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Letters to the editor for the week of June 19th

Fisheries Roundtable does not support pipeline As a member of the Sea to Sky Fisheries Roundtable, I need to provide clarification on John Weston's letter to the editor in last week's Pique (June 12) — that our group is not supportive of the pr
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Fisheries Roundtable does not support pipeline

As a member of the Sea to Sky Fisheries Roundtable, I need to provide clarification on John Weston's letter to the editor in last week's Pique (June 12) — that our group is not supportive of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.

We do appreciate the opportunities John Weston has provided to meet with him, fellow Conservative MPs and the Fisheries Minister. Despite numerous meetings, the Conservative government's track record on fisheries issues has been very poor. Our group feels our voice is not being heard by the decision-makers.

In order to pave the path for this pipeline, we've seen the Fisheries Act changed by this government to allow for serious harm to fish, where "serious harm to fish" is defined as "death of fish or any permanent alteration to, or destruction of, fish habitat." Technically speaking, nothing in our world is "permanent," given enough time. This legislation was enacted in 2013.

These changes were not the only action taken by the federal government to degrade fisheries. Many Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) fisheries habitat staff were let go. If a leak does happen along a pipeline, who will be there to monitor it?

It gets worse. Late last year the National Energy Board reached an agreement with the DFO to assess potential impacts from oil pipelines to fish and fish habitat. Does this mean the National Energy Board will assess aquatic environmental impacts of a pipeline? Experts have said the "NEB has no expertise to do this type of work."

The Conservative government's record on transparency and acting on recommendations related to fisheries is weak. One only has to look as far as the lack of action on the 75 recommendations of the $26 million Cohen Inquiry into the collapse of Fraser River sockeye.

In short, an unprecedented amount of expertise and diligence went into this investigation, and Canadians believed their money was going towards finding solutions to protect salmon for future generations.

It's been well over a year since the final report was tabled; yet government has yet to provide an analysis of the final report, or detail how it will implement the recommendations.

Exporting raw bitumen is not good for the Canadian economy because it's not a value-adding endeavour. It's only good for a handful of large multinational oil companies.

According to Robyn Allan, a respected economist, our elected officials have created a false dichotomy pitting Canadians that care about the environment against those that care about the economy.

They continue to message, that if we don't hurry up and approve Northern Gateway, economic opportunities will be lost. She points out that, "As recently as 2008 Alberta's multinational oil producers planned to invest in upgrading and refining here in Canada ensuring the oil sector grew along with the extraction of raw resources. These projects would have taken Alberta's already strong downstream activity up a notch, stabilized the industry and securely established a domestic value-added supply chain."

Prime Minister Harper, when running for re-election in 2008, promised that bitumen would not be exported to Asia, but would be upgraded to synthetic crude oil in Alberta, keeping the jobs in Canada and eliminating the transport risk through B.C.

One has to wonder why Stephen Harper has backed away from this promise? More often than not, it seems like the prime minister and cabinet are more akin to marketing executives for foreign multinational oil companies than elected officials who should be protecting the public interest, boosting our economy and protecting our environment.

Our Sea to Sky Fisheries Roundtable hopes that John Weston brings our message forward to Prime Minister Harper and the Conservative cabinet ministers, before they make their final decision on Northern Gateway.

Dave Brown

Whistler

Coastal waters no place for tankers

Mr. John Weston's letter promoting Enbridge last week (Pique June 12) has prompted me to share my experience of 26 years plying our northern coastal waters as a commercial fisherman.

Storm-force winds frequent our central and north coast every winter. A place where we have staggering 24-foot tides and storms that come out of nowhere.   

Imagine being in the middle of Hecate Straight, far from land and the tidal current flooding and ebbing at a speed of two knots four times a day, back and forth. Anyone that endorses tankers navigating through these waters is not acting in the interest of British Columbians. It would only be a matter of time before an accident happened and our intricate coastline would make any oil clean up impossible.

On shore, Northern Gateway's proposed pipeline path through Super Natural B.C.'s unstable ground rife with snow and landslides is not sensible — and if there is a leak or incident, who will monitor the numerous stream crossings? Certainly not a neutered Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The federal government recently cut large swaths of habitat staff from the federal agency. And as for the company, Enbridge has a terrible track record when it comes to oil spills, like in the example near Kalamazoo Michigan, where a large rupture happened in 2010.

