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

Rather than being metaphorical, voters took it literally. Were they richer? Were they happier? Did they have more faith in the future? No, no and no.

The irony, of course, was the pain— particularly the economic pain—they felt was not the making of the focus of their anger. It wasn’t something contrived by the Democrats. It was global. It had its roots in the hangover from the pandemic, a hangover manifested in scarcity, inflation in the cost of everything, growing income inequality and limited opportunity.

Throw the bums out.

It was an election won and lost on pocketbook issues. Perception at least as much as reality.

The reality was the disruptions wrought by the pandemic were more quickly working through the U.S. economy than many other places in the world. Canada, for instance. Supply chain issues have been lessened in the U.S. far more than they have in the Great White North.

Car shopping? South of the border, no problem. Lots of cars on the lots. You can walk in and drive off with just about anything you want. Canada? Unless you’re looking for a model that’s actually manufactured in this country, and aren’t particularly fussy about the colour and trim level, you can enjoy a wait lasting anywhere from six months to well over a year.

Inflation? What inflation? The much maligned boomers remember all too well meeting with their banker and tossing the keys to their vehicle or house on the desk and saying, “All yours.” When interest rates cracked 20 per cent in the early 1980s it was a bloody Armageddon for many.

But when you’re the same age as they/ we were at that time and your mortgage

bounces from a laughable 1.9 per cent to 6.5 per cent or more, comparisons to a dim past are meaningless.

Both countries did a horrible job of foreseeing inflation. Once it became apparent, both countries whistled past the graveyard, assuring people it was temporary and would be short-lived. Both were slow to react. Both over-reacted. Both have now whittled inflation down to almost manageable levels.

Despite that achievement, no one feels better off now. We’re reminded how crappy things have become every time we go to the grocery store and pay six bucks a pound for

neighbourhood for the foreseeable future. How that actually plays out will depend on the mill rate eventually set by the muni and the numbers BC Assessment comes up with for the properties around town.

But the lesson of the recent elections is this: The dollars and cents don’t matter nearly as much as the optics. As reported, this might only mean $70 on a half-million-dollar Whistler Housing Authority home or $520 on a $4 million single-family chateau—and an extra pop for utility and service fees—but the actual dollars will be lost in the noise. Relevant but irrelevant.

Pocketbook issues bring down governments. Period.

mushrooms, 10 for a pound of bacon, three for a can of soup. And without the local restaurant specials, few of us would ever see the inside of a real restaurant.

Pocketbook issues bring down governments. Period.

It’s a reality I’m unsure our local elected officials have completely grasped. With well-constructed rationales, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) is getting us ready for a property tax increase that may hit 10 per cent in 2025 and stay in the

It’s the nine or 10 per cent that’ll stick. It’s a lot easier to grasp because chances are pretty good whatever you’re making in the way of a wage or salary isn’t going up anywhere near that amount.

And it doesn’t matter about the metaphorical three big rocks. Doesn’t matter about adding to reserves. Doesn’t matter the RMOW has nothing to do with the price of mushrooms, bacon or soup. Doesn’t matter whether they’re being fiscally responsible or profligate.

What matters is everything they can make more expensive they’ve made more expensive, from parking to dying, in the past two years. And they seem to be doing nothing to “create” other sources of revenue that might be more palatable than increasing property taxes.

While it may sound like it, this isn’t an indictment of the mayor and council. I believe they’re doing a reasonably good job. I can’t say the same for all RMOW departments, at least not without raising their ire, but regardless, I’m okay with how they’re running the place.

But that won’t matter in two years when however many of them want to stick around are up for re-election. What will matter is whether enough of us who vote will feel better off than we were four years ago when we elected them.

That worries me. It worries me because when they were elected in 2022, it was hard to pick six I felt had a chance of doing a reasonable job. And I’m not at all sure how much better the candidates will be in 2026. But I am pretty sure the voters will be more dissatisfied with their lot in life and I won’t be surprised if that manifests itself in a throwthe-bums-out kind of sentiment. Been there; done that.

It’s a job I wouldn’t want to do. Worse, it’s a job I wouldn’t want to see a number of other people do. But that’s just the way politics seems to go these days and I foresee things getting worse—think the next federal election—before they get better. n

PHOTO BY DOUCEFLEUR / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS