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Columnist reports team lobbying WEF to come to Whistler

A team of British Columbians was in Davos, Switzerland this week hoping to convince the organizers of the World Economic Forum to bring their annual meeting to Whistler in 2005, according to Financial Post columnist Diane Francis.

A team of British Columbians was in Davos, Switzerland this week hoping to convince the organizers of the World Economic Forum to bring their annual meeting to Whistler in 2005, according to Financial Post columnist Diane Francis.

Among those in Davos were Peter Legge, chairman of the Vancouver Board of Trade and Graham Clark of the Vancouver Airport Authority.

Francis, writing in the Jan. 23 Financial Post, reported: "(WEF) Founder Klaus Schwab tentatively approved the ski resort as a venue after a visit there last year and ranking members of British Columbia’s business community are here in full force to close the deal."

The Financial Post reported one lobbyist as saying, "It’s 75 per cent a done deal."

Legge could not be reached by press time to confirm or deny the report.

Darcy Rezak, managing director of the Vancouver Board of Trade was also in Davos. However, the board regularly sends representatives to the WEF annual meeting.

Whistler Mayor Hugh O’Reilly was in Europe last week, at the same time as the WEF meeting, but he was there at the invitation of the Val d’Isere Tourism Bureau to speak at the bureau’s annual general meeting.

The presence of a B.C. lobby group in Davos was news to acting mayor Kristi Wells.

"I am a little surprised," said Wells.

"No one internally knows and certainly no one has communicated that to me.

"But it doesn’t go against what was put out there a year ago."

However, added Wells, it would have been nice to be informed of the trip.

"That would have been polite as far as keeping lines of communication open. Given that we have heard nothing for eight months on the issue it may be appropriate to let someone here know."

Part of Wells’ concerns about being kept in the loop currently was the obvious community concern over hosting the event last year.

Last April, after heated community debate, the municipality invited the WEF to come here as early as next year, provided several conditions were met. Those conditions included: maintaining the safety of the community without interfering too much in the operation of the resort, shifting the meeting from peak-season in January to one of the shoulder seasons, making sure the federal government pays for and organizes security and insurance, ensuring recommendations to incorporate sustainability are part of the agenda, and the completion of the second phase of the Whistler Conference Centre.

Hundreds packed Millennium Place last spring to voice their views on the WEF coming to town and a petition against the event was signed by thousands.

Said Van Powel, one of the petition organizers, of the reported lobbying effort in Davos: "To me it seems to indicate that the people who are promoting this don't really care what the majority of Whistler residents think. If they did, they would have learned from their first attempt and would be seeking community input and consensus before attempting this again.

"In fact, more Whistler residents signed the petition against hosting the WEF than voted for four of the six council members in the last election. So I think it displays a fair amount of arrogance to ignore that fact and move forward with such a proposal."

The community input is viewed by most as the catalyst for the conditions drawn up by the municipality to host a future WEF meeting.

Doug Forseth, vice-president of operations for Whistler-Blackcomb, was also concerned to learn that lobbying was apparently going on to bring the WEF to Whistler.

"It is one thing for them to lobby to bring it to Canada and maybe to Vancouver," said Forseth.

"But to lobby on behalf of Whistler without Whistler’s input would be a mistake. Our community did speak pretty clearly last year on its thoughts about what should be done if it were done at all, and how it would be done.

"I haven’t heard of any co-ordinated effort within this community and the leadership of this community to make that happen.

"I don’t know if they are working on their own, but if they are that would be a mistake. They obviously need to respect the wishes of the people of this community."

Whistler sent a letter to the premier’s office last spring outlining its conditions and offering an invitation to the WEF.

Wells said the municipality received a reply from the government acknowledging Whistler’s letter and that was the last communication received on the issue.

News services reported that anti-globalization protests planned for last Saturday in were scattered in various areas of Switzerland. Approximately 2,000 protesters eventually made it to Davos, where demonstrations were peaceful.

However in Landquart, a town about 40 kilometres from Davos, police and about 2,000 protesters confronted one another. A stand off, which blocked rail traffic for several hours, occurred after about 250 members of the Olten Alliance and 200 trade union activists refused to submit to searches. Police reportedly used water cannons, rubber pellets and tear gas to control the crowd.

There were also clashes in Bern.

Washington requested that 2,000 Swiss troops and anti-aircraft weaponry guard the 33 rd WEF, where Secretary of State Colin Powell was among the attendees.

When asked about the protests and security in Davos Wells replied that the situation in Europe and the one in North America are not comparable.

"It is a different place," said Wells.

"Europe is a very different place than North America. I am sure you can draw some comparatives but as we knew before we are not able to draw anymore than our best conclusions and our best assurances on security and the best experiences that people have had.

"It is two different climates with two different sets of rules. It is quite different that way."