I was fortunate enough to participate in the Squamish Fisheries Roundtable meetings, in which John Weston was involved. It was led by an upstanding group of serious citizens committed to improving our watersheds and raising their concerns to their MP. However, after time, I became frustrated with Weston's lack of meaningful action. It became clear to me that he has very little power, and any good intentions he may have are simply just that. Unfortunately, we need someone to take real action.

This project makes little sense, including the economic angle, which has been debunked by experts. It's a sad day when Mr. Weston happily suggests his constituents support his position on Northern Gateway. Myself, and many I know, do not.  

Jim Horner

Whistler

Fiscal and regional fairness as practiced by BC Ferries

Who do the recent cuts to BC Ferries serve? Is BC Ferries currently being run to serve all coastal British Columbians, and the communities that depend on the coast? It appears not. A look into the figures show an interesting disparity between cuts to the ferry routes servicing Victoria and those to other routes — and the Central Coast in particular.

In January 2013 Maradadi Pacific Ltd. issued a report on fiscal fairness for ferry-dependent communities.

Maradadi stated that: "Fiscal fairness is the practice of government that ensures that all taxpaying citizens are treated in an equitable manner, where services are provided through government-supplied programs, or government-sanctioned monopolies including Crown Corporations. In a decentralized country like Canada, a strong fiscal transfer program is critical to ensure that all Canadians in all parts of the country have reasonably comparable levels of public services at reasonably comparable levels of cost."

For example, BC Hydro is obligated to deliver electricity to remote communities, even though they are more expensive to service than dense inner city areas, at a broadly similar cost. The same principle applies in the delivery of health care, postal service, and phone services.

The principle of fiscal fairness and regional equality has a long history in Canada, and today extends from the federal government to all other levels of government.

Maradadi focuses attention on the basic lack of fiscal fairness in providing provincial transportation links, i.e.: funding paved highways and bridges while marine highways are required to be paid for by users. However, there is also a shocking lack of fiscal fairness in the services provided by BC Ferries itself.

Route 40, to the remote Central Coast community of Bella Coola and Route 5, service from Victoria to the admittedly very beautiful southern Gulf Islands, have a similar ratio of revenue to expense but a wildly diverging level of subsidy. This is at its most extreme in the level of federal subsidy and particularly galling to residents of the Central Coast since the intent of the original federal subsidy was to support ferry service to the Central and North Coast.

The utilization rates on Route 40 and Route 5 do differ. Considering only the successful direct sailing between Port Hardy and Bella Coola on Route 40, the utilization rate is a respectable 48.25 per cent. It is therefore the fourth best performing of the "Non-Major Routes" (out of a total of 18 routes). Route 40 also saw a respectable 6.15 per cent growth in its capacity utilization in the year 2012 to 2013.

Nevertheless Route 40 has been cut completely. This cut is devastating a $6-million dollar tourism industry in the Cariboo-Chilcotin-Bella Coola corridor and on to Port Hardy. It is causing very significant economic hardship. Some businesses are reporting an 80-90 per cent drop in reservations for the summer season.

Compare and contrast that with the Route 5. There are zero cuts on this route even though fully 16.6 per cent of sailings have utilization of less then 10 per cent. There are 46 sailings per week with less than a dozen cars, and many of those might have only one or two cars.

There is even one sailing a week that reports zero per cent overall utilization (no passengers on board but presumably fully staffed). Furthermore Route 5 experienced a 2.12 per cent decline in ridership between March 2012 and March 2013. Nevertheless, not a single sailing was cut or even proposed for cuts in November 2013.

Minister (Todd) Stone self righteously stated in the Legislature on May 15, 2014: "I think that the height of hypocrisy... vessels that have single-digit utilizations. Again, I challenge the Leader of the Opposition to stand up and to tell British Columbians... Does he... support running ferries in British Columbia with more staff on board than passengers? I think British Columbians would be very interested to know what the answers to those questions are."

