SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 ISSUE 33.38
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Chasing conflict Does your dog make you safer in bear country?
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TO THE POLLS What you need to know ahead of election day Oct. 17
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YOUNG VOICES AWARE helping young people turn climate concern into action
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THIS WEEK IN PIQUE
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Chasing conflict Does your dog make you safer in bear country? - By Nick Mott / Mountain Journal
06 OPENING REMARKS With 21 names on the ballot, candidates must give voters a 10 TO THE POLLS The ballots are set across the Sea to Sky for the Oct. 17 election. reason to remember them—and voters have some homework to do, writes editor Braden Dupuis.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of election day.
08 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR This week’s letter-writers weigh in on Whistler’s
11 YOUNG VOICES AWARE is helping young people turn climate concern into collective
transportation woes, and share thanks for a successful fundraiser.
action and influence the institutions with the power to make change.
26 RANGE ROVER Hotel Eldorado represents a century of history, hospitality and
34 PARADIS FOUND Whistler Mountain Ski Club alum Manuel Osborne-Paradis
reinvention on the shores of Okanagan Lake, writes Leslie Anthony.
reflects on a trailblazing career and his Canadian Ski Hall of Fame induction.
50 PIQUE’N YER INTEREST Layoffs leave scars, even when you survive them—
38 HEART OF THE LION ZADA brings her genre-blending sound to the Point
but sometimes right-sizing really is the right call, writes Vince Shuley.
alongside King Cruff and Teon Gibbs on Sept. 26.
COVER On more than one occasion my little guy has proven he’s much more bear smart than I am. - By Jon Parris // @jon.parris.art
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4 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
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OPENING REMARKS
Off and running JUST LIKE THAT, B.C.’s 2026 municipal election season is underway. And after Friday, Sept. 11’s candidate deadline, voters in Whistler will have no shortage of options come election day on Oct. 17. There are a whopping 17 names on the ballot for Whistler’s six council seats, along with four candidates for mayor.
BY BRADEN DUPUIS With all seven incumbents running again, it will be a tough nut for the new names to crack. Still, having 21 people put their names forward for local office is encouraging. It’s a sign of a healthy democratic process, and more options—and a broader range of ideas—are always better than fewer. So let the record show that I support this vibrant display of local democracy wholeheartedly. Now, having said that: Holy hell there are a lot of you. For voters, a ballot like this runs the risk of turning into a bit of a blur, especially when seemingly every local community group now feels obliged to host its own all-candidates meeting. (Seriously… do we really need four of these things?) By the third or fourth, even the candidates themselves may struggle to remember whether they have already delivered their closing remarks. Somewhere around Question 47 on the precise future of pickleball infrastructure, one of them may simply wander into the woods. I know I would. And that’s before we get to the campaign websites, social-media accounts, lawn signs (are we doing lawn
signs this year?), mailouts, candidate profiles, questionnaires and carefully staged portraits featuring some combination of mountains, children, bicycles, dogs and folded arms. By Oct. 17, Whistler voters will have absorbed enough candidate biographies to populate a modest-sized high-school yearbook—and enough variations on “I came to Whistler for one season and never left” to last another four years. For those running, then, the challenge won’t simply be convincing voters they are capable of doing the job. It will be giving them some reason to remember which one they are. That doesn’t require a gimmick or catchy slogan—though I suspect we’ll encounter both before election day. Nor does it require becoming Whistler’s newest and least comfortable TikTok personality. It requires a few clear ideas, honestly presented, about what Whistler needs and how the municipality can
affordability or enthusiastic about traffic congestion. None will campaign on a pledge to make municipal permitting slower and more bewildering, even if such a platform might at least distinguish them from the pack. The differences will emerge in the details: what they would build, where they would build it, how they would pay for it and what they would be willing to sacrifice along the way. It is easy to promise better services, lower taxes, more housing, less development, unrestricted recreation and abundant free parking. It becomes slightly harder when someone asks how all those pieces are supposed to occupy the same physical and financial universe. For the incumbents, the campaign comes with a different challenge. They have four years of votes, decisions and public statements behind them. Experience is an advantage, but it also
another term. You don’t have to attend all four allcandidates meetings. Frankly, unless you are being paid to do so, I’m not sure anyone should. But attend one. Read the profiles. Pick a few issues that matter to you and find out where the candidates stand. Reach out to them directly. Municipal government may lack the spectacle of its provincial and federal counterparts, but its decisions shape much of what we encounter every day—from our roads and parks to our homes, taxes and garbage. And unlike federal politics, your municipal candidates are close enough that you may later encounter them in the grocery store and ask why your street still has a pothole. That is democracy at its most intimate—and vaguely threatening. Over the next few weeks, Pique will do its best to introduce all the candidates, examine their ideas and help readers
Most candidates will support more employee housing, responsible spending, environmental protection, better transit and a strong tourism economy. Some will develop or modify policy proposals on the fly depending on which lobby group most recently got in their ear. realistically deliver it. Most candidates will support more employee housing, responsible spending, environmental protection, better transit and a strong tourism economy. Some will develop or modify policy proposals on the fly depending on which lobby group most recently got in their ear. (Keep an eye on how the campaign platforms evolve after the tennis club’s all-candidates meeting, for example.) Few candidates will declare themselves openly hostile to
comes with receipts. The new candidates, meanwhile, get to run against the record without having one of their own—which is politically convenient, right up until someone asks them what they would have done differently. For voters, the task is equally straightforward, if somewhat more exhausting: pay attention, ask questions and resist the temptation to simply check off the six names you recognize— or blindly reward the incumbents with
separate the names, faces and platforms. Candidates, tell us who you are, what you would do and why voters should remember you when confronted with a ballot long enough to require its own table of contents. Voters, start doing your homework. The gates are open, the field is crowded and there are five long weeks of campaigning ahead. And to whoever is maintaining the candidate spreadsheet: Godspeed. Oh wait. It’s me? n
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR to get an evacuation order at other than the perfect moment? We are going to need, need now, an increased diversity in through-town transport. Our highway blockages, parking problems, and systematic transport problems associated with through-truck transport, and supply transport, and even our community busing setbacks, will not go away by wishful thinking, or by allowing them to get so bad that fewer people will come. Al Whitney // Whistler
Whistler transportation woes won’t go away with wishful thinking While we are often critical of the mismatch between political promises and ongoing action, we should also look at changes and lack thereof as a result of the planning and perhaps lack of foresight at both the political level and the municipal hall level from years past. Specifically I would encourage both our politicians and municipal planners to assess what has been missed over the years, as Whistler has moved successfully in the area of housing, public facilities, and just being a great place to live. Whistler is a town that in many respects is like a tunnel. We have one major thoroughfare to serve a population that in the main more than doubles during holidays and weekends. The evident result is long traffic blockages when entering our town either Friday evening or Saturday morning, and equally bad blockages in the late afternoon on Sundays and other holiday endings. In many respects this seems to be as planned! Some past councils and planners were of the opinion that if we provided for cars, there would just be more cars. How has this worked so far? The twolane highway from just south of Function was the result of a council decision and may have been right at the time. No one now thinks it is the right idea today, and the council of the day seems to defer to Victoria, and deny any influence. The more recent decision to leave the south exit of West Side Road as it was, rather than continue it through Function and on to south of the rail overhead is in my view a failure in planning and in foresight. Many will not be aware of the amount of traffic that exits the parking lots bound for Vancouver by turning north to Alpine Meadows and taking the West Side Road to the slightly lesser block at the exit south of Creekside. The lack of a road through from Cheakamus Crossing to Creekside, while the other hand of council encourages more housing there, is yet another example. Where is the council, and where is the planning department that will look beyond the immediate election cycle, and see future consequences? There is now another important reason for some futurism, and that is escape. We are recent recipients of a brochure from the Resort Municipality of Whistler on what to do in an emergency, stating the obvious of be informed. Has anyone in planning looked at what will happen on our single highway out of town if we were
8 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
More than $28K raised at Whistler SuperWalk for Parkinson’s
“We have one major thoroughfare to serve a population that in the main more than doubles during holidays and weekends. The evident result is long traffic blockages when entering our town...” - AL WHITNEY
PIQUE EARNS FIVE CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSMEDIA AWARDS Pique Newsmagazine has earned five national honours at the 2026 Canadian Community Newsmedia Awards, including two first-place finishes. LIZ MCDONALD took top honours in the Best Feature Story category for publications with a circulation between 4,000 and 9,999 for “Foto Finish,” her look back at the history of Whistler’s Foto Source following the longtime local business’s closure. LUKE FAULKS also earned first place for Best Agricultural Story for “Pemberton farmers brace for impact of trade war.” Published in March 2025, the story explored how the escalating Canada-U.S. trade dispute—and the uncertainty surrounding tariffs on produce, equipment and other goods—was affecting Pemberton’s agricultural community. Sports reporter DAVID SONG received two awards. He placed second for Best Coverage of the Arts among publications with a circulation of up to 9,999, while his feature “Adapted for Achievement” earned third place for Best Feature Story in the 4,000-to-9,999 circulation category. Editor BRADEN DUPUIS rounded out Pique’s wins with a second-place finish in the Outstanding Columnist category, for his series focused on Whistler’s municipal hall: “The case for a Whistler DOGE” (Aug. 15, 2025); “Vote for me” (Oct. 17, 2025); and “The ‘sacred cows’ of Whistler’s 2026 budget” (Nov. 14, 2025). The annual Canadian Community Newsmedia Awards celebrate excellence in local journalism from publications across the country. The 2026 competition recognized work published in 2025. 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.
Whistler, you showed up! On Sept. 13, more than 200 people gathered under sunny skies at the PassivHaus in Lost Lake for the Whistler SuperWalk for Parkinson’s—and what a morning it was. Together, our community has raised more than $28,000 and counting for the Parkinson Society of British Columbia. Donations remain open until Sept. 30, but already the generosity and support have been truly remarkable. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who walked, donated, cheered, and helped make the morning so special. Julia Murray got us moving with a fantastic shuffle dance, Susie Douglas led an amazing warm-up, and Ian Goldstone kept us fuelled with fresh cookies and apples while generously helping make the PassivHaus space available to us.
“A heartfelt thank you to everyone who walked, donated, cheered...” - MIKE, AUDRA AND JIM
Huge kudos also goes to our incredible volunteers—the people who arrived early to set up, marshalled the course, cheered everyone on, provided First Aid support, and stayed behind to clean up. Your energy, smiles, and willingness to pitch in made the day possible. For the organizing team, seeing so many neighbours, friends, families, and supporters come together was incredibly meaningful. Parkinson’s touches many lives, and on Sunday, Whistler reminded us of the strength that comes from showing up for one another. More than a walk, it was a community taking care of its community. Thank you, Whistler. We couldn’t be prouder. With gratitude, Mike, Audra and Jim // The Whistler SuperWalk Organizing Team n
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NEWS WHISTLER
Who’s running in the Sea to Sky’s 2026 local elections? EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE VOTING IN WHISTLER, PEMBERTON AND THE SLRD
BY BRADEN DUPUIS THE BALLOTS are set for the 2026 general local elections, and voters across the Sea to Sky will have plenty of decisions to make before heading to the polls Saturday, Oct. 17. Four candidates are running for mayor in Whistler, alongside 17 candidates seeking six council seats. Pemberton has two candidates for mayor and five for four council positions, while two of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District’s four electoral areas will see contested races. Here’s who is running—and when and where to vote.
WHISTLER
Incumbent Mayor Jack Crompton is seeking a third term in the mayor’s chair. He is being challenged by Lance Bright, Brandon Smith and Marco Zunino. All six incumbent councillors are also seeking re-election: Arthur De Jong, Jen Ford, Ralph Forsyth, Cathy Jewett, Jessie Morden and Jeff Murl. They are joined on the ballot by Nicole Baudisch, Raul Bautista, John Blok, Robin Brown, Michael Burnett, Tina James, Ivan Otto, Mandy Rousseau, Claire Ruddy, Dawn Titus and Eduardo Vazquez-Vela. Voters may select one candidate for mayor and up to six for council. Susan Hamersley and incumbent Cynthia Higgins were the only two candidates nominated for Whistler’s two seats on the Sea to Sky School District board and will therefore be elected by acclamation. Candidate biographies, contact information and nomination packages
BALLOT DECISIONS Election day is Oct. 17. PHOTO BY SHAUNL / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
10 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
are available on the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s election candidate page at whistler.ca/mayor-council/municipalelection. General voting takes place Saturday, Oct. 17 at Myrtle Philip Community School. Advance voting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 7 and Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Whistler Public Library.
PEMBERTON
Pemberton voters will choose between two candidates for mayor: David MacKenzie and Mike Richman. Five candidates are seeking the Village’s four council seats: Ted Craddock, Laresa Czervenatis, Jennie Helmer, James Linklater and Katrina Nightingale. Melissa Ann Ronayne was the only candidate nominated for Pemberton’s seat on the Sea to Sky School District board and is set to be elected by acclamation. Candidate contact information and nomination papers are available on the Village of Pemberton’s election candidate page at pemberton.ca/ government/about-the-village-ofpemberton/municipal-elections. Pemberton is offering four advancevoting opportunities: Saturday, Oct. 3, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. General voting runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Pemberton and District Community Centre. Voters must present two pieces of identification that together establish their identity and place of residence, with at least one bearing their signature.
