Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Let's hope saga is drawing to a close

It's with a happy heart that I write what I hope is my last letter on the Cheakamus Crossing asphalt plant saga. However the question of whether there will be any future litigation connected with the plant is still a nominally open question.

It's with a happy heart that I write what I hope is my last letter on the Cheakamus Crossing asphalt plant saga. However the question of whether there will be any future litigation connected with the plant is still a nominally open question.

It helps if you take out the asphalt plant context and apply some other similar local situations to the question. If you're running a nightly B&B in a local neighbourhood without proper zoning and try and justify it by saying, "I've been doing this for years, I have a lot invested in my business and someone at municipal hall told me it was okay," how far do you think that would take you?

Nor is the municipality liable for improvements made before re-zoning has been granted.

Look at the case of the recent garbage processing plant that was rejected by council, despite being encouraged by staff for several years.

There's a part of me that would love to hear what the relevant parties would have to say under oath in a courtroom about what was said and promised to whom in this whole sorry mess, but I don't think that would be in the community's long-term interest.

I also have a last piece of advice for the Whistler Development Corporation. Those Cheakamus Crossing market units are now more valuable by the factor of one less neighbourhood asphalt plant, and perhaps they should be allowed to stay on the market at their current value for a few more months to see if that will make a difference in their desirability.

David Buzzard

Whistler

 

A "waste" of an alternative

We are a family company and for 20 years have owned 16 acres, zoned for single resident use, at Whistler's Callaghan Valley.

In 2006 senior RMOW staff identified the need for alternative industrial sites and we started the process to rezone for such use.

Subsequently we have come upon the means and methods to develop a novel, but tested, system to manage the municipal waste and to harvest a year-round supply of high quality produce and fish in a Hydroponic/Aquaponic facility.

The novel system is not incineration and utilizes advanced emission controls that meet the highest standards.

If approved, we would be able to develop the site into an energy efficient, two-stage waste management facility which, after recycling glass and metals, currently buried in landfills, would deliver pure usable ash, along with heat and CO2 to enable food production.

The accrued benefits to the Community would be:

•Saving RMOW taxpayers over $600,000 annually.

•Increasing the amount of recycled-waste by 20 per cent, instead of current practice of burying in landfills.

•Lowering the carbon footprint.

•Delivering year-round local supply of sustainable, high-quality, vegetables and fish.

•Creating upwards of 25 local jobs.

•Helping underwrite Whistler Community Services and utilize excess food production.

•Promoting a University Research Facility to study: waste, the environment, CO2 utilization, greenhouse gases, and food production.

Regretfully, our proposal was not taken seriously nor was it given full attention by either the Council or the planners, nor were we permitted to present it fully in our presentation on March 15.

Our offering will process RMOW's waste for $65 per tonne, as our methodology is appropriately sized and does not require the huge capital outlay other systems have. It doesn't require a pre-processing facility for raw waste, and because we utilize the energy to heat greenhouses and other facilities, no expensive heat-to-energy conversion is required. Our letter to Council for the May 3rd meeting reiterates our position.

At the Mayor's urging, we are seeking public support, or public denunciation, for our undertaking.

We ask that citizens become informed on current practices, on our waste management proposal, its benefits and cost savings and then offer feedback to the administration and council

Our proposal and the proposed results should be compared to current processes and to those outlined under the Squamish Lillooet Regional Districts Waste Management Plan, as it is written, and as it has so far unfolded, which we described in our letter to council.

Whistler deserves a local solution that is under the control of the RMOW.

If implemented, our proposal could position Whistler as a sustainability leader and a place to visit to observe what is being done.  We believe what we propose will deliver meaningful use of the land and considerable community benefit.

Bob Scragg

City Centre Homes Ltd.

Neighbourly thanks

This letter is addressed not only to Mr. (Tim) Koshul, but also to everyone else who played an active part in the council's decision regarding the asphalt plant.

Life has lots of lessons for those who are looking for them. Today I picked up a local newspaper and this lesson didn't require much searching at all.

I read with joy that the council had issued a cease (and) desist letter to the asphalt plant down in Cheakamus Crossing.

Over the last year, I've seen this issue play out in the newspapers. I can't recall the exact number of times you've been told by other parties that your information is incorrect, or that you should let the issue go, but your persistence to fight for what you know to be right has paid off.

As I was watching it unfold over the last year, even though I supported you all, I did it silently.

There were numerous times where I wondered how you managed to still go back week after week to the council meetings, how your determination was still intact.

(Last week's) decision by council is not only a vindication of what you know to be right, but also a lesson to everyone who thinks that big battles like these can never be won.