Indeed, we here in the Central Coast, would very much like an answer to this question. The direct sailing to Bella Coola had 48.25 per cent occupancy, but was cut while sailings to holiday homes for Victoria decision makers, many running below 10 per cent occupancy, had absolutely zero cuts. This is the height of hypocrisy. We could not have said it better.

Is there an economic reason for the complete closure of Route 40? Did it need to be cut because the revenue doesn't support the expenses?

Analyzing data from BC Ferries Annual Report Ending Mar 31, 2013 shows that Route 5 and Route 40 broadly have a ratio of revenue to expense that is very similar at 31 per cent and 29 per cent. The cost of operating Route 40 cannot therefore be the reason the government and BC Ferries determined it needed to be closed. After all, Route 5 is being supported and was not even considered for cuts.

In another interesting coincidence, no cuts were proposed to Routes 4 or 12 either, also routes servicing the Victoria area.

Why are services into and out of Victoria not being considered for cuts?

Where is the voice for the Central Coast, the Chilcotin and Cariboo when "difficult" decisions are being made on which routes are cut?

Our Victoria-based decision makers could not bear to inflict a single inconvenience to themselves and their access to weekend holiday routes, but were happy to suggest that the Central Coast should simply "get used to it!"

Clearly, the ideal of "Fiscal Fairness and Regional Equality" in British Columbia, no longer counts. In the current regime, remote communities are being taxed to support gold-plated services for the elites in Victoria. What services will we be asked to support next: more affordable hydro for just the lucky few; the postal system; or maybe superior public medical services for those well connected?

I do apologize to the regular residents and businesses on the southern Gulf Islands for bringing attention to this inequity. Our intent is not to reduce ferry services to your communities, but instead to "Bring back the Queen of Chilliwack" to Bella Coola so that we do not become a dead end community! After all she has been refurbished at sole cost to Route 40, to last until 2018.

Beat Steiner, co-owner and business manager Bella Coola Heli Skiing

Whistler

First Nations must be part of OCP

We hope that the Supreme Court decision on Whistler's Official Community Plan (OCP) will remind the present and future councils that our First Nation neighbours have unique constitutional rights, which need to be respected in decision making. Beyond this, though, the decision provides an opportunity for all of us to reflect on our relationship with First Nations.

Given Canada's appalling treatment of indigenous people throughout our history, promoting social justice in decisions affecting First Nations is essential for all levels of government.

Considered in light of this history, it is surely not asking much to say that First Nations should always be involved in such decisions, and that their rights should be made a priority. It is also reasonable to propose that we should not only be considering legal constitutional rights, but also simple fairness, good will, and neighbourliness.

Unfortunately, neither an awareness of the Constitution, nor good will, was evident in Whistler council's decision to push forward with an OCP that ultimately failed the constitutionality test. By doing this, Whistler has missed an opportunity to promote good relations with our First Nations neighbours, the Squamish and Lillooet peoples.

It is not too late, however, to make a gesture of goodwill. We propose that the Whistler council make an apology for their actions to the local First Nations. This will not solve the problem of the OCP, but it may go some distance toward improving relationships in the future.

Mike Burnett

Member, Whistler Social Justice Committee

Hurley Road closure hurting Pemberton business?

My toilet crapped out earlier this week. The wax seal at the base of the toilet gave out, sending first an intermittent drip into the basement below and then a steady pissing of water onto the wine storage racks holding the finest quality Fort Berens wine. The toilet was removed, found to be defective and therefore taken directly to the Gold Bridge Transfer Station en route to its everlasting grave in a landfill site.

Normally, in situations such as this, I would jump in my truck and drive over to Pemberton (a two hour drive) for a new toilet, and if the hardware store there didn't have it, on to a building supply store in Whistler or Function Junction. But, I could not do that because. . .the Hurley River road is not open!

The building supply store in Lillooet did not have the choice of toilet I needed, so I drove on to Kamloops — a four-hour drive in total from Gun Lake. I bought the toilet I needed at Home Depot, plus some flooring tile to repair the floor. And, since I was in Kamloops I bought a supply of boat gas at Costco, and filled up two twenty-five pounders of propane for the barbecue.