SQUAMISH-LILLOOET REGIONAL DISTRICT
Two of the SLRD’s four electoral areas will feature contested races for director. In Electoral Area A, John Courchesne
and Simon Getaz are seeking the seat. In Electoral Area B, Vivian BirchJones was the only declared candidate and is set to be elected by acclamation. In Electoral Area C, Veronica Woodruff now stands alone after incumbent Russell Mack withdrew from the race, while Cameron Bell and Paula de Jong are running in Electoral Area D. Rebecca Barley was the sole candidate for the Sea to Sky School District’s Electoral Area 4 trustee position, representing SLRD Area C. Celeste Bickford was the only declared candidate for the district’s Electoral Area 5 position, representing Area D. Both are set to be elected by acclamation. The SLRD’s complete declaration of candidates is available at slrd.bc.ca.
ALL-CANDIDATES MEETINGS
Voters will have several opportunities to hear directly from candidates before ballots are cast. The Whistler Tennis Association will kick off the local forum schedule with an all-candidates meeting Sunday, Sept. 20, giving residents an early opportunity to hear from candidates seeking seats on Whistler council. The Whistler Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Arts Whistler and Pique Newsmagazine, will host an all-candidates meeting Thursday, Sept. 24 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Maury Young Arts Centre. The event is free and open to the public. Also on Sept. 24, the Pemberton and District Chamber of Commerce will host Pemberton’s all-candidates meeting at the Pemberton and District Community Centre. The event begins at 6 p.m. and will include candidate introductions, questions from the Chamber and questions from the public. Admission is free, but advance registration is required.
A third Whistler all-candidates meeting, co-hosted by AWARE, the Whistler Community Services Society and the Whistler Multicultural Society, is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 1 at the Maury Young Arts Centre, while the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association will host a “Meet the Candidates” night Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the multipurpose room at Whistler Secondary School. Rather than a traditional candidates’ debate, attendees will be divided into small groups and seated at tables with candidates, who will deliver brief elevator pitches before taking questions.
WHO CAN VOTE?
Generally, resident electors must be at least 18 years old on election day, be Canadian citizens, have lived in B.C. for at least six months before registering and live in the jurisdiction where they intend to vote. They must also not be disqualified from voting under provincial law. Eligible non-resident property owners may also vote, subject to provincial requirements. Where a property has multiple owners, only one may vote as its non-resident property elector, and there is no corporate or business vote in local elections. Whistler residents who missed the advance-registration deadline may register when voting in person on either advance-voting day or general voting day, or when applying to vote by mail until Oct. 13. Whistler mail-ballot applications must be received by 4 p.m. Oct. 13, while completed ballot packages must arrive at municipal hall no later than 8 p.m. on election day. More Whistler voting information is available at whistler.ca. Head to piquenewsmagazine.com/2026-civicelection-main to find profiles of all candidates leading up to election day. n
NEWS WHISTLER
AWARE’s Young Voices program looks to move youth ‘up the engagement ladder’ THE FALL COHORT PUTS A GREATER FOCUS ON GIVING YOUNG PEOPLE THE SKILLS TO INFLUENCE GOVERNMENTS, BUSINESSES
BY LUKE FAULKS WHEN NATALIE AUSTIN was about 10, she watched An Inconvenient Truth and did what an environmentally conscious kid was told to do: she started writing down the individual actions she could take. Climate politics was already part of the conversation in her family, and over time that concern took her from attending protests, to volunteering, to organizing politically and eventually managing environmental programs for AWARE. It was an effective progression, but a slow one. This fall, Austin hopes AWARE’s latest Young Voices, Big Impact cohort can offer young people something of a shortcut. “In the activist space, we call it the engagement ladder,” Austin explained. “You start as an enthusiast—you’re attending events, listening and learning— and then you become an activist and get a little bit more involved. From there, you might start volunteering, take on more ownership, become a volunteer leader and start recruiting or training other people. After that, it can go in a lot of directions. Wherever you currently sit, the goal of this program is to push you further up that ladder. “This is like a fast track of how to get you up there because young people [are] actively asking for that, but we don’t necessarily have the framework or the skills to be able to move up in that way,” Austin told seven participants gathered for the program’s introductory session. The fall edition of Young Voices, Big Impact runs through Nov. 16, is intended for Sea to Sky youth aged 14 to 29, and is still accepting new members.
FROM PERSONAL ACTION TO POLICY CHANGE
The approach grows out of what AWARE heard when it surveyed young people across the Sea to Sky. Respondents were deeply concerned about climate change: damage to the natural environment and wildlife topped their list of worries, while the most common answers when asked how often they felt climate anxiety were “often” and “always.” Eighty-two per cent said youth have a responsibility to help solve environmental challenges. But Austin saw a disconnect in how young people imagined making change. Reducing plastic use ranked among their top climate actions, while advocating for policy change sat near the bottom. Government and corporate inaction similarly ranked low among their climate concerns. That matters, Austin said, because
many of the changes capable of producing impacts at scale ultimately require action from governments or businesses. “It more was interesting to me that things that are more intangible and kind of without direction for us as young people, we just say, ‘Oh, we can’t be involved,’” she said. “But we can be involved even as a non-voter.” This fall’s cohort is consequently more structured and skills-based than its predecessors. The spring program included hands-on experiences like working in AWARE’s GROW gardens, staffing Repair Cafés and a clothing swap, touring Whistler Blackcomb’s waste systems and attending a council meeting. It culminated in a roundtable with MLA Jeremy Valeriote, Resort Municipality of Whistler Councillor Cathy Jewett and representatives from GFL Environmental and Whistler Blackcomb. Austin said watching that final conversation helped shape the new curriculum, particularly moments when adults effectively turned the question back on youth: what were they going to do about climate change? “I felt like that was an unfair question as a young person,” she said.
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Instead, over the course of about 20 hours this fall, participants will learn what power they have as non-voters, how municipal government works, how to construct effective questions and conversations, and how to plan an event. They will attend Whistler’s all-candidates meeting before creating their own youthled event in November. That event will be theirs to design. Austin floated possibilities ranging from a climate-focused ski-film screening to a letter-writing campaign holding the next council to its campaign promises. “We’re going to talk about what the role of policy is, what role government plays, and how can we, as young people, tackle these larger systems,” she said. “When you work collectively, you have community support [and] you’re going to have a way larger impact, and you can also leverage all kinds of skills.” The program has three broader aims: making climate action an intergenerational responsibility rather than expecting young people to “save” the planet; replacing an exclusively fear- and doom-driven conversation with solutions, joy and selfcare; and giving participants concrete advocacy skills they can use beyond environmental work. Find more info and register at awarewhistler.org. n
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11
NEWS WHISTLER
Robin Brown calls for residents-first reset, spending restraint in Whistler council bid WHISTLERITES HEAD TO THE POLLS OCT. 17
BY LUKE FAULKS ROBIN BROWN says Whistler has spent too much time measuring its success through growth and visitation, and not enough asking how the people who live here are doing. The longtime Whistler resident and professional engineer is seeking his first elected position in the Oct. 17 municipal election, campaigning on tighter spending, accountability and a renewed focus on residents. “We’ve been left behind,” Brown said, referring to Whistler locals. “The world is dynamic and it’s changing. But you can’t forget what runs places, and it’s people that live here.” Brown has lived full-time in Whistler for 25 years and paid property taxes in the community for 39, after purchasing an empty lot in the ’80s. He and his wife built their Whistler home in 2001. A professional engineer for roughly 45 years, Brown has operated his own firm for more than three decades. His work involves forensic engineering— the analysis of physical evidence to determine how problems or failures occurred. His work has also included
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serving as an expert witness. Brown said that background would inform his approach to council. “I’m an expert in a technical field,” he said. “You need to be able to explain things simply, and complex things. I’m pretty good at that, and that’s what I’d want to do for Whistler.” In the 2000s, Brown was also appointed to Whistler’s Advisory Design Panel—a volunteer body that advises council on land-use and development matters. Brown places municipal spending near the top of his priorities. He points to property-tax increases over the current council term and argues spending needs to grow more slowly. The current council approved annual property tax increases of 8.4, 8.18, 8.25, and 6.9 per cent between 2023 and 2026. If elected, he said he would not support an annual budget increase above inflation. “That’s a red line in the sand,” he said. Brown favours zero-based budgeting, where departments must justify spending rather than starting with the previous year’s allocation. “You don’t get what you had last year automatically,” he said. “You have to justify every dollar that you need to get the job done.” Brown said the approach would mean
IN THE RUNNING Robin Brown. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBIN BROWN
clearer performance measures, identifying weaknesses and tracking progress. His campaign also questions continued municipal work on projects like the Creekside West planning process and valley-bottom gondola concept, arguing infrastructure and core community needs deserve greater attention. That residents-first focus also extends to busy weekends, when Brown argues traffic and visitor pressure make parts of Whistler difficult for locals to use. “You just have try and get out of here on weekends,” he said. “But you shouldn’t have to run away from your home.” Brown said the municipality needs to
look more closely at “what they’ve done to be able to live here, first and foremost,” pointing to Highway 99 congestion and crowded parks. To manage congestion and overtourism, Brown would advocate for intercept parking south of Whistler and frequent free shuttles into town. He suggested parking around the Callaghan Valley, a dedicated bus lane and reserving some existing day lots for residents. The goal, he said, would be to reduce vehicles entering Whistler on busy weekends and ease pressure on the highway, parks and neighbourhoods. As for the Northlands redevelopment, Brown wants the existing Whistler Racket Club replaced with a new indoor tennis and pickleball facility. Rather than receiving cash that could later be allocated toward amenities, Brown wants a replacement facility built and operating before the existing one disappears. “If you’ve been to any of the open houses and info sessions, hands down, they want that facility replaced,” Brown said of the community feedback around Northlands. Brown invites residents to contact him at robin@robinbrown.ca or 604-209-8201. Read the full story online at piquenewsmagazine.com. n
NEWS WHISTLER
Raul Bautista seeks affordable housing solutions in campaign for Whistler council THE FIRST-TIME COUNCIL CANDIDATE SERVED FOUR YEARS ON THE WHISTLER HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BY DAVID SONG RAUL BAUTISTA knows what many of
his fellow locals do as well: the cost of living in Whistler is too high and has been for some time. Bautista’s four years on the Whistler Housing Authority (WHA) board of directors has shown him how complex the issue of rent can be. However it also granted him valuable experience in dealing with the public, which meshes well with his self-described goal to fight injustice. As a manager for Rimrock Cafe, he feels that serving on the board was akin to a larger-scale version of overseeing a restaurant. It is no surprise that, when asked about his platform as a first-time council candidate, the 42-year-old—who himself rented a WHA property from 2017 to 2024— focused almost exclusively on housing. “Obviously there’s many things that council doesn’t have jurisdiction over or doesn’t have power to modify, but there’s some things that we do have control over,” said Bautista. “I believe the Whistler Housing Authority has been doing an amazing job, I think it’s something that we can be very proud of
as a town—but there’s some things that could make it a bit [better].” Dramatic improvements aren’t going to happen overnight, but Bautista would explore the possibility of freezing rent increases and re-evaluating WHA policies to drive prices down. Another, more modest idea from him is investing in bulk internet service for WHA buildings so tenants would no longer need to pay for their own internet. After his time as a renter, Bautista joined the WHA ownership program to acquire his current residence. He has noticed that certain owners are reluctant to renovate or otherwise improve their homes because of policies that restrict a
IN THE RUNNING Raul Bautista. PHOTO COURTESY OF RAUL BAUTISTA
“I think there’s room to make things more affordable.” - RAUL BAUTISTA
property’s maximum resale value. Some of the houses in question are a quartercentury old. “While I understand the logic of limiting how much [money] people can put into houses so those prices
don’t increase and the whole program remains affordable, I feel like right now it’s almost too much,” Bautista opined. “There’s people who have done amazing work in their houses to keep them nice and beautiful … but
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some people are not doing a great job. Obviously those places are aging and we would like to see them being taken care of. [We should be] looking at options for improvements to the houses to be somehow more attractive.” In principle, the WHA should not be subsidized by the Resort Municipality of Whistler and instead be self-sustainable, but it is also an RMOW-owned entity and thus under council jurisdiction. Therefore Bautista would like to see more conversations take place about the longterm affordability of WHA buildings, which he believes are high-quality and will last for decades to come. And while the Spanish expatriate needs to do more research on councillors’ ability to impact the wider housing market, he aspires to tackle various other problems like illegal short-term rentals and properties that sit empty for months on end. “I would like to see solutions everywhere and from what I’ve seen of council, there’s always conversations on how we can make this more efficient,” Bautista said. “I think there’s room to make things a bit more affordable.” To contact Bautista, email him at spanjora@gmail.com or call him at 604907-5412. n
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NEWS WHISTLER
Mary Ann MacDonald July 18, 1954 Aug 29, 2026
Cathy Jewett leans on experience, community focus in re-election bid THE TWO-TERM COUNCILLOR WANTS CONTINUED FOCUS ON SOCIAL NEEDS, RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT AND HOUSING
BY LUKE FAULKS FIFTY YEARS after arriving in Whistler
Mary Ann MacDonald was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick in 1954 to John Donald MacDonald and Freda Margaret “Maggie” MacDonald (nee Christie). Her childhood took her to several parts of Canada, including Westville, Nova Scotia and Kincardine, Goderich and Windsor, Ontario. She earned her undergraduate and Masters degrees in Social Work from the University of Windsor and went on to complete a PhD in Psychology at the University of British Columbia. Mary was a highly intelligent and thoughtful person, with a spirit rooted in kindness and generosity. She lived a life marked by curiosity, intelligence, humour, adventure, and an abiding fascination with the world around her. She had an unusual ability to look closely at something, be it a bird, a plant, a landscape, or a person, and see something that others might miss. And, she had a remarkable gift for turning what she observed into stories, poems and reflections about what it means to be human. Mary was a prolific poet and an insightful writer of prose. However, writing was not merely an occupation or an accomplishment for Mary, it was a process that helped her to comprehend the world around her. She wrote poetry for ballet and public art, with her work appearing in Room Magazine and Pique NewsMagazine (Pique). Her chapbook, Going In Now, was published in 2014, while her collection of short stories, The Crooked Thing, was published in 2020. She also wrote the libretto for the opera, Siddhartha, that was composed by her brother, Peter. She was a member of the Vicious Circle Writers Group, a community of writers and friends that became an important part of her creative life. She was also a member of the board for the Whistler Writing Society, as well as serving as the curator and moderator for the poetry events at their annual Festival. She wrote extensively for Whistler’s Pique, often on subjects such as bird watching and gardening that challenged her to expand her knowledge and understanding. However, her articles were never simply about birds or gardens; Mary used the natural world as a gateway into larger questions about learning, change, resilience and human nature. Mary leaves behind writing that will continue to speak for her. The Vicious Circle Writers Group has committed to facilitating posthumous publication of her novel Where Is Palopo, inspired by the challenging lives of her husband’s (Ray Muller) grandparents. Her collection of 44 poems, How To Be a Bird, is also slated for posthumous publication. These works will allow her voice, imagination, and distinctive way of seeing the world to continue beyond her lifetime. Mary’s final article, slated for publication in the Pique, may have been the most revealing of all. Remarkably, Mary was still working on it the day before she passed. Even as her life was drawing to its close, she was engaged in the work that had occupied and nourished her for so many years: observing, thinking, making connections, and finding the words to express what she saw. In that article, Mary wrote about the seasons of a garden and saw them as a reflection of the stages of her own life and her journey with cancer. Spring, summer, autumn and winter became more than seasons. They became a way of thinking about growth, wholeness, change, decline, and, ultimately, letting go. One of the songs she loved most was Bruce Cockburn’s All the Diamonds in the World, whose imagery of wind, sunlight and the sea seems particularly appropriate for someone who found so much meaning in the natural world. For her family, Mary Ann will be remembered for much more than her degrees, books and literary accomplishments. She will be remembered in photographs from hikes (which usually included one or more of her Westies), in conversations that wandered into unexpected territory, in laughter, in travel stories, in gardens, and in the changing seasons. She will be remembered as a sister who could challenge you, amuse you, frustrate you, and surprise you. Bruce Cockburn’s The Whole Night Sky encapsulates how we feel about our loss: “See my tears, they fill the whole night sky…the whole night sky.” Mary’s life was complicated, creative, funny, searching, and full of words. And, it was unmistakably her own. Mary passed peacefully on August 29, 2026, at St. John’s Hospice in Vancouver, surrounded by some of her closest friends. Mary is survived by her kind and caring husband, Dr. Ray Muller; by her Mother Maggie; by her siblings David, Robert “J.R.”, Margaret “Maggy,” Don, and Angus; and, by her nieces Heather, Madelline, Gabrielle, and Simona and nephews Charlie, Geordie and John. She was predeceased by her brother Peter.