I'm sure that by the time this letter reaches publication you will have already celebrated the news. From myself personally I would like to say "thank you" for all you have done to give Cheakamus Crossing the future it deserves.

Tim, if there ever is a candidate for Whistler Resident of the Year, you definitely have one vote.

Christopher Den Tandt

Cheakamus Crossing resident

 

Mountain culture is alive and well in Whistler!

The TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival this year was, without a doubt, a resounding success; a huge thank you and congratulations to Sue Eckersley and the entire Watermark Team for their tireless dedication to coordinating and executing all elements of the festival.

The many on-mountain events, from the World Ski Invitational to the Slush Cup, contributed to the celebration of sport and mountain culture. Thank you to the Whistler Blackcomb Events Team led by YP, Cate and Seb and all of the front-line staff, on the mountain and in the village, who helped to ensure the incredible atmosphere of the 10 day festival radiated through the entire resort.

Finally, thanks to all of the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival sponsors and resort partners. Without their support, this event would not happen. With over a month left to enjoy Whistler's "place like no other" mountain culture spirit, I'll see you on Blackcomb Mountain!

Dave Brownlie

President and COO, Whistler Blackcomb

 

 

All candidates' meeting draws hecklers

I attended the all-candidates meeting last week and was struck by something in particular about the whole get together.

It wasn't that there was candidates ready to put themselves out to the public and meet the tough (or easy) head on questions and scrutiny of the public, though that in itself is laudatory. It wasn't that I finally got to know a bit better the "lower profile" candidates whose personalities and personal takes on their party platforms became clear to me for the first time. And finally it wasn't that there was such a poor turnout by the public to see their candidates in person.

No, I was struck by the rudeness and aggressiveness of some of the audience towards the candidates that did not match their choice.

Some of these people in the audience were actually heckling the candidates, preventing them from speaking and shouting out and over the candidates' responses so that it actually made it difficult at times to hear the responses or have a reasonable discourse.

For reasons of clarity I have to point out that the hecklers were backing the Conservative candidate.

And the only reason I point this out is because it seems perfectly logical to me that the party and party leader that has utilized aggressive attack ads for years against its opponents and carries a general "U.S." (read United States) Republican style of politics and platform (anti -gun registry, anti-crime, pro-prison, anti-women etc) is most likely to produce an aggressive, anti-discussion type of supporter.

This is not to say that the party does not have reasonable, well thinking proponents, but rather it says that it is the party that is least likely to compromise and make a government work for the people rather than the specific interests of the party.

Paul O'Mara

Whistler

 

 

Roadside Rant

Can we please do away with roadside election signs already?

There are enough bad drivers on the road with enough distractions as it is. To fill their minds with bright colours, and names of different heritages, seems a bit cruel.

For me, it is infuriating.

When I am trying to concentrate on the road or simply take in the amazing view, the last thing I want is a reminder of how silly people can be, posted everywhere.

Please tell me why I vote for a specific person?

I am supposed to keep (up) on their daily business and how they handle each situation, catalogue it (in case they decide to run again) and then judge comparatively against other strangers.

Now, one could say this is because I am a youth, a transient, without worldly view or a plethora of other reasons (as to) why I am disenfranchised, but I  (would) argue that.

I do not think it is due to my lack of interest (but) rather (to) my lack of information. Sure, I could read up on what each candidate has planned and has to say but all of this is simply the empty election face put on by any candidate in any riding.

Instead of me voting on someone's 'brand' why don't the people who work with them on a daily basis, the fellow candidates from their own and other parties, vote based on the true nature they know and see, day-in, day-out.

Is it because, we, as constituents, are supposed to want accountability from these representatives?

If so, why doesn't this accountability run monthly or based on concrete objectives rather than arbitrary sums of years declared terms? I love that I live in a democracy, but choosing between Sally B and John D or maybe even Rupert F every two or four years seems like a mockery of a democracy. The illusion of choice. Surely it is more logical to have a hopeful candidate's (partisan and not) colleagues decide whether they are made for the job. Surely (it) is more cost effective to run a tally vote of board members than to hold an open election and try to remind everyone, even those who cannot hold a job down, to get out and vote.

But I am disenfranchised, and thus, I digress. In the days when driver safety has enforced hands free cell phones while driving, shouldn't large, rudimentary advertisements be the next thing to go? For the kids...

Andrew Bellew

Whistler

 

Meet and greet

Dear John Weston, One of your volunteers has a picture in the Pique (News)magazine holding a vandalized campaign sign.