After a visit to Save-On-Foods for some fresh fruit and vegetables, I headed back to Gun Lake, leaving behind in Kamloops about $1,000 in cash and carrying a truckload of stuff. I would have preferred to spend this money in Pemberton, but I could not because. . . the Hurley River road is not open!

I like shopping in Pemberton, and I do business with several of the merchants there. Pemberton Nurseries created and planted a couple of lovely gardens in my property, and Al would have been back to check on these gardens, but could not because ... (well you may have guessed it by now why he hasn't been around yet). Lois and I love staying at the Pemberton Lodge, one of the nicest hotels in B.C. But, we haven't stayed there this year yet.

Many people around Gun Lake do business in Pemberton. I am not the only Pemberton customer in this area. I wonder if (anyone has) taken into account this loss of business in the Pemberton area caused by the government's failure to open the Hurley River Road by plowing the snow off. Probably not.

It seems to me it is Jordan Sturdy's duty as MLA for this region to serve the needs of the people, residents and businesses alike.

Isolating the residents and visitors of this valley is not serving us.

My toilet got thrown into the landfill because it no longer served a useful purpose. I know it is a bit of a stretch, but it might be seen as a metaphor for politicians who are not been seen as serving the needs of their electorate.

Dave Watkins

Gun Lake

Where's the Whistler hospitality gone?

My partner, Darren Pedersen, (and I) were part of the Diamond Car Rally that came up to Whistler this past Saturday June 14, 2014. 

We were greeted outside the Four Seasons hotel with the "finger" and (On Sunday morning we found a note attached to our car which read, "Dear Stupid Porsche owner; Why don't you try investing your money into actually helping people unfortunate enough to have colon cancer rather than spending over $100 grand on a car..." 

In response to the note, the owner of the "stupid Porsche" is my partner, Darren, who was diagnosed last August with Stage 3 colorectal cancer (this was by the way three months after his sister, Kelly Schmidt, who was also with us on the rally, was diagnosed with brain cancer).

Since then, Darren has undergone six months of chemotherapy and radiation and on January 3, 2014 had surgery, an iliostomy that removed his entire large intestine and all his lymph nodes leaving him with an ostomy bag. In this time Kelly also underwent brain surgery, you can read more about her journey back to health at her blog http://neverfeltmagiccrazyasthis.tumblr.com

This Diamond Car Rally was Darren's way of keeping his mind off of cancer and doing something, namely building awareness for colon cancer, and encouraging his friends, family and clients to go get checked.

On Saturday (we raised) $8,550 of our $10,000 goal to purchase a TEM insufflator machine for the colorectal surgery group at St. Paul's Hospital, which does the majority of surgeries for the entire province of B.C. (this includes Whistler residents). 

Darren's surgeon, Dr. Manoj Raval was also with us on this rally.

Why not take the fear and shame out of colon cancer (no one every wants to talk about it or admit they have it) and continue to enjoy life as best we can and indulge our passions of loving beautiful cars? It's not everyone's thing, but I was so shocked at this note we received I have not even shown it to Darren. Kelly, his sister saw it and she broke down in tears.

We have put so much into this fundraiser — both financially and our time—and on our blogs and our new website www.thecancerstore.ca.

I really want to set the record straight, the person that wrote this note was unfair and totally cruel jumping to assumptions.

I want to challenge them to come forward and hear what others and we are doing to fight colon cancer and help others. I can be contacted at info@thecancerstore.ca 

Whistler is a beautiful place, usually filled with beautiful people and this was a horrible display of thought and actions...

Leanne D. Chan

Whistler

Chilliwack cattle cruelty

A hot item in the news this week was the story about the animal abuse at the Chilliwack Cattle Sales, Canada's largest dairy farm and supplier to Dairyland and Saputo.  

The cruelty was exposed by Mercy for Animals Canada (which) shared footage of cows being beaten, punched, kicked and hung by their necks with chains and tractors. The Vancouver Humane Society confirmed in a letter to the Vancouver Sun that this kind of treatment of animals is actually the norm, rather than the exception.

Most people would agree that this type of treatment is unacceptable and that they are against all cruelty to animals. Sadly though, our food choices can so often be the cause of animal suffering because we are creating demand for the products provided by companies such as Chilliwack Cattle Sales. The good news is that there are alternatives. These alternatives often also have the added benefit of being better for our health and the environment as well.