16 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
for what was supposed to be one winter, Cathy Jewett is asking voters for another term on council. Jewett has served on council since winning a 2017 byelection. She came to Whistler in 1976, raised her children here and spent most of her career in professional ski patrol. Over the decades, she chaired local and district parent advisory councils, helped found AWARE and WORCA and was named Whistler’s Citizen of the Year in 2016. Jewett is framing her re-election bid around preserving Whistler’s community fabric, from arts and heritage to housing and social needs, while managing the infrastructure, congestion and wildfire pressures that come with growth. “Our town had a big birthday last year—50 years. That means all our stuff is that old,” Jewett said. “The amount of money that we’ve got to put into our infrastructure is enormous, and if we don’t build up our reserves, then as things age, there’ll be big spikes. “I do want to keep taxes low, but we also need to be responsible with the resources that we have.” Housing remains central to Jewett’s priorities. As chair of the Whistler Valley Housing Society, she has helped oversee governance changes, new housing work and nearly $2 million in upgrades to Whistler Creek Court, one of the community’s oldest employee-housing complexes. “It was built in 1984. If you can believe it, I saw the Village get built, and there was no employee housing in the Village,” Jewett said. “Last year we put a new roof on. This year we’re replacing all the windows and doors, and we’re sealing the crawlspaces.” Looking ahead, Jewett said Whistler should continue building employee housing while increasingly considering municipal land beyond Cheakamus Crossing. But opening new sites is neither quick nor cheap. “You can’t just start building,” Jewett said. “You have to service [the site with utilities]. It’s incredibly expensive to do that, [but] what we don’t build now will be more expensive in the future.” Jewett also wants a stronger employeehousing contribution from Beedie Living’s Northlands redevelopment. She said she wants the proposal brought back toward 70 employee units and argues major developments should strive to be effectively “net zero” in the housing demand they create. “They’ve talked about, ‘Oh, we’re going to create around 200 jobs,’” she
IN THE RUNNING Cathy Jewett. PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHY JEWETT
said. “Well, where do those people live? It’s a really important part of that.” Growth also feeds into what Jewett sees as one of Whistler’s biggest livability challenges: congestion. “What affects livability for everybody? That is an effect of tourism, and that is congestion,” she said. She pointed to more frequent transit, easier payment and incoming electric buses, alongside continued work on regional transit. “The only levers we have is getting more people into transit, more people carpooling, more people living closer to where they work,” she said. “We need to get transit moving. We can’t do that without the province.” Jewett’s campaign also emphasizes social needs and community engagement—priorities reflected in her work with the Whistler Valley Housing Society, which looks beyond simply adding units to who most needs them. “When we have a tenancy opening, we look for the people with the greatest need, and that’s something we’re really proud of,” she said. She also pointed to council’s efforts to bring residents more directly into municipal decision-making through initiatives like Add Your Voice and Borrow a Councillor. “Any conversations that I have had have been awesome,” she said of the latter. “Having those one-to-one conversations has been really great.” For Jewett, maintaining Whistler’s community also means supporting its cultural institutions. She wants to see a new home for the Whistler Museum and continued connections with the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre. She described the SLCC and the nations it represents as an “incredibly important presence in our community.” “In fact, we’re a presence in their community,” she said. Wildfire preparedness is another concern. Jewett sits on Whistler’s Emergency Planning Committee and described recent evacuation alerts in the region as a “huge wake-up call.” Find the full story online at piquenewsmagazine.com. n
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NEWS WHISTLER
Jeff Murl seeks re-election on housing record, ‘numbers guy’ approach THE FIRST-TERM COUNCILLOR POINTS TO HOUSING DELIVERY AND PROVINCIAL ADVOCACY AS KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
BY LUKE FAULKS JEFF MURL’S PATH to Whistler council did not begin with his 2022 election win. He first ran unsuccessfully in 2018, then spent the next four years working with the municipality’s board of variance, becoming a library trustee, serving on the board of Arts Whistler and joining the Whistler Community Foundation’s finance committee before earning a seat at the council table. “I feel like I’ve kind of done eight years of this,” he said. “You do have to lose in this town, too. The town wants to know: are you committed to it?” Murl is seeking re-election Oct. 17 after winning his first council seat in 2022, four years after that first run. He said those years gave him time to get involved in municipal politics from the outside before eventually reaching the council table. Murl, a CPA with a finance background, has worked as a Whistler ski instructor since 2005 and moved to the resort permanently in 2016, where he expanded his accounting practice and started a family. That background has shaped the niche he occupies on council: the selfdescribed “numbers guy” who gravitates
toward budgets, financial planning and translating municipal finances into something residents can understand. “I have a comfort with that part that allows me to help my colleagues understand something, or they can see that Jeff’s going to ask some questions that are going to help me understand it,” he said. “I want to be able to make that complex information simpler for citizens to digest, and then feel like they’re comfortable speaking to us about it.” Housing was council’s top priority this term, Murl said, and one where he believes Whistler has delivered. He points to roughly $20 million secured from the province, two new rental-housing projects and 229 employee-housing units as two of this term’s major accomplishments. Murl sees the new rental buildings as more than an immediate response to the housing shortage. “That $20 million on the advocacy piece turning into a $100-million rental project— that is a huge asset for the community,” he said. “In 30 years, when that is paid off, that is something that creates income for the community. Council will have to make choices of what are we going to do with the income from this rental property. I think that’s a lasting legacy of the work we’ve
IN THE RUNNING Jeff Murl. PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF MURL
done that I’m really proud of.” Where Whistler builds next, Murl said, should be driven less by picking a single preferred site than ensuring council has several viable choices. “It’s not about what’s next; it’s about what is that suite of options we have available to us, and how do we move those along so that when we come to that decision point, we’re not just picking, ‘Well, we have to do this because that’s the only thing we’ve done,’” he said. That work is underway through Whistler’s Municipal Lands Strategy, which is assessing municipal properties for future housing, alongside prefeasibility work on six Resort Municipality of Whistler-owned parcels. Murl’s broader pitch is for Whistler to
stretch its planning horizon well beyond a four-year council term. Whistler already produces five-year financial plans, but Murl wants more decisions informed by 10-, 15- and even 30-year projections— particularly as aging municipal buildings and infrastructure require increasingly difficult choices. “I don’t want to be constrained by [four years],” he said. “If we have to spend something in four years that’s going to pay off over 30, then that’s something I’m going to look for.” That approach extends to climate investments, where Murl argues projects that reduce emissions can increasingly make financial sense, and transportation. He wants regional transit advanced after years of planning and calls transit “probably our best tool to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions as a community.” Ultimately, he said, his priorities for a second term will also depend on what voters identify during the campaign. “Whatever you give me to work on, I’m going to go give my all,” Murl said. “I am relentless, but also patient. I think you have to be both, and ‘no’ often just means a change in path.” Whistlerites will head to the polls on Oct. 17. Read the full story online at piquenewsmagazine.com. n
WHISTLER’S 2026
ALL CANDIDATES MEETING
Maury Young Arts Centre Thursday, Sep 24
Register Here
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Free Admission (pre-registration required)
Register today at:
go.whistlerchamber.com/All-candidates Election day: Saturday, October 17 Advance voting: October 7 & 10 Find all the information you need to vote in the 2026 Municipal Election at Whistler.ca
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
18 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
School Trustee Electoral Area - Rural Area A
2026 General School Elections
Notice of Advance Voting Opportunity
School District No.74 (Gold Trail) Trustee Electoral Area - Rural Area A An advance voting opportunity for qualified electors of Gold Trail School District No. 74 Trustee Electoral Rural Area A will be held between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at the following locations:
Gold Bridge Community Club 699 Gun Lake Road, Gold Bridge, BC
Elders Lodge 600 Sk’il Mountain Road, Shalalth, BC
District of Lillooet REC Centre 930 Main Street, Lillooet, BC
Elector Registration There is no pre-registration process. Qualified electors must register at the time of voting by completing an application form available at the voting place and making a declaration that you meet the following requirements: All Electors Must: be 18 years of age or older on general voting day October 17, 2026; and be a Canadian citizen; and be a resident of BC for at least 6 months immediately before the day of registration; and not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election and not otherwise disqualified by law. Resident Electors Must Also: be a resident of the trustee electoral area on the day of registration. Non-Resident Property Electors Must Also: be a registered owner of real property in the trustee electoral area for at least 30 days immediately before the day of registration. Additional Rules for Non-Resident Property Electors: Property owners must be individuals and not hold the property on behalf of a corporation or trust. Where property has more than one owner, only one owner may register as the Non-Resident Property Elector, with written consent of the majority of owners. (Please contact the SLRD in advance to obtain the required consent form. The form must be signed by a majority of the property owners. Unsigned or incomplete consent forms cannot be accepted). For Gold Trail School District No.74 elections, a person must not be a Resident Elector in any trustee electoral area of Gold Trail School District No.74 and may only register as a Non-Resident Property Elector in relation to one parcel of land within Gold Trail School District No.74. In addition, in order to register at time of voting: Resident Electors must produce two (2) pieces of identification (at least one with a signature). The identification must prove both residency and identity.