Maybe it's just a sign. A sign that people don't care how many signs you plaster all over the valley.

Come and see us. Sign some autographs and meet your people instead of signing away all those trees your signs sacrificed themselves for.

I have nothing against your politics or what you might stand for, and this is not just a message to you, but all your campaigning colleagues who are looking to sign a commitment of leadership for our country.

A "sign of the times" is the caption.

This is the 21st century, sign an email or put up a Facebook page.

Signed, proud Whistler Village resident, voter, conservationist, recycler, tree lover.

Sarah Green

Whistler

 

Vote for a person, not a party

My wife and I attended the local all-candidates meeting at Whistler Secondary last Wednesday.

Overall it was an interesting and lively debate, and we wished more of Whistler took the opportunity to meet their candidates. In an effort to relay the experience, I can only offer my perspective, and to me there was a distinct division between the four candidates.

Watching our incumbent Conservative MP John Weston and his Liberal competitor Daniel Veniez parrot their respective parties' talking points, was simply watching two charismatic lawyers regurgitate the same dubious and hypocritical attacks that I've already heard in sound bites from their respective political parties. They seemed like local imitations of their leaders and the typical politician that everyone complains about.

Contrastingly, the Green candidate Brennan Wauters and the Progressive Canadian representative Roger Lagasse both spoke very genuinely on local and global topics that were important to them personally.

Unfortunately, a successful politician is often the connected lawyer who knows how to tow the party line, rather than the local volunteer intent on helping his neighbours.

So I urge your readers, and especially those who feel disenfranchised by the conventional political process, to not give up on our democratic system wholesale. If you don't want to vote for a party that plasters our town in signs and demands OUR representative vote how they tell them to. Instead, vote for a compassionate neighbour like Brennan or Roger.

Ryan Richardson

Whistler

 

Passing the torch

Re: Passing the Torch - Erin Osburn, April 14, 2011.

I agree with and congratulate Erin for voicing what I think are the concerns of many Pemberton residents in her letter last week regarding Mark Strahl carrying the Conservative banner for Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon.

To say that incumbent Chuck Strahl passing the torch to his son lacks integrity is an understatement. For me, however, it's not only the shady way that Mark had inside knowledge of his father's decision not to seek another seat in Parliament that disturbs me, but rather the prospect of the kitchen table advice Mark will be receiving from Dad throughout the election, and then once in Ottawa - if elected. I say this based on Chuck Strahl's recent voting record in the House of Commons, which is exactly the same as Randy Kamp's recent voting record (Mark Strahl has run Mr. Kamp's office for the last seven years).

A quick glance at recent votes makes me truly question the priority given to the Pemberton Valley region, the broader Chilliwack Fraser Canyon riding, and all Canadians from coast to coast. Seeds Regulation Act - N, Pension Protection - N, Free transit for Seniors - N, Family Leave - N, Gender Identity Expression - N, Affordable Housing - N, Tax Credit for Rural Graduates - N (taken from howdtheyvote.ca).

The "Nay" vote for the tax credit for rural graduates initiative is what I find to be the most laughable vote by the Conservatives, based on the repeated assertions that their main priority over all else is a strong and healthy economy.

This initiative in Parliament was designed to give an enormous tax credit to university and college graduates who relocated to rural areas, thereby strengthening and diversifying regional economies with talented and educated citizens.

Something stinks around here, and it's not the dog (poo) under the melting snow.

It's the systemic and blatant disregard on behalf of the Conservative Party with regards to the citizens they are supposed to represent.

The dynastic campaign Mark Strahl is running does nothing in my mind to make me think otherwise, and I urge all Pemberton residents to voice their concerns as well.

Danny Mason

Pemberton

 

 

Health care system on life support

The Fraser Institute has been tracking health care spending in Canada since 1996.

Despite dramatic increases in spending over the ensuing 15 years, there has been very little tangible increase in access or quality.

What we do have is legions of highly paid and entitled "administrators."  The growth in health care spending is simply not sustainable.

Time and again I am called upon to try and expedite people's access to health care services that they should not have to wait for. The system is broken and simply throwing an ever-increasing percentage of tax dollars at it is not going to solve the problem.

Writing blank cheques doesn't work.

The Liberals want you to believe that we can "cure" the health care crisis simply by cancelling an order for a few fighter jets "that don't even have engines" - that might cover health care costs for about six months.  Governments that promise all things to all people end up with massive debt (Greece, Portugal, etc., etc.) and fall victim to Wall Street snake oil salesmen in their desperation to "pull a rabbit out of the hat" and miraculously fund their entitlement obligations.