It can be daunting to think about making changes to our diets, but people often report that once they have made a change, it wasn't as hard as they expected.

There are many delicious alternatives to dairy and meat products, and in Whistler we are lucky to have grocery stores that are very well stocked with these alternatives.

We also have a local group, Earthsave Whistler, which meets regularly for plant-based potlucks and dine-outs. These events are a great way to meet people who are also trying alternatives to meat and dairy, as well as get recipe ideas and try out new dishes. Everyone is welcome to join the events, and there is no requirement to be a vegetarian or vegan.

Earthsave Whistler also provides a list of restaurants in Whistler where vegetarian and vegan dishes can be found —earthsavewhistler.com/restaurants.

If you are interested in adding more meat and dairy alternatives into your diet, I encourage you to check out chooseveg.ca and earthsavewhistler.com and come along to our next potluck!

Hayley Ingman

Earthsave Whistler

Hunting and sustainable harvesting

I like to consider myself a liberal with a conservative bent, or a left-leaning conservative. Somewhere around the middle is where I find myself most of the time, but I have a strong opinion or two from time to time.

Here's one of them: After reading "Maxed Out" I felt compelled to share my opinion on "killing majestic animals." While I personally don't go for trophy hunting where an animal is taken purely for its horns, antlers or pelt — I do practice in the sustainable harvest of wild food.

I don't see any difference in the majesty of a 181-kilogram bull moose and a domesticated pig or cow. They are all beautiful, alive and very tasty.

Animals harvested for food under Ministry of Fish, Wildlife and Habitat Management regulations are far and away the norm. Hunters out solely for a big rack to hang on their wall are extremely rare.

People who eat meat from the supermarket, but can't understand those of us who choose to harvest our own from the woods around our homes, are narrow minded, hypocritical and cowardly. It's not easy to take the life of an animal, but if it's done properly it's completely ethical, whether it comes from a farm or a forest.

I wonder if the people who work on the killing floors of the abattoirs, where grocery store meat comes from, understand the term "barbaric glory."

Clay Dowling

Whistler

Change in policy not good for families

We find ourselves once again relying upon the free press to defend the interests of the common man from corporate domineering. I refer specifically to a new rule posted in bold letters at Dusty's — "No Kids After 7 PM" — that appeared on their front door a few weeks ago.

I'm no tea-totalling prude, but I am also not a mad, raving freedom-at-all-costs card-carrying NRA member. I'm just a 40-something dad who likes to have a beer while his sons have a hot chocolate and chicken fingers... but now, apparently, my family is a threat to public safety after 7 p.m. How did this happen?

I vaguely followed the story of loosening liquor laws in this province last fall so an arcane clampdown at Dusty's caught me totally unawares. What happened to the 8 o'clock rule I've lived happily with for years?

I was advised by my friendly host at Dusty's there was no point asking the Whistler-Blackcomb food service types about the matter because this policy was the brainchild of BC Liquor. After a call to those folks, I find this is quite untrue.

Ironically, my eight year old can now ride all over the mountain by himself with WB's complete blessing, but if he is sitting in Dusty's at 7:01 p.m., they need to physically remove him!

This can't be happening. Where did the sanity go? Given the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch made no changes in policy, I need to speculate why Dusty's has begun to lean toward this Methodist way of thinking.

My guess is a liquor inspector came walking through after eight one evening and found some minors still on the premises. I'm quite sure the staff started asking them to wrap things up and leave 45 minutes earlier — but you know how some of the "entitled" class Whistler attracts behave — "No-way Jose! Do you know who I am!" Of course when this happened, Dusty's likely got a $500 fine, eating up a week of summer profits (or nine minutes of them on a sunny March afternoon).

Though I started this rant ready to tar and feather poor Dusty and his handlers, I have talked myself onto another train of thought. Isn't it the patron's fault they are still in the place after eight once forewarned? Every server knows the provincial rule and the consequences. Accordingly, they always give you plenty of time to drink up and pack out. If you choose to be obstinate and not leave, could they not provide you your bill and a written notice saying you have been asked to leave? At 8, you should also get a warning stating YOU will be responsible for paying the $500 fine.