Non-Resident Property Electors must produce two (2) pieces of identification (at least one with a signature) to prove identity, proof that they are entitled to register in relation to the property, and, if there is more than one owner of the property, written consent from the majority of the property owners. Types of Documents that will be accepted as identification: For identification, the following classes of documents will be accepted: Driver’s Licence or BC identification card; BC Services card (with photo or without photo); a document, issued by the government of Canada, that certifies that the applicant is registered as an Indian under the Indian Act (Canada); Citizenship or membership card issued by a first nation; Citizenship card issued by Métis Nation British Columbia; Owner’s Certificate of Insurance and Vehicle Licence issued by ICBC; BC CareCard or BC Gold CareCard; Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security Request for Continued Assistance Form SDES8; Social Insurance Number card; Citizenship Card issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada; property tax notice; credit card or debit card; or utility bill (electricity, natural gas, water, telephone, cable). Election officials must accept the above-listed identification documents and may also accept other forms of documents that provide evidence satisfactory to them (such as valid current passport).
General Voting Day will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Information regarding voting locations and voting opportunities is available at SLRD.bc.ca/2026elections. For further information, please contact Angela Belsham, Chief Election Officer at (604) 894-6371 or (toll-free) 1-800-298-7753, or by email election@SLRD.bc.ca.
SLRD.bc.ca/2026elections
NEWS WHISTLER
A Little Bud gets three more years in Whistler as council renews cannabis permit WHISTLER’S FIRST LEGAL CANNABIS RETAILER EARNED STRONG PRAISE FROM COUNCIL AFTER MEETING COMMITMENTS ON WAGES, HOUSING, COMMUNITY GIVING AND RECONCILIATION
BY LUKE FAULKS legal cannabis retailer will be able to keep operating in Function Junction for another three years after council unanimously renewed A Little Bud Cannabis’ temporary use permit (TUP) this month. The new permit allows the store to continue selling cannabis from Oct. 6, 2026 through 2029. For founder Randy Tingskou, the renewal caps a successful first three years—not necessarily because of the store’s bottom line, but because of its reception in Whistler. “Customers seem to love it. The community seems to love it. We thoroughly enjoy it,” he said. “What’s happened is we really tend to sort of serve the community more than the tourists, and that’s been really cool. We’ve got great relationships, long-term customers, and I think it’s something the community needs too.” Under B.C.’s Local Government Act, TUPs can run for up to three years and may be renewed once for another threeWHISTLER’S FIRST
year term. A Little Bud opened Oct. 6, 2023 after council approved its original permit that June. What happens after this second and final TUP expires is yet to be determined.
WHISTLER’S CANNABIS EXPERIMENT
A Little Bud was the first cannabis store to open under Whistler’s retail framework, which council adopted in 2022 after taking a cautious approach to legalization. The policy established five areas throughout the resort where cannabis retailers could operate through TUPs, with one store permitted in each area. Applicants also face requirements beyond those of a typical retail business— including commitments around wages, staff housing, community contributions, reconciliation, sustainability and nuisance mitigation. Staff found A Little Bud had lived up to those promises. Employees are hired at a minimum of $25 an hour, with eligible workers receiving employer-paid benefits. Four staff members have used subsidized employee housing. The company has donated more than $29,000 since
opening—including more than $14,000 to the Whistler Community Services Society, $2,000 to PearlSpace and $12,500 to the Lil’wat Nation—and has continued recycling, low-emission delivery and odour-mitigation measures. Tingskou said giving back is a standing company policy: A Little Bud pledges 2.5 per cent of net profits to the communities it operates in, although he said its contributions often exceed that. “We just do it because, one, we love the community. Two, I think it’s really important to fight the stigmas that still sort of encompass cannabis, and it helps us get in front of people that may not have normally given us a chance,” he said. “It’s a good way to break down some barriers.” Tingskou said Whistler itself has been unusually accepting of cannabis, joking that the resort “had already welcomed cannabis long before we opened our doors.” That echoed Mayor Jack Crompton’s comments around the store’s place in Whistler’s legalization history. Crompton told council A Little Bud helped establish a model the municipality could be proud of.
“It’s fair to say you have set a good benchmark,” he said during the meeting, addressing the business. “You were first through, and you have helped us, as a community and as an organization, deliver something that I think we can all be proud of.”
WHAT HAPPENS IN 2029?
Planner Megan Mucignat told council the municipality has not yet settled on what comes next after the renewed permit expires. Options could include rezoning initiated by the municipality or an application from individual retailers, potentially as part of Whistler’s ongoing zoning bylaw modernization work. Tingskou said A Little Bud had already asked whether it could move directly to rezoning rather than another temporary permit, but was told to go through one more TUP cycle. When that expires, he wants something permanent. “We want to become a fixture within the community even more so than we are,” he said. “For us, I can do a little more with planning and investing if I’m not doing it on a three-year basis. “We want to stay as long as we can.” n
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20 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
2026 General Local and School Elections Notice of Advance Voting Opportunities and Mail Ballot Voting
Electoral Area A | Electoral Area B | Electoral Area C and SD48 Trustee Electoral Area 4 | Electoral Area D and SD48 Trustee Electoral Area 5 Advance voting opportunities for qualified electors of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (“SLRD”) and Sea to Sky School District No.48 (“SD48”) will be held between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., unless otherwise noted, as follows: SLRD Electoral Area A
Wednesday October 7, 2026
Monday October 12, 2026
SLRD Electoral Area B Gold Bridge Community Club 699 Gun Lake Road, Gold Bridge, BC District of Lillooet REC Centre 930 Main Street, Lillooet, BC Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Office 1350 Aster Street, Pemberton, BC
SLRD Electoral Area C and SD48 Trustee Electoral Area 4
Wednesday October 7, 2026
Pemberton & District Community Centre 7390 Cottonwood Street, Pemberton, BC Whistler Public Library 4329 Main Street, Whistler, BC
Wednesday October 14, 2026
Pemberton & District Community Centre 7390 Cottonwood Street, Pemberton, BC
Wednesday October 14, 2026 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Blackwater Creek Elementary School 9667 Pemberton Portage Road, Devine, BC
Wednesday October 7, 2026
Monday October 12, 2026
Elders Lodge 600 Sk’il Mountain Road, Shalalth, BC District of Lillooet REC Centre 930 Main Street, Lillooet, BC Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Office 1350 Aster Street, Pemberton, BC
SLRD Electoral Area D and SD48 Trustee Electoral Area 5
Wednesday October 7, 2026
Saturday October 10, 2026
Britannia Beach Fire Hall 360 Copper Drive, Britannia Beach, BC Whistler Public Library 4329 Main Street, Whistler, BC Garibaldi Fire Hall (Black Tusk Village) 192 Retta Lake Road, Whistler, BC Totem Hall 1380 Stawamus Road, Squamish, BC
A Special Voting Opportunity for eligible patients and staff at the Squamish General Hospital (38140 Behrner Drive, Squamish, BC) will be held Tuesday October 13, 2026 - 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Elector Registration There is no pre-registration process. Qualified electors must register at the time of voting by completing an application form available at the voting place and making a declaration that you meet the following requirements: All Electors Must: be 18 years of age or older on general voting day October 17, 2026; and be a Canadian citizen; and be a resident of BC for at least 6 months immediately before the day of registration; and not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election and not otherwise disqualified by law. Resident Electors Must Also: be a resident of the electoral area on the day of registration. Non-Resident Property Electors Must Also: be a registered owner of real property in the electoral area for at least 30 days immediately before the day of registration. Additional Rules for Non-Resident Property Electors: Property owners must be individuals and not hold the property on behalf of a corporation or trust. Where property has more than one owner, only one owner may register as the NonResident Property Elector, with written consent of the majority of owners. (Please contact the SLRD in advance to obtain the required consent form. The form must be signed by a majority of the property owners. Unsigned or incomplete consent forms cannot be accepted). For SD48 elections, a person must not be a Resident Elector in any trustee electoral area of SD48 and may only register as a Non-Resident Property Elector in relation to one parcel of land within SD48.
In addition, in order to register at time of voting: Resident Electors must produce two (2) pieces of identification (at least one with a signature). The identification must prove both residency and identity. Non-Resident Property Electors must produce two (2) pieces of identification (at least one with a signature) to prove identity, proof that they are entitled to register in relation to the property, and, if there is more than one owner of the property, written consent from the majority of the property owners. Types of Documents that will be accepted as identification: For identification, the following classes of documents will be accepted: Driver’s Licence or BC identification card; BC Services card (with photo or without photo); a document, issued by the government of Canada, that certifies that the applicant is registered as an Indian under the Indian Act (Canada); Citizenship or membership card issued by a first nation; Citizenship card issued by Métis Nation British Columbia; Owner’s Certificate of Insurance and Vehicle Licence issued by ICBC; BC CareCard or BC Gold CareCard; Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security Request for Continued Assistance Form SDES8; Social Insurance Number card; Citizenship Card issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada; property tax notice; credit card or debit card; or utility bill (electricity, natural gas, water, telephone, cable). Election officials must accept the above-listed identification documents and may also accept other forms of documents that provide evidence satisfactory to them (such as valid current passport).
Mail Ballot Voting Qualified electors wishing to vote by mail may apply online at SLRD.bc.ca/2026elections/voter-information or, contact the SLRD Election Office at election@slrd.bc.ca or 604-894-6371. Applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
General Voting Day will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Information regarding voting locations and voting opportunities is available at SLRD.bc.ca/2026elections.
Completed mail ballot packages must be received by the Chief Election Officer by the applicable deadline in order to be counted. Return instructions and deadlines will be included with each mail ballot package. To learn more and to apply online, visit SLRD.bc.ca/2026elections/voter-information.
For further information, please contact Angela Belsham, Chief Election Officer at (604) 894-6371 or (toll-free) 1-800-298-7753, or by email election@slrd.bc.ca.
SLRD.bc.ca/2026elections
NEWS WHISTLER
Naturespeak: A Bug’s Winter BY KRISTINA SWERHUN HAVE YOU EVER wondered how insects
survive the winter? Unlike humans, they can’t regulate their body temperature, so they have evolved incredible adaptations to survive the cold. Though these adaptations vary widely, here are some ways insects survive winter in Whistler. Migration: Though not common, examples from Whistler include the painted lady butterfly and the common green darner dragonfly, both of which rely on multiple generations to complete their cycle to and from warmer regions in the south. Diapause: This period of suspended development, much like hibernation, is common and triggered by shorter days and cooler autumn temperatures. Depending on the insect, it may pause as an egg, larva, pupa, or adult. To survive freezing temperatures, insects produce glycerol—a natural antifreeze that prevents celldamaging ice crystals from forming. This lets them freeze and thaw multiple times without harming their internal organs. An insect that enters diapause as a larva is the woolly bear, a fuzzy black-andrust-banded caterpillar that is the larva of the Isabella tiger moth. It spends the winter hidden under leaf litter, under logs,
WOOLY BULLY A woolly bear caterpillar survives winter in diapause, hidden under leaf litter, before transforming into an Isabella tiger moth. PHOTOS BY KRISTINA SWERHUN (LEFT) AND CHLOE VAN LOON (RIGHT)
and in garden debris piles. You might see these caterpillars out looking for shelter in the fall, or on mild winter days when they occasionally walk around. The western tiger swallowtail—a large, bright yellow butterfly with black stripes (like a tiger) and hindwings shaped like some swallow’s tail feathers—enters diapause in its pupa stage as a chrysalis. You can find its chrysalis in winter attached to trees or in protected shrubs. Look for adults pollinating sturdy flowers
or drinking muddy, mineral-rich water on the ground. While most butterflies diapause as eggs, larvae or pupae, the mourning cloak pauses as an adult. This butterfly is redbrown with a thick yellow border along the edge. It finds shelter beneath tree bark, or anywhere it can fit, to protect itself from winter wind and to hide from predators. They are among the hairiest butterflies, which keeps them insulated and able to fly in cooler temperatures.
That is why they are usually the first butterflies we see in the spring. Adult lady beetles (ladybugs) are another example of pausing as an adult. They live for about three years and spend winters in large groups in leaf litter. Lady beetles are extremely helpful insects as they keep populations of aphids and other perceived pests to a minimum. Diapause—aquatic edition: Many people are surprised to learn that dragonflies spend most of their lives underwater, and that at least 32 different species are found in Whistler. They don’t have a complete metamorphosis like butterflies and lady beetles do, but go from egg to larva (nymph) to adult, without a pupal stage. Dragonflies can spend as much as five years underwater, while their adult stage on land usually only lasts a few weeks. During winter, some dragonfly nymphs continue to crawl and feed slowly beneath the ice or enter diapause to save energy until spring. If you want to do your part to help insects survive, remember not to clean up around the yard too heavily in the fall. This extra layer of insulation could make all the difference for a healthy insect ecosystem. Naturespeak is prepared by the Whistler Naturalists. To learn more about Whistler’s natural world, go to whistlernaturalists.ca. n
WHISTLER,
Come Celebrate With Us OUR LADY OF THE MOUNTAINS CATHOLIC CHURCH
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2026 We’re opening the doors of the new Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church and would love to share this special milestone with the Whistler community. Friends, neighbours, families and everyone in the community are warmly invited. Guided tours, refreshments and a chance to connect with friends and neighbours. All are welcome — please drop by and celebrate with us. 2:30–4:00 pm
Guided church tours
4:00–5:00 pm
Presentations
5:00–6:00 pm
Mass
6:00 pm
Community reception
Join us for all or any part of the celebration. If you’re simply curious to see the new church and meet your neighbours, we especially welcome you to attend the Community Reception starting at 6:00 pm.
www.olom.ca
22 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
6299 LORIMER ROAD, WHISTLER
@whistlercatholic
NEWS PEMBERTON
David MacKenzie emphasizes leadership experience and relationship-building in Pemberton mayoral bid GENERAL LOCAL ELECTION TAKES PLACE OCT. 17
BY LUKE FAULKS DAVID MACKENZIE is making another run for Pemberton mayor, pitching his decades of leadership experience as preparation to guide the community through continued growth. The longtime Pemberton business and community leader is running in the Oct. 17 municipal election, returning to local politics after first winning a seat on council in 2005. Since then, he has served 14 years as an Auxiliary RCMP constable, become president and a search manager with Pemberton District Search and Rescue, and worked as managing director of Pemberton Valley Lodge. He currently chairs go2HR—B.C.’s tourism and hospitality human resources and healthand-safety organization—and sits on the BC Chamber of Commerce board. He is also a former president and chair of the BC Hotel Association. “I’ve always loved this community. It’s been my home for a long time. I’ve invested a lot into this community, and I have a lot of leadership skills, a lot of experience—governance, financial accountability,” MacKenzie said. “So I want to take what I’ve been doing in business and in some of the other provincial and national boards that I’ve sat on, and bring that experience locally to help provide good leadership to
IN THE RUNNING David MacKenzie. PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID MACKENZIE
24 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
our community.” This is MacKenzie’s third run for mayor: he challenged then-mayor Jordan Sturdy in 2008 and ran again in 2022, when incumbent Mike Richman won a third term.