As a nation, we have to have the courage to own up to the fact that our "most cherished social program" is on life support and be prepared to consider options that preserve the best of Medicare but also incentivize it to optimize the value obtained, in terms of access and quality, for every dollar spent.

Disingenuous electioneering doesn't help.

Christopher Shackleton

Whistler

 

Wrist guards should be mandatory

Why aren't wrist guards compulsory for new snowboarders in Whistler?

I ask this simple, direct question after my 12-year-old daughter broke her wrist in the first hour of her first snowboarding lesson on her first day in Whistler earlier this month.

She spent all but that hour of our eight-day holiday in Whistler nursing her cast and watching movies, while her two older brothers (both good boarders) enjoyed the exceptional late season conditions.

When my daughter was taken to the Whistler (Health Care) Centre, not only did I have the shock of the $1,000 bill for the broken wrist, I was stunned to hear the attending doctor say that broken wrists are now the most common injury on the mountain, and all the patients are novice snowboarders.

Hers was not a major break: in fact, the doctor said that if my daughter had been wearing a wrist guard, she would not have suffered a fracture at all.

But the break was just serious enough to warrant a cast and keep her off the slopes, ruining her holiday.

I'm told that wrist guards are mandatory for all snowboarders taking lessons in both Australia and New Zealand. Given Whistler's wise encouragement of helmets, why not wrist guards for this category of boarders too?

As a middle-aged skier who's never tried boarding, I had no idea that when I kissed my daughter goodbye before leaving her in the care of the Whistler ski school, it was quite likely she'd have a broken wrist when I saw her next.

If anyone had warned me - the company we hired gear from, the attendant who sold me the lesson pass, the instructor with whom I left my daughter at Whistler kids, anyone at all! - I would have immediately hired wrist guards for her.

But it was only after the event that I found out how likely, and how preventable, a facture was...

...I appeal to all organizations on the mountain, from gear hirers to instructors to Intrawest authorities, to consider making wrist guards mandatory for new snowboarders. Failing that, at least give parents even odds of a successful holiday by strongly recommending wrist guards for their novice snowboarding offspring.

Megan James

Sydney, Australia

( Editor's note: wrist guards are not mandatory according to Whistler Blackcomb but snowboarders are offered the option if they rent equipment.)

 

Free shuttle bus cost?

When asked if some of the additional hotel tax would be used to offset part of the transit shortfall, the mayor replied that it had to be "tourist related."

Perhaps the mayor could answer one simple question. What portion of the transit budget covers routes 5 and 6 (FREE shuttle within the village) and how much the hotel tax contributes toward this?

Jim Kennedy

Whistler

 

 

Passing the torch

Re: Passing the Torch - Erin Osburn, April 14, 2011.

I agree with and congratulate Erin for voicing what I think are the concerns of many Pemberton residents in her letter last week regarding Mark Strahl carrying the conservative banner for Chilliwack Fraser Canyon.

To say that incumbent Chuck Strahl passing the torch to his son lacks integrity is an understatement. For me, however, it's not only the shady way that Mark had inside knowledge of his father's decision not to seek another seat in Parliament that disturbs me, but rather the prospect of the kitchen table advice Mark will be receiving from Dad throughout the election, and then once in Ottawa - if elected. I say this based on Chuck Strahl's recent voting record in the House of Commons, which is exactly the same as Randy Kamp's recent voting record (Mark Strahl has run Mr. Kamp's office for the last 7 years).

A quick glance at recent votes makes me truly question the priority given to the Pemberton Valley region, the broader Chilliwack Fraser Canyon riding, and all Canadians from coast to coast. Seeds Regulation Act - N, Pension Protection - N, Free transit for Seniors - N, Family Leave - N, Gender Identity Expression - N, Affordable Housing - N, Tax Credit for Rural Graduates - N (taken from howdtheyvote.ca).

The 'Nay' vote for the tax credit for rural graduates initiative is what I find to be the most laughable vote by the conservatives, based on the repeat assertions that their main priority over all else is a strong and healthy economy.

This initiative in Parliament was designed to give an enormous tax credit to university and college graduates who relocated to rural areas, thereby strengthening and diversifying regional economies with talented and educated citizens.

Something stinks around here, and it's not the dog (poo) under the melting snow.

It's the systemic and blatant disregard on behalf of the conservative party with regards to the citizens they are supposed to represent.

The dynastic campaign Mark Strahl is running does nothing in my mind to make me think otherwise, and I urge all Pemberton residents to voice their concerns as well.

Danny Mason

Pemberton