Dusty's and WB have over-reacted to a simple problem. LCLB, though they have changed nothing, do not have clean hands in this matter either as their punitive measures have scared WB straight — for doing nothing terribly wrong. The last party with responsibility for forcing the 7 p.m. rule are the hangers-oners with underage kids who just can't take direction when asked to "wrap things up."

Between the three of them, there has to be a solution that doesn't step on my damn toes! I'd love to hear from any of these parties in response to my letter, explaining why we can't have things the way they were.

Robert Mitchell

Whistler

MP's letter was just party line

John Weston's letter in both papers last week (Pique June 12, and Question June 10) contained a lot of fluff. Every bit of it Harper's party line of course. Disappointing but hardly surprising.

Mr. Weston writes with pride about the 1,450 people who spoke and the 9,000 letters written to the Joint Review Panel hearings last year concerning Northern Gateway. Lots of communication. What he doesn't mention is that 96 per cent of them spoke/wrote against Northern Gateway (Forest Ethics website). The panel approved it anyway.

Mr. Weston lauds Harper's government's investment in renewable fuels, addressing climate change, and pollution. The fact is Canada came dead last in a global ranking for environment protection by Washington's Center for Global Development. That's 27th out of 27 wealthy countries (Globe and Mail, Nov. 8, 2013). Canada is falling behind because the Harper Government is stuck in a time warp without any vision of change for the future.

Mr. Weston writes that the fossil fuel resource industry (LNG, Kinder Morgan, Northern Gateway, etc.) will provide opportunities "for generations." Does he really think human progress and innovation will cease because the Harper government believes our future will remain unchanged from today? Same gas guzzlers, same digging dirty oil out of vast tracts of land, same fracking, with no adverse climate change, for our children and our children's children?

Recently the Globe and Mail carried two articles —the first concerned a letter signed by three hundred scientists urging Harper to reject the Northern Gateway project, as the Joint Panel Review failed to explain how the benefits outweigh serious risks and ignored global warming concerns, the second concerned a letter signed by forty past and present politicians (of a certain political stripe) and "business leaders" (including the head of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers) encouraging Harper to approve the Northern Gateway Project.

Mmmm, such a dilemma. Who to believe — three hundred scientists, or forty businessmen and politicians?

Jane Reid

Whistler

Voters looking for representation

Conserve: conserve (v.) late 14c., from Old French conserver (9c.), from Latin conservare "to keep, preserve, keep intact, guard," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + servare "keep watch, maintain" (see observe). Related: Conserved; conserving. As a noun (often conserves) from late 14c.

When did the current conservative party hijack the use of the word that forms their name?

How would the Northern Gateway project keep, preserve, keep intact, guard this non renewable resource for Canadians? How would this project preserve our coast, our environment, our future? How would this project guard B.C.'s number one natural resource, which is tourism? The current (conservative leader of) your party would have Robert Stanfield rolling in his grave. Yes, I am old and even used to vote conservative. (But I am) not interested in voting for a right wing republican party

MP John Weston's letter to the editor sounds like it came direct from the Prime Minister's Office. Spouting terms like "world class" is so insulting to anyone with half a brain. Mr. Weston's using the term world class in regards to spill response knowing full well that only 10 to 15 per cent of spilled oil in the ocean can be recovered, is just more word abuse. Mr. Weston, when will you start representing your constituents, when are you and your colleges going to say enough is enough and stand up to Harper? Would you prefer to (be) Harper's mouthpiece and get defeated in the next election, or speak up for your constituents and risk getting kicked out of the party and maybe have a chance as getting re-elected as an independent?

Ray Mason

Pemberton

Keep oil processing in Canada

Much ado about moving oil safely over land and sea, and how lost projects will be a detriment to Canada's best interest with missed opportunities. Our Conservative MP in his recent letter (Pique June 12) had a lot of reference to his sustainable environmental approach to climate change.

His reference to the Taseko Mine project was not about thousands of imagined jobs lost, but about the mines inability to take care of their tailings, which they wanted to use to destroy a lake.

This rush to get profit established without knowing what to do with the garbage, which (has) a cost if we just dump it on the ground has been common throughout our history.