PLANNING BEYOND FOUR YEARS
MacKenzie’s campaign is centred on six priorities: responsible growth, housing and livability, financial responsibility, infrastructure, community safety and emergency preparedness, and the local economy. On all six files, he said he’d want to spend his term looking beyond the four years. “You’ve got to constantly be looking ahead. You can’t stay within that little four-year bubble,” he said. “As our town grows, as our population grows, what are those things that are going to be coming at us?” That includes preparing for Pemberton crossing the 5,000-person threshold when municipalities become responsible for a larger share of RCMP policing costs, while ensuring roads, trails, water and sewer keep pace with growth. Geography, he argued, gives Pemberton some natural protection against unchecked outward growth, with the railway, provincial parkland and Agricultural Land Reserve spaces restricting where development can occur. Instead, he wants additional housing density paired with commercial growth and services. “We do need to make sure that we’re balancing, as we increase our housing density, at the same time making sure that we’re doing smart commercial growth because we need supporting
services to go with the housing,” he said. He also wants to attract more businesses to the industrial park and advocate for the return of a chartered bank. Pemberton has been without one since Scotiabank closed its branch in 2021. On housing, MacKenzie said he would like to see more workforce options in particular. “It is a struggle,” he said, pointing to the combined costs of rent, transportation and groceries. “I want this to be a community where a family of four can be comfortable and have the services that they want and need, and have a healthy community that they can raise their family in.”
TAXES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND PREPAREDNESS
MacKenzie is also promising a closer look at municipal spending. He argued both residents and businesses have absorbed significant tax increases in recent years while new development should also be adding assessment to the Village’s tax base. “I want to make sure that we’re spending money appropriately,” he said. “Have to start with a bit of a deeper dive into what has been happening [at the municipality]—analyze that through a good financial lens.” He said the review should include staffing, consultants and opportunities to use technology more efficiently, while crediting the Village for securing grants. Transportation is another file where he sees the mayor primarily as an advocate. With Highway 99 and Portage Road under provincial jurisdiction, MacKenzie said he would press the province on issues ranging from potholes
and damaged curbs to line painting and street sweeping.
‘IF WE DON’T SPEAK UP ENOUGH, WE’LL GET LEFT BEHIND’
MacKenzie describes advocacy and relationship-building as one of the clearest distinctions he would bring to the mayor’s office, pointing to his experience lobbying provincial and federal governments— including successfully pushing CN Rail to repair rough tracks at Pemberton’s roundabout after he was elected to council in 2005. “It’s not just pushing people to get what you want. It’s about building the relationship that gets you to that level where you’ve got some sort of collaborative effort,” he said. “But like I say, if we don’t speak up enough, we’ll get left behind.” MacKenzie said that collaborative approach would extend to relations with the Lil’wat Nation, including completion of the Official Community Plan review. “Having Lil’wat at the table is critically important,” he said. “We all are in this valley together, and making sure that all of those voices are at the table [and] people are listened to.” MacKenzie said the mayor must ultimately work collaboratively with council. “You’re all going to have differences of opinion,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we have to come to the greater good of our taxpayers that we work for. It’s not about what I want. It’s not what the councillors want. It’s what the majority of our taxpayers want to see in this town, and that’s what we have to represent.” Pemberton residents will head to the polls on Oct. 17. n
NEWS PEMBERTON
Pemberton adds downtown signs after concerns over public drinking, smoking NEW COMMUNITY-SPACE SIGNAGE IS BEING ROLLED OUT IN THE VILLAGE CORE AFTER CONCERNS RAISED ABOUT BEHAVIOUR IN PROMINENT PUBLIC AREAS
BY LUKE FAULKS THE VILLAGE OF PEMBERTON is adding new signage to its downtown core after concerns were raised about persistent public drinking and smoking in some of the community’s busiest shared spaces. In an April letter to mayor and council, Pemberton Valley Lodge managing director David MacKenzie pointed to the bus stop near AG Foods, the Community Barn, Pioneer Park and the picnic area beside Blackbird Bakery as trouble spots. “This is not an isolated or recent concern,” MacKenzie wrote. “It has been occurring for some time, and its continued visibility in central, high-traffic areas raises an important question about how consistently our existing bylaws are being enforced.” He added: “Visitors notice. Businesses notice. And over time, it shapes how Pemberton is perceived.” MacKenzie asked the Village to install prominent “No Public Drinking / No Smoking” signs at the four locations, calling signage a practical first step that could make expectations clearer and support enforcement by both bylaw officers and RCMP.
NEW SIGNAGE ACROSS TOWN
At its Sept. 1 meeting, council heard staff has taken a broader approach. Rather than creating a standalone downtown signage program, staff folded the request into an existing initiative aimed at parks and public spaces across Pemberton. The new “Community Space” signs outline a range of expectations for users—including requirements around pets, garbage and recycling, smoking, alcohol, fires and other activities. The design is intended to remain consistent across Village-owned parks and public spaces so residents and visitors encounter the same visual cues throughout the community. Staff said the approach should improve public awareness of municipal bylaws while giving enforcement staff clearer backing when problems arise. The signs have now been designed and ordered for key downtown locations, while staff is also reviewing other public spaces for potential gaps. No-smoking signs have already been added inside public washrooms, and the Village’s facilities and parks team
is arranging additional signs for picnic tables where existing notices may be difficult to see. The additional signage can be covered within the existing budget. Presenting the report Sept. 1, Village staff said the goal is to make expectations “clear and recognizable” wherever people use municipal public spaces. Councillor Katrina Nightingale supported the consistent approach, but also raised another signage issue: discarded cigarette butts and wildfire risk. Nightingale suggested Pemberton consider “butt out” signs on highways entering the community, similar to signage used elsewhere. “I just think that’s something we should flag because I think we need that [on] all roads that come into our community,” she said. Council did not take further action on that suggestion during the discussion.
Public Notice 2026 Property Tax Sale Pursuant to Part 11, Section 405 of the Local Government Act, the following properties will be offered for sale by public auction to be conducted at 7400 Prospect Street, Pemberton, BC in Council Chambers, (located in the White Building) on Monday, September 28, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.PST, unless delinquent taxes and interest are paid prior to the start of the sale. Successful bidders must immediately pay by cash, certified cheque, or debit card of not less than the upset price. Failure to pay this amount will result in the property being offered for sale again. Any balance must be paid by cash or certified cheque by 3:00 p.m. PST the same day. Failure to pay the balance will result in the property being offered for sale again at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. Folio Number
PID Number
Property Address
Upset
560.01593.220
030-665-256
3008 Tenquille Place
$6,587.31
560.01593.575
031-613-349
8205 Merlot Peak Drive
$9,802.52
560.01593.620
031-876-714
8218 Merlot Peak Drive
$12,244.11
The Village of Pemberton makes no representation express or implied as to the condition or quality of the properties for sale. The purchase of a tax sale property is subject to tax under the Property Transfer Tax Act on the fair market value of the property.
Questions? We’re Listening.
604.894.6135
admin@pemberton.ca
pemberton.ca
GATEWAY SIGN NEARING INSTALLATION
Earlier in the same Sept. 1 meeting, council also received an update on Pemberton’s new gateway signage. A design presented to council includes “Nkwúkwma,” the colloquial name for the Pemberton area in the Lil’wat traditional language Ucwalmícwts. The term means “upstream, north.” Staff said installation is expected around the final week of September or first week of October, with the south gateway receiving an entirely new sign and the north sign being refurbished. Staff is also looking at holding a blessing with the Lil’wat Nation once the first sign is installed. Part of the brief discussion centred on whether the new sign should retain Pemberton’s longstanding “Adventure begins here” tagline. The designs include the tagline as a standalone piece of signage that would hang beneath the welcome sign, while “Within the traditional territory of the Lil’wat Nation” would take the place of the existing slogan. Mayor Mike Richman questioned whether the current slogan still reflects the community and suggested Pemberton could revisit its branding in the coming years through a broader community conversation. Nightingale agreed it may be time for “a deeper conversation” about the tagline. Council ultimately voted to install the gateway sign without the tagline for now, leaving the door open to add a slogan later. n
Rick Matthews Rick Matthews, age 80 Years old, passed away peacefully at the Sea to Sky Hospice in Squamish on September 8th, 2026. He is lovingly remembered by his wife, Doris Matthews, and will be missed by his nieces, nephews, and many friends. Rick is predeceased by his parents, Patricia, Frederic and his brother Dave. A gathering to honour and remember Rick will be held in 2027, more details to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations in Rick’s name can be made to the Sea to Sky Hospice Society. To write a condolence to the family, please visit www.squamishfuneralchapel.com SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
25
RANGE ROVER
A century of Hotel Eldorado ONCE UPON A TIME, I undertook a
journalistic hunt for Ogopogo, fabled monster of Okanagan Lake. It wasn’t the creature I sought so much as an idea— the human need to cling to mythos, and find ways to perpetuate those avatars that support it. My plan was to kayak a few kilometres down Ogopogo’s swimming pool and camp for a night on a tiny Island where legend placed the monster’s lair. But after paddling for hours, the island still felt distant, and every passing aquatic
BY LESLIE ANTHONY shadow made me twitch. Blackened spires and tilted charcoal mannequins, remnants of a forest fire, loomed as ghostly waypoints along the shore. The water was an eerie kind of calm; so quiet I could hear the hum of passing insects. Then a fish jumped and scared the crap out of me. In seconds I’d turned around and headed back from whence I’d come, leaving the monster to its numinous wanderings and pursuing another idea entirely: comfort, good food and a warm bed. I covered the distance in just over an hour, hefted the kayak back into the rack of the marina at Hotel Eldorado, and headed to the bar for a soothing cocktail. While the idea of a lake monster or spirit can be traced through First Nations
LAKE OF LUXURY At Hotel Eldorado, strange lake beasts were avatars of fun, not menace. PHOTO COURTESY OF KELOWNA ARCHIVES
26 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
stories to time immemorial, the idea for one of Canada’s most venerable lakeside hotels is storied in a different time frame. This year marks the 100th anniversary of a monument to the interweaving of local history, elevated hospitality and community—hallmarks of the homey sanctuary I needed that day. The saga began in 1922, when one Countess Bubna-Litic, following a stint as a “lady rancher” in Alberta, arrived in Kelowna to fall in love with Okanagan Lake. She purchased lakeside land from the Postill family and dubbed it Eldorado Ranch—incorporating the popular 19th-century name referencing a mythological Amazon city of gold. Then,
welcomed folks arriving via lake steamer and horse-drawn carriage. In the evenings, guests gathered on verandas for dancing and dining, music, laughs and the glamour of a new, freewheeling era. The Eldorado—or “El” as it came to be known—became a local hub. Later, throughout the 1950s and 1960s, it was a place where friends met, visitors soaked up the valley’s charms, and generations married and celebrated. With Kelowna’s population cresting 20,000 at the time, the energy, enthusiasm and vision emanating from the Eldorado had a ripple effect on local hospitality and the town’s future character; the hotel was a vanguard of its transformation.
Indeed, it was an era of dog shows, garden parties, waterskiing, regattas and croquet at the El...
in 1926, inspired to recreate the charm of Europe’s grand seaside retreats, she established the Eldorado Arms Hotel, a Victorian-styled manor that carried the name into the annals of Kelowna history. The Countess bore her own mythos; an aristocratic Brit who’d been one of London’s most popular stage actresses, she’d married Count Johann FranzBubna-Litic of Austria in 1901. After spending most of their union in Paris, the couple split—an oddity at the time. However, inheriting a sizable fortune from her mother’s involvement with an ultra-wealthy British duke, she was able to bankroll her Canadian aspirations. Early on, the Eldorado Arms
Indeed, it was an era of dog shows, garden parties, waterskiing, regattas and croquet at the El, often featuring patrons of note from the political, business and celebrity realms. One of those was Glen Mervyn, silver medallist for Canada in eight-man scull at Rome’s 1960 Olympic Summer Games. The El’s extensive sporting heritage is still evidenced today by the collateral hung in its dining room, lounge and pool areas. Though the hotel changed hands over the years (the Nixon family took over in the 1980s, expanding on the current lakeshore location) and faced significant challenges that included bankruptcy and the threat of the
wrecking ball, it remained resilient. Its most dramatic chapter occurred in 1989, when the building was physically moved by barge down Okanagan Lake to its current location, only to be razed by fire a month later. Rebuilt and reborn within the year, the hotel stands as a tangible link to history, preserving the spirit and warmth generations have come to love, a symbol of Kelowna’s recreational history and reputation as a popular summer destination. The El continues to honour this heritage while embracing the clarion call of modern luxury. Still a gathering place known for waterfront dining, boutique rooms, vintage car displays and other events now woven into the fabric of Kelowna tradition, the iconic hotel is celebrating its centennial with a year-long series of tribute community events, including the 34th Annual Innkeeper’s Gala, Regatta Lake Days, vintage-inspired soirées and a special culinary series featuring 1920s classics reimagined by the hotel’s culinary team under Okanagan-born executive chef Dimitri Bakalos. As Kelowna itself steps onto the global stage as a newly designated UNESCO City of Gastronomy, Bakalos brings deep regional roots and experience leading kitchens across B.C., along with inspiration from the Okanagan’s abundance. As it celebrates an anniversary rare among Canadian recreational properties, the Eldorado’s story of vision, reinvention, and belonging continues to resonate. More than a hotel, it’s a living piece of Okanagan history and one of those avatars we like to hold onto—but a whole lot friendlier than a lake monster. Leslie Anthony is a Whistler-based author, editor, biologist and bon vivant who has never met a mountain he didn’t like. n
SCIENCE MATTERS
Residential / Commercial Strata / Hotels
Eby can thank Trump for making DRIPA yesterday’s crisis BY ROB SHAW IT WASN’T THAT LONG AGO that
David Eby’s very future as premier seemed to hang on whether he could deliver changes to the Declaration Act this fall that had the support of First Nations leaders, his own divided caucus and the voters of British Columbia. Boy, what a difference a couple of months makes. To say that the Declaration Act is no longer the top item on B.C.’s political agenda is to understate how U.S. trade tensions, the American president and Canadian nationalism have upended the fall landscape. Witness the premier’s press conference outside the legislature last week in Victoria. We’ve previously covered how it looked like a pre-election campaign rally, with a giant Canadian flag and MLAs twerking to the hypnotic poutine-inspired beats of a Port Hardy rapper. But it was also notable in that the premier had nothing to say about any other topic other than U.S. President Donald Trump. I interrupted the flag-hugging to ask him about whether he had come up with a solution to what he earlier this year called the “urgent” problem of the BC Supreme Court ruling that the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) can be used to strike down other laws. The premier appeared intently uninterested in the question. “We're still at the table with First Nations leadership, and it's important work, and we're going to continue that work,” said Eby. “For today, all British Columbians, Indigenous, non-Indigenous, first generation, 20th generation, all of us together, [are] pushing forward to support this province, and working together to respond to this threat that the president presents.” Translation: I don’t want to talk about that. Or perhaps even: I don’t need to talk about that. “Still at the table” is not a great sign with only three weeks before the start of the fall session of the legislature, where a legislated solution still needs to be drafted, presented, debated and passed. It’s quite a turnaround from just four months ago, when the issue was all the NDP administration talked about. New Democrats barely limped out of the spring legislative session in May with their government intact, after narrowly averting the loss of a confidence vote on legislative changes to DRIPA that the late MLA Joan Phillip refused to support.
The premier had pledged to act, due to court rulings he said had left the government in “unlimited legal liability.” He’d said plaintiffs in at least 20 other cases against government had already seized upon the DRIPA ruling to strengthen their claims. “Well this has been, if I can speak frankly, probably the most challenging issue I’ve worked on in government,” Eby said at the time The premier promised a summer of consultation and hard work with First Nations leaders, and then to unveil a solution in the fall. Hemmed in by criticism on all sides, it looked like a herculean task. Now, it looks like a footnote in a fall agenda of Trump-bashing. Which is not to say the issue has gone away, as a recent interview with veteran tax policy and appraisal expert Paul Sullivan showed. Sullivan said there have been zero property sales in the area of Richmond affected by a landmark BC Supreme Court decision in August 2025 that declared Aboriginal title over the area was a senior right to private property. He attributed that to “the market in the claim area appears to be frozen” by buyers worried they might not have actual indefeasible ownership over the property. “The bottom line is that under reasonable assumptions a hypothetical income-producing commercial property in the Cowichan claim area could currently be worth 30-60 cents on the dollar, being a 40-70% valuation loss relative to pre-August 2025,” Sullivan wrote in a Business Council of B.C. article. He called it a “deeply uncomfortable position for any appraiser” trying to evaluate the impact of Aboriginal title on business and personal property in the area. It will be many years before the B.C. government’s appeal of the Cowichan ruling works its way through the BC Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court of Canada. Leaving pressure back on the government to come up with some sort of solution to that angle of the Indigenous reconciliation quagmire as well. Then again, maybe the political pressure has dissipated. A fall session dedicated to Salmo-jacket-wearing Canadian nationalism, followed by a spring snap election, would wipe the slate clean of any pressure on the Eby administration to solve DRIPA, and several other thorny provincial issues. Which is exactly where we all may be headed. Rob Shaw has spent more than 18 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for BIV. He hosts the weekly show Political Capital and has a daily podcast, Political Capital Daily. n
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Resort Municipality of Whistler
Notice | Tax Sale Properties Pursuant to Section 645 of the Local Government Act, the properties listed below will be offered for sale by public auction on Monday, September 28, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in the Flute Room of Municipal Hall at 4325 Blackcomb Way, Whistler, BC, unless delinquent taxes plus interest are paid. Payment for either the settlement of outstanding taxes prior to tax sale, or purchase of property at tax sale must be CASH or CERTIFIED FUNDS. Those who wish to bid on properties must register between 9:30 a.m. and 9:50 a.m. on Monday, September 28, 2026, at Municipal Resort ofregistration. Whistler Hall. PhotoMunicipality ID is required for
Notice | Tax Sale Properties
Please note that under Section 648 of the Local Government Act a person authorized by Council may bid for the municipality at the Pursuant Subsectionamount (1) and (2) ofset theby Local Government Act,person the properties tax sale toupSection to a 645 maximum Council. Any being listed below will be offered for sale on Monday September 30, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. in declared the tax sale purchaser must pay the full amount of the Municipal Hall at 4325 Blackcomb Way, Whistler, BC, unless the delinquent taxes plus interest are paid. Payment for either of outstanding taxes to prior to tax sale,result or purchase price by 1:00 p.m.settlement the same day. Failure pay will purchase of property at tax sale must be CASH or CERTIFIED FUNDS. in the property being offered for sale again. Please note that under Section 648 of the Local Government Act a person authorized
Property purchased at tax sale redemption by council may bid for the municipality at theis taxsubject sale up to ato maximum amount setby by the council. Any person being declared the tax sale purchaser must pay the full amount of the registered property owner within one year from the day the annual purchase price by 1:00 p.m. the same day. Failure to pay will result in the property being tax saleforbegan. Redemption price will be the upset price at the time offered sale again. of tax sale, plus required maintenance costs, plus any taxes paid by Property purchased at tax sale is subject to redemption by the registered property owner the purchaser, plus interest attax rates established under section 11(3) within one year from the day the annual sale began. Redemption price will be the upset price at the time of tax sale, plus required maintenance costs, plus any taxes paid by the of the Taxation Act on the preceding and any surplus bid. purchaser, plus interest at rates established under section 11(3) of the Taxation Act on the preceding and any surplus bid.
FOLIO
PID
CIVIC
BCA SHORT LEGAL
FOLIO BCA SHORT 006107.031 008-776-709CIVIC 9572 EMERALD DR PL VAP12883 BLKLEGAL J LT 16 DL 3625 NWD 500024.011 205 1040 LEGACY WAY PL EPS24 LT 11 DL 8073 006161.200 007-249-713 8975 HWY 99 PL VAP17842 BLK 1 LT B NWD DL 3861 NWD 500213.009 9 4636 BLACKCOMB WAY PL LMS213 LT 9 DL 3903 NWD 007050.068 007-689-756 8384 MOUNTAIN VIEW DR PL VAP15206 LT 31 DL 7301 NWD 500286.001 5 4150 TANTALUS DR PL LMS286 LT 1 DL 3020 NWD 007050.073 007-689-764 8388 MOUNTAIN VIEW DR PL VAP15206 LT 32 DL 7301 NWD 501791.005 5 2211 MARMOT PL PL VAS1791 LT 5 DL 4749 NWD 500208.069 1500MAIN SPRINGST CREEK DR PL LMS2229 PL BCS208 LT 69 7924NWD NWD 502229.057 025-795-368207A69 4368 LT 57 DLDL 5275
502266.079 017-698-995331 45735 CHATEAU BLVD 500286.001 4150 TANTALUS DR 552 4899 PAINTED CLIFF RD 502364.105 502482.005 014-850-150 4930 HORSTMAN LANE 502760.016 16 2238 GONDOLA WAY 502611.027 023-599-987 223 4319 MAIN ST
PL VAS2266 LT 79LTDL PL LMS286 1 DL3866 3020NWD NWD PL LMS2364 LT 105 DL 3903 NWD PL VAS2482 LT 5 DL 3903 NWD PL LMS2760 LT 16 DL 4749 NWD PL LMS2611 LT 27 DL 3483 NWD
Resort Municipality of Whistler whistler.ca SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
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FEATURE STORY
Chasing conflict Does your dog make you safer in bear country? By Nick Mott // Mountain Journal
Earlier this summer, I was
jogging on a local trail with my seven-year-old black lab mutt, Camas, when she suddenly froze. The fur along her spine bristled. Then she let out a single, sharp bark—a timbre I’d never before heard. I caught the unmistakable musk of an animal and my hand shot to the bear spray on my chest. Halfway up a tree less than 20 yards away, a beautiful, small cinnamon black bear stared back at us. The bear scampered off as Camas growled, standing her ground in front of me on the trail. “Good girl,” I told her, my heart rate slowing to a normal pace. My dog, I assumed, warned me early of a potential threat. I was proud. 28 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
FEATURE STORY In bear country, common wisdom holds that dogs serve as early bear alarms, or even deterrents. That belief, however, has long rested mostly on anecdote. Until recently, almost no one had tested whether it was actually true. A new study in the Journal of Wildlife Management analyzed bear-dog conflicts involving black, polar and brown bears from Alaska to Florida. The results challenge the idea that dogs make people safer in bear country and they have me rethinking my relationship with Camas in the woods. “If you think a house pet is likely going to be your bear, not only detector but deterrent, you might want to think twice about that,” lead author of the paper Tom Smith told me over Zoom, one of his dogs begging for attention in the background while mine snoozed next to me. Smith, a research wildlife biologist at Brigham Young University in Utah, analyzed 326 bear-dog encounters spanning more than a century, drawing from newspaper articles, federal and state government reports, books, records compiled by other bear specialists, and internet searches. Smith began working with bears more than 30 years ago in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. He’s published influential research on bear spray and guns as bear deterrents, and has become one of the world’s leading experts on human-bear interaction. “As soon as you become the bear guy, then everybody comes running to you for advice on how to be safe,” he said. “So I thought, ‘I’m going to have to get to the heart of this.” Smith has long been interested in the way dogs impact humans’ odds of an encounter in bear country. But the issue became urgent and tangible to him following a 2023 attack that left two people and their dog dead in a tent in Banff National Park. The issue hasn’t gone away. This summer alone, a jogger and his dog were mauled near Island Park, Idaho, while recordings of separate encounters involving dogs in Banff and Alberta went viral online.
“If you think a house pet is likely going to be your bear, not only detector but deterrent, you might want to think twice about that.” -Tom Smith
The findings The data show people are largely unprepared for bear encounters and naive to their possible consequences. Dogs ran away, fought with bears, provoked confrontations, drew owners in to fight off bears barehanded, and even boomeranged bears back to people. The first surprise in the data was how few people carried any deterrent at all. That might be because people thought, erroneously, Smith says, that dogs would be sufficient to keep bears away. Recreators wielded bear spray in only about a tenth of cases and a firearm in roughly a third. All told, five people and 56 dogs died in the encounters Smith analyzed. Contrary to some common wisdom, dogs also weren’t effective warning systems for bears. In fact, they alerted their owners early of a bear in only one in 11 of the encounters the study analyzed. Dogs provoked the bear, instigating the encounter, in more than half the cases. After the bear conflict began, things didn’t look much better: Dogs tangled with bears about 40 per cent of the time, ran away in 20 per cent of encounters, and didn’t engage at all in about 17 per cent of cases. So much for dogs being excellent protectors. Other findings were less surprising. Leashes were a major decider in the severity of the interaction. Unleashed dogs were involved in six times as many incidents as leashed pets. Smith said dogs without a leash can dart ahead of owners or crash through brush and spook a bear. Canines can also act as bear boomerangs. In 27 of the encounters, dogs brought a bear back to their owners. In 70 per cent of these instances, the dog owner was injured. Worse yet, many owners in the data came to rescue their pet when it got in a scuffle with a bear, often with no deterrent. The result: 85 per cent
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of the time, those owners were injured. Additionally, the data reinforced something bear experts have known for years: the larger the group of people, the less likely the encounter. However, the presence of a dog dramatically shifts that risk. Dogs roughly doubled the odds of a conflict compared to the same-sized groups with no canine companions. Taken as a whole, the data paint a portrait in which bears and domestic dogs don’t get along. Smith suspects it’s part of the long evolutionary relationship between bears and wolves. For thousands of years, wolves competed with bears for food, killed cubs and even kicked bruins off carcasses. Some of this behaviour is on public display in places like Yellowstone National Park, where populations of both species flourish. Modern dogs may still trigger those ancient instincts. Smith recognizes limitations and nuance in his data, too. For one, it’s important to note that the dogs in the analysis were domestic companions, not highly-trained guardian dogs meant to fend off predators—which data show can reduce bear presence at ranches and farms. Also, data on human-bear conflict inherently shows a bias, depicting only the encounters that went majorly wrong rather than the majority of experiences when people venture into the places bruins live and the species coexist without incident. “For the most part, people and their dogs pass through bear country without incident,” Smith wrote in the paper.