In the case of oil, the centre of any discussion is that the whole world knows that we need to reduce our carbon pollution. Shipping any out of the country does not do that. If we keep all our oil here and refine enough here for our own use we need not import any. Refining in Canada will produce lots of jobs of longer endurance and this applies to our natural gas too. Use it here without energy waste of shipping it out.

Terry Smith

Squamish

PPW Ironmen fundraising thanks

Two associates from Pan Pacific Whistler, and two husbands of associates, will be competing in Ironman Canada on July 27. Not content with just running in the race they have also set themselves a target of raising $10,000 for Canuck Place Children's Hospice!

On Tuesday 10th June we held a fundraiser and silent auction at Creekbread where we raised over $1,900.00. Added to the donations we have already received we are now half way to our target with all proceeds going directly to Canuck Place Children's Hospice.

Firstly, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Creekbread for hosting us, and providing an avenue such as this with which to raise funds for good local causes.

Secondly, we would like to thank the following partners for their generous donations which made the silent auction so successful – Pan Pacific Whistler, Whistler Day Spa, Salomon Store, Helly Hansen, Whistler Bungee, Scandinave Spa, Nicklaus North Golf Club, Adventure Group – SuperFly Ziplines, Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub, Longhorn Saloon and Tapleys Pub, Whistler Tasting Tours, Whistler Eco Tours, Ziptrek EcoTours, Bounce Whistler, the Meet Your Maker team and Lisa Geddes.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who came out on the evening to enjoy pizza, to bid on the silent auction and donate to such a worthy cause.

You can find us on Facebook (Pan Pacific Whistler Ironmen for Canuck Place Children's Hospice) or follow us on Twitter (@ppwironmen) to keep up to date with our progress and future fundraising events, including a Spinathon in Village Square on Friday 27th June!

Zoé Martin

On behalf of the Pan Pacific Whistler Ironmen Team

Time to stand up for the animals

The link attached (http://www.mercyforanimals.ca/dairy/) show(s) what has recently been happening nearby in the Chilliwack Cattle Company. They are abusing animals and torturing them wrongfully.

How is there not a law to prevent this from happening in Canada? Not to mention in B.C.?

Chilliwack is Canada's largest dairy farm — I wouldn't call it a farm, as there is no farmer to be found. It is a factory, and the animals are treated as such. I think people need to wake up and see what is actually happening behind the scenes.

For those who wish to still consume dairy — stop closing your eyes! Open them and see in most cases if not all, at a restaurant if you have cheese it came from dairyland/saputo, which came from Chilliwack, that cow was beaten, tortured and terrified and that energy is transferred into your food.

How does that make you feel? Our energy if affected by what we put into our bodies, wouldn't you rather have fresh milk/cheese from a cow who got to roam pastures and have fresh air? Or do you prefer the sick, diseased cows (that) are confined to factories where the lighting is automated, the milking is automated, and they get beaten if they don't comply. It's up to you. Cast your vote when you shop.

Ask your local restaurant to stop sourcing from Chilliwack if they currently do. Little by little we can make a difference and force laws to be made to protect these beautiful animals.

I urge everyone and anyone who cares to take a stand and write to our Premier Christy Clark and voice your concern.  Someone needs to stand up for these animals.

Robin Jewers

Whistler

Rozsypalek Memorial Park thanks

On Saturday June 7, Pemberton's newly named Rudy Rozsypalek Memorial Park welcomed over 300 people. Thanks to the generosity of these participants, as well as the many from near and far that were not able to attend, the inaugural fundraiser raised almost $16,000!

The weather was perfect and the park was full of people, young and old, enjoying the beautiful scenery, wonderful entertainment and appetizing eats. The funds raised will go a long way to revitalizing this park space and adding some unique features for all to enjoy.

There are so many local businesses, groups and individuals to thank, but none of this would have been possible without the tremendous effort of the Pemberton Lions Club on the BBQ, the Pemberton Valley Supermarket for their generous contribution and the Village of Pemberton office, maintenance and Fire Department staff for their wonderful support towards this event.

(For a full list go to www.piquenewsmagazine.com)

Donna Hasan

Pemberton