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FEATURE STORY
Should your pup join the hike? “The takeaway isn’t to keep dogs out of bear country,” Smith said. “The takeaway is there are things you can do that greatly improve your odds.” Best practices, backed by Smith’s data, say to travel in groups, eliminate smells if you’re camping and make noise. Bear bells, he says, don’t work. Above almost all else? “You have no business being in bear country without a deterrent,” Smith said. Dogs just don’t cut it on that front. According to Smith, bear spray has the highest likelihood of fending off an aggressive bear for the vast majority of recreationists in bear country. But firearms can work too for experienced users. Carry your spray (or gun) where you can reach it in a split second. No matter what deterrent you choose, practice with it. Bear encounters can happen in seconds. If you do take your dog, consider a leash. “It’s not just dogs and bears,” Smith said. “It’s also dogs and everything else.” Smith’s own dog had been sprayed by a skunk twice in the last month. Mine finds few greater joys in life than chasing ground squirrels, marmots and grouse. So, we’re both faced with navigating how to behave in wild places with these family members that, if they see a deer or elk or bear, may not be able to hold themselves back. Since talking with Smith, I’ve thought about the role Camas plays in bear country in a more nuanced way. She’s warned me about bears—even since that encounter on my jog. But she’s also ignored bears less than 30 yards away, chased wildlife she shouldn’t and, even in her younger days, treed a black bear. The lesson isn’t that dogs don’t belong in bear country writ large. It’s that they’re dogs. If recreating in bear country is an odds game, they’re not doing you any favours. As much as we love and trust them, they’re unpredictable. And they can make things worse as often as they make things better. “It’s a personal thing, it really is,” Smith said. “We work in statistics with a pool of instances. But you are not a pool of instances. You’re you.” This story was originally published by Mountain Journal at mountainjournal.org. n
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“The takeaway isn’t to keep dogs out of bear country. The takeaway is there are things you can do that greatly improve your odds.” -Tom Smith
MEADOW PARK SPORTS CENTRE SWIM • SKATE • SWEAT • SQUASH OPEN DAILY: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. *some exceptions apply
FITNESS CLASS SCHEDULE SEPT 18 FRIDAY
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R REGISTERED FITNESS Registered fitness classes have a separate fee and a defined start and end date. Pre-registration is required for the entire set of classes.
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SPORTS THE SCORE
Manuel Osborne-Paradis ‘super grateful’ for Canadian Ski Hall of Fame nod THE WHISTLER MOUNTAIN SKI CLUB ALUM WAS THE INAUGURAL CANADIAN TO WIN BOTH DOWNHILL AND SUPER-G GOLD ON THE FIS WORLD CUP CIRCUIT
BY DAVID SONG IN MARCH 2009, Manuel Osborne-
Paradis won his first World Cup ski race: the prestigious downhill in Kvitfjell, Norway. In November of that same year, he triumphed at super-G on familiar snow in Lake Louise, Alta. Osborne-Paradis thus became the first Canadian to strike World Cup gold in both of skiing’s speed disciplines— and he wasn’t done making history yet. The Invermere, B.C. native achieved super-G bronze at the 2017 FIS World Championships behind victorious teammate Erik Guay: marking the inaugural time two of Canada’s men had shared a podium at Worlds. With a resume like that, plus a total of 11 World Cup medals and four Olympic Games appearances, Osborne-Paradis has been deemed worthy of the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. “When you’re competing, there’s always more,” he remarked. “Every year, even if you win a race or you have a big achievement or whatever, the next day you’re like: ‘OK, how do we build on that?’ It’s build, build, build, and then at the end of the season it’s back to the drawing board. Then you retire and it’s like: ‘I don’t have to do that anymore, for my sport anyways.’ “[Retirement parties] are mostly about the time that you spent with your teammates and the staff that have been
BEST OF THE BEST Whistler Mountain Ski Club alum Manuel Osborne-Paradis in action. PHOTO COURTESY OF MANUEL OSBORNE-PARADIS
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around and all the people that have supported you … but this is an accolade that just happens in past tense. There’s nothing you could have done, it’s kind of a surprise. I thought it probably would happen, but I didn’t know when and I didn’t know how. I’m super grateful that my career stands out enough to be in the Hall of Fame.”
WHITE GOLD
Whistler was the crucible in which Osborne-Paradis’ athletic aspirations were forged. He and his mom would often visit his grandfather, Jim Osborne: among the town’s first mountain doctors who worked out of an old A-frame building. Ski school came naturally, as did a number of wonderful coaches: Denis Ebacher, Bob Deeks, Craig Glenday, Maria Sederholm, Beau Jarvis, Doug Sage, Carmen Boskovich et al. Whenever he wasn’t on the slopes, OsborneParadis grew up in the aptly-named neighbourhood of White Gold alongside other future elites like all-time ski cross great Marielle Thompson, 2010 Olympian Robbie Dixon and recently-retired national teamer Broderick Thompson. “Oh man, it was not just the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, but the whole entire Whistler community,” said OsborneParadis. “I was in a ski club where nobody thought there were constraints on what you could become … having [former Alpine Canada athlete] Rob Boyd leading the way, then having such good coaching staff and incredible people as presidents of the ski club and people they brought in along with the club members. “And with Hugh Smythe and everybody creating what ended up becoming a worldclass resort. It was very special to grow up in a community like that—my mom
squatted in a cabin up there when the mountain first opened. We were part of the thread of the community, and I guess it’s just the spirit of Whistler.” Osborne-Paradis made the BC Ski Team at 15 years old, followed by Team Canada four years later. He moved to Calgary, Alta. while maintaining a residence in Invermere, his professional career underway.
RIDE OF THE CANADIAN COWBOYS
Despite all of the above, skiing was not Osborne-Paradis’ favourite sport growing up. He once hoped to be a pro mountain biker and followed it more closely than ski racing throughout his teens. As a result, he didn’t initially realize the significance of his early World Cup successes alongside fellow young hotshots Guay, Jan Hudec, François Bourque, Mike Janyk and John Kucera— the latter of which became men’s head coach for Alpine Canada. This dynamic cadre became known as the Canadian Cowboys, and they embraced such a moniker by wearing duster coats, rodeo belt buckles and of course, cowboy hats. They also excelled on snow, uniting for 48 World Cup medals including 12 victories and a World Championship. Unlike their predecessors the Crazy Canucks (Steve Podborski, Dave Irwin, Ken Read, Jim Hunter, Dave Murray and Todd Brooker), the Cowboys went beyond downhill to succeed in super-G, giant slalom and slalom as well. “I saw the impact that the Crazy Canucks had on the skiing world, just how thrilled people were to meet Canadian skiers and what the Crazy Canucks had done leading the way for us to even have
a name-branded team,” Osborne-Paradis reflected. “I mean, nobody has that. It’s really been just the Crazy Canucks and then our team, then [Norway’s] Attacking Vikings happened. “We’re dealing with these goliath teams that have budgets exponentially larger than ours, and they get to go home after races on the weekends and they’ve got all the luxuries. We just had to band together and sit in hotel rooms and get along. There’s a lot of benefit to come with that and a lot of life lessons and growing up to do … as I look back, I think: what a wonderful experience.” It wasn’t common for pro skiers to realize as much early-career success as the Cowboys did, but adversity would rear its ugly head. Osborne-Paradis tore his ACL and broke his fibula due to “a mental lapse” in a January 2011 World Cup race he was leading, and didn’t return to action until November the following year. More roadblocks followed: a sponsorship change, a necessary overhaul of his skiing technique, but he battled to World Championships bronze in a feat that felt as good as gold. That breakthrough in St. Moritz, Switzerland was the final zenith of Osborne-Paradis’ athletic journey. In 2018, he crashed disastrously amidst a Lake Louise training run and nearly lost his left leg—though it was surgically repaired. Ultimately he chose to hang up his skis once the COVID pandemic began in 2020. Osborne-Paradis felt that he was at the peak of his powers in 2018, but nonetheless reflects on his career with a healthy perspective. Nowadays he resides in Invermere with his wife Lana and two kids. By day he’s a wealth advisor at CIBC Wood Gundy, and he also coaches his U12 daughter as a part of Team Panorama. n
SPORTS THE SCORE
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OPEN AND SHUT The 2026 US Open pro men’s podium, left to right: Dakotah Norton, Mack Manietta, Aaron Gwin, Evan Medcalf and Jackson Connelly.
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Pro men’s bronze for Mack Manietta at 2026 US Open ALVA CAMPOS FINISHES THIRD AMONG GIRLS AGED 15 TO 16 IN DEER VALLEY
BY DAVID SONG DESPITE A BIG CRASH in qualifying, Mack Manietta composed himself to earn bronze at Sunday’s U.S. Open downhill race in Deer Valley, Utah. The Pembertonian is just 15 years old but clocked in at two minutes and 42.978 seconds. That’s within a second of gold medallist Aaron Gwin (2:42.250), who shares the record with Jackson Goldstone for most consecutive World Cup wins in a season. Gwin’s fellow American Evan Medcalf positioned himself between the others with silver (2:42.583). “When I was 12 and I raced the U.S. Open for the first time, I saw Asa [Vermette] get third at 15, that was my dream and my goal,” Manietta revealed during a post-event interview. “So stoked I was able to pull it off ... had a bit of trouble this morning catching people and not really getting too good of a run in. Pushed through and made it happen when it counted.” Rounding out the full-circle moment is the fact that Manietta beat Vermette, who was seventh in Deer Valley (2:45.036). Manietta’s family met U.S. Open organizer Clay Harper in 2017 through Kiwi couple Steve and Donna Meek, and he’s been in the event since 2023. Last year he received blessings from Harper and the Generation Specialized (Gen-S) development team to ride as an elite, but ran into numerous problems including a substantial nosebleed, a fork swap and a faulty brake master cylinder on his bike. These things, combined with a sense of intimidation, dropped Manietta into 35th.
Not so this time around. “From day one at Deer Valley you could see the difference,” wrote the athlete’s father, Kristian, on social media. “He wasn’t there to make up the numbers. He knew he belonged. [Mack] crashed in qualifying, deployed his airbag and still salvaged 20th. His last practice time was good enough for fourth. Race day brought another crash and airbag deployment in practice. “As his dad, this is what I’m most proud of. He regrouped, got himself back to where he needed to be and put down a heater...we believed it was possible. It’s still insane. Huge thanks to Clay and Jamie [Harper] and [the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series], Steve and Donna, Asa Vermette, Gen-S and Specialized Gravity, and Ash Jones—Mack’s coach since age eight and now mechanic.”
October 1st, 2026 Fall Funding Deadline. The Whistler Blackcomb Foundation is dedicated to providing financial support to community groups and charities whose activities provide benefit to residents of the Sea to Sky Corridor in the areas of health, human services, education, recreation, arts & culture and the environment. Special emphasis is placed on children, youth and family programs. For more information, eligibility requirements and to complete an application, please visit our website at whistlerblackcombfoundation.com, or contact Mei Madden, Executive Director at mmadden@whistlerblackcombfoundation.com
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Manietta wasn’t the only Sea to Sky rider who had to overcome adversity this weekend. Alva Campos, the incumbent BC School Sports junior Queen of the Mountain, finished third among girls aged 15 to 16 (3:31.748). Hannah Forsman emerged victorious in that division (3:16.676) and Cleo Brown was second (3:24.711). “Beyond stoked to take P3,” Campos said on Instagram. “Had a rough start to the race with multiple big crashes in practice but I was able to pull myself together and have a clean seeding and finals run! Very happy to meet so many new friends to race with!” Kyan Macleod took runner-up hours in the boys’ age 13 to 14 category (2:57.817) and Miller Macleod did the same among boys aged 11 to 12 (3:16.773). n
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
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FORK IN THE ROAD
O Canada—all over and over again WHETHER WE’RE STYLIN’ GEORGE CHUVALO OR THE LITTLEST HOBO, WE’VE GOT THIS FOR ME , it’s George Chuvalo, that amazing
heavyweight champ and all-Canadian hero from Toronto who died last week on his 89th birthday. With 73 victories under his belt during his long and storied career, he was never knocked down— never mind out. One little anecdote says
BY GLENDA BARTOSH it all: Chuvalo went dancing with his wife while Muhammad Ali went to the hospital with a damaged kidney after one of their famous bouts. For Nanaimo-based Tod Maffin who, along with his wife, Jocelyn, started the website Main Street Canada to promote Canadian businesses right after trade talks with the U.S. collapsed, The Littlest Hobo is his inspiration these days. In a recent CBC interview he described how that longtime TV series, which reigned Canada’s airwaves about the same time Chuvalo reigned the boxing ring, featured seven different dogs, each one good at an aspect of “dog acting.” London, was good at looking proud. One was good at operating things mechanically. And one dog was good at looking angry and fierce. (Picture that next time you see certain images of Trump.) “Pick your hobo,” Maffin told CBC’s Paul Hunter on The Current. “We don’t all have to do everything for this country, but if you can pick something that you’re good at, be that hobo for this country.”
FIGHTING SPIRIT Never mind elbows up—it’s gloves up, in the spirit of heavyweight champ George Chuvalo himself. PHOTO BY HANDSOME BOB / E+ / GETTY IMAGES
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HOP ON OVER TO MAIN STREET
According to the Canadian Urban Institute, which helps out with Main Street Canada, 85 per cent of Canadians live within one kilometre of a main street. More than 280,000 businesses are operating on main streets, and more than $300 billion in annual revenue is generated on main streets across Canada. That includes Sea to Sky, too. So while Prime Minister Mark Carney courts new investors for Canada (could we have invented a more perfect leader for these troubled times?), it’s up to we the people to keep on doing what Canadians do best—stand up for the right thing, and fight, fight, fight. In this case it means buy, buy, buy local; buy, buy, buy Canadian, every chance you get. For as Maffin points out, buying a $12 belt or a $16 pair of earrings
mind-bending art prints to traditional Simply Sami bracelets, it’s a trove of locally made treasures.
EAT —AND DRINK—LIKE A LOCAL, WHEREVER YOU ARE
When it comes to buying precious groceries—and BTW, prices aren’t inflating as rapidly now as they were earlier this year—it’s not just checking those labels and being aware of what you buy, it’s where you buy it, too. Like we sure don’t need to line the pockets of U.S.-based Walmart or Costco, where membership fees alone account for more than 65 per cent of company profits! Who needs them when you can “go Canada go!” all the way by shopping any of the great farmers’ markets that line Sea to Sky, or the farmgate sellers in Pemberton Valley. Then when you need a bigger grocery store, make sure
[S]tand up for the right thing, and fight, fight, fight.
now from a small Canadian business that you can hang on to till Christmas can make all the difference. Who knows? You might even change your shopping habits for good. As for small business owners and creators anywhere in Sea to Sky or Canada, for that matter, you can send Tod and Jocelyn a short video clip of your products or business to post on their popular, fast-growing site. Meanwhile, if you’re into supporting local creative efforts right in Whistler, check out 3 Singing Birds on Lorimer Road, and the Arthentic Boutique run by Arts Whistler in the Maury Young Arts Centre in the village. From Chili Thom’s
it’s Canadian-owned like IGA; Safeway; and Fresh St. Market—part of the H.Y. Louie company which also owns London Drugs, and was started by the ChineseCanadian pioneer, Hok Yat Louie, in Vancouver’s Chinatown in 1903. Choose any of the Loblaws stores, like No Frills or Real Canadian Superstore; and the Vancouver-based Jim Pattison stores, Save-On, Urban Fare, and Nesters Market—a genuine Whistler original started in 1987 by Brian and Elaine Kerr, Ken and Martha Beatty, and Milo Rusimovich right on Nesters Road before it was bought up by Jimmy. But Whistlerites still have a tried and true Whistler original with Creekside
Market, right in the heart of Whistler Creekside (where else?). Voted “Best Customer Service” by Pique readers three years in a row for good reason, it’s the one and only grocery store at Whistler still owned and operated by locals. Jerry and Sana Marsh, who started Creekside Market in 1988, make a point of stocking Whistler-made products, like Whistler Chocolate, Whistler Roasting’s coffee and those great Nonna Pia’s balsamic glazes and pasta sauces I even saw advertised on a giant billboard in Montreal last summer. They also so believe in community, like good “Main Street” business owners do, that they support all kinds of good community fundraisers and “fun-raisers” alike. I bet we all have our eyes peeled for all the other “eat like a local” food and drinks around, like the fabulous fresh fruits and veggies pumped out of Pemberton Valley by the likes of Ice Cap Organics, Rootdown Organic Farm and the Sturdy’s North Arm Farm. Plus the great brews coming out of The Beer Farmers. Whistler’s Function Junction is another hotbed of “local,” what with Coast Mountain Brewing and Whistler Brewing, plus the wonderful breads and goodies from Purebread. The latter has several locations in Vancouver as well, much like that other great Whistler success story, Peaked Pies. Proud Whistler businesses all, and all deserving of our stalwart support during these “interesting” times. And that’s just a little sample to get you started. But, whew, I feel like I’ve been in a punch-up with Geroge Chevalo after compiling all that local goodness on offer. I sure need a beer, and one from a Sea to Sky brewer will do nicely, thank you very much. Glenda Bartosh is an award winning journalist who always liked The Littlest Hobo and George Chuvalo. n
ARTS SCENE
ZADA returns to action with debut concert at the Point Artist-Run Centre THE LOCAL MUSICIAN WILL PERFORM SEPT. 26 ALONGSIDE BOB MARLEY’S GRANDSON, KING CRUFF, AND VANCOUVER ARTIST TEON GIBBS
BY DAVID SONG STEPHEN VOGLER has wanted to set up
a ZADA concert at the Point Artist-Run Centre (PARC) for a while now. When the PARC artistic director took in her co-headline performance this April at the World Ski and Snowboard Festival (WSSF), he came away more than impressed, describing ZADA’s stuff as “Amy Winehouse meets Bob Marley.” ZADA laughs upon hearing that particular line of praise. “Oh, no way!” she exclaims. “That’s crazy. That’s hilarious. I’ve got to tell the guy that I’m bringing in, King Cruff, because [Bob Marley] is actually his grandfather.” King Cruff’s real name is Solomon Marley-Spence, and he is indeed part of the Marley bloodline. The CanadianJamaican artist played at last year’s Phillips Backyard Music Festival in Victoria, just like ZADA, but the two did not meet until a few months ago by way of a producer.
TO THE POINT Whistler singer-songwriter ZADA makes her Point debut Sept. 26. PHOTO BY BONNIE NICHOALDS
38 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
She describes Cruff as “incredibly talented and quick on his feet with the writing,” so naturally they collaborated. This summer, they and ZADA’s longtime business partner Chin Injeti spontaneously finished a new EP, Heart of the Lion, recording it during the FIFA World Cup’s stay in Vancouver. The new project will drop on Sept. 25—a day before her PARC show.
“Both King Cruff and Teon Gibbs are special guests [at my PARC show], not necessarily openers, just because I respect them so much and I was just honoured to have them be a part of the night,” says ZADA.
GENRE SHAPESHIFTERS
Not one to limit herself creatively, ZADA has been described as “a genre
“[B]eing a Whistlerite and being part of the ski culture musically is kind of the dream...” - ZADA
Also part of said concert is Teon Gibbs, another multicultural musician who lived in Botswana and South London before putting down roots in Vancouver. ZADA befriended Gibbs through her studio and he proved to be a trooper: swimming out to her in frigid waters one day when she was filming a music video. In return, ZADA was inspired to perform at the 2025 Do It For The Culture Festival in Kelowna: an operation that Gibbs founded.
shapeshifter” and wears that badge with pride. At the moment she focuses on a colourful blend of R&B, hip hop, jazz, folk, reggae and electronic textures. Her approach has been received well at numerous venues, from the WSSF to JUNOFest, Mondo NYC, SXSW and more. “Oh, it’s so cool,” ZADA says about her WSSF outing. “I mean, just being a Whistlerite and being part of the ski culture musically is kind of the dream and the goal is to bring those worlds together.
It’s so funny to see people skiing off the hill … them watching you and you’re watching them and you’re like: ‘oh, you did a cool trick.’ I ended up hanging out with Maestro Fresh Wes the next day because he was playing, and then I just did a bunch of [behind-the-scenes work] for him, which was super, super funny. We had a lot of people in common.” Cruff and Gibbs might be viewed as genre chameleons themselves, bringing elements of Afrobeats, soul, dancehall and reggae to the table. “The beauty of the festivals is that it’s sort of plug and play,” opines ZADA. “You get invited, you put on your best show, your best foot forward and you play it. And then with these intimate shows [like at the PARC], it’s still super fun but you’re working together to make sure the flyers are up, promoting it together, really checking in with the venue to make sure you have all the right gear and everyone’s prepped and ready for you. “It’s a bit more hands on. I don’t think it makes a difference musically or how we perform because we always play with the same level of intensity.” Swing by the PARC on Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. to catch ZADA, King Cruff and Teon Gibbs. Visit thepointartists.com/events/ zada-concert-wspecial-guest-king-cruff for more details. n
ARTS SCENE
ALPINE AESTHETIC A painting of a mountain by Jeff Heintzman. IMAGE BY JEFF HEINTZMAN
Local artist Jeff Heintzman’s work displayed at Nesters Market Whistler HEINTZMAN FOCUSES ON LANDSCAPES AND HAS TAKEN UP PLEIN AIR PAINTING AS OF LATE
BY DAVID SONG NESTERS MARKET shoppers in Whistler
will likely have noticed fresh new art greeting them in the pharmacy: a batch of work from Jeff Heintzman. Heintzman studied fine art at the University of Western Ontario (now called Western University) before moving to Whistler in 1993. His undergraduate degree didn’t initially stick, and he pivoted towards a 20-year music career as a guitarist and singer for a pop-rock band called the Sailcats. Today he remains a musician, a part of groups like Stovepipe Raccoons and Courageous Mountain Rangers. Yet it was perhaps inevitable that Heintzman would re-develop an itch to paint. In the late 2000s he took a workshop with Janice Robertson, a key member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, Landscape Artists International, the Northwest Watercolour Society and Artists for Conservation. “From that time I was pretty much lit,” Heintzman recalls. “Every spare second I could get, I was painting. The way that my brain works is, it’s strongly weighted to the artistic side. Both of those pursuits, music and painting, occupy the same side of my brain. My organizational skills and my other skills, they kind of suffer as a result.” Previously represented by Mountain Galleries at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Heintzman was thrilled when Nesters assistant manager Ian Fairweather approached him to showcase some art. He knows the Nesters’ staff from his days owning Alpine Meadows Market, which has now evolved into Alpine Cafe. Heintzman’s submissions are mostly natural landscapes and waterscapes, roughly half of which depict his Whistler life
(i.e. what he sees when hiking, mountain biking and exploring nature). The other half depicts Mexico, where he spends most winters at a house near the beach. “Ian and [Nesters general manager Bruce Stewart] have dedicated a wall in the pharmacy to showing art, which I think is such a great locals thing that they’ve done and they’ve gone to some expense to do it,” says Heintzman. “They’ve put up wire hangers and pretty nice lighting as well in an uncluttered space to show local art.”
Art of the Cocktail Friday, September 25 5.30pm - 6.30pm Join us for an evening of cocktails, conversation, and celebration, honouring the recipient of the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts.
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PLEIN AIR
Lighting, above all else, inspires Heintzman to paint. He’s fascinated by things like reflections, translucence or an eye-catching contrast between light and dark—no matter what the actual subject matter is. Sometimes there are humans and other figures in his work, but they tend to be much more impressionistic than highly detailed. These days he often hikes up to Whistler Mountain and engages in plein air, or outdoor, painting, which he doesn’t consider himself to be truly proficient at yet. “Most of my paintings are from photographic images,” explains Heintzman. “I use my own photographic images and I’m not a great photographer, but the difference between painting in plein air and painting from a photograph is that when you paint plein air, you see colours as they are. You see the colour contrast and you see the colour possibilities that are existing out there. “Whereas in a photograph, unless it’s a really, really great photograph, the darks are usually all very, very dark with not much colour interest in them, and quite often the lights will be bleached out or overexposed.” Heintzman’s exhibit was scheduled to go up on Sept. 12 and 13 and is anticipated to remain for six weeks. n
SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
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MUSEUM MUSINGS
NFL Season is here! Catch all the games every week at Roland's Pub! Volume on Thursday nights, Monday Night games, and all day on Sundays
Daily food & drink specials Featuring Football flatbreads on Monday night: 3 toppings for $19.50 + tax Wear your team's colors and get entered to win an end of season prize package RAPID ASCENT Karen Kögler climbing Nordic Rock, c. 1990s. KÖGLER COLLECTION
The Whistler Valley Housing Society is seeking applications for nominations to the Board of Directors Term until 2027 AGM. Interested in people with lived experience or relevant skills in the following areas: • Finance (Treasurer Role) • Housing (Director-at-Large Role) The Whistler Valley Housing Society is a not-for-profit established in 1983 and is the owner of The Nest a 30-unit rental housing project and Watson Court a 20-unit rental housing project. Our tenants are Clients of Social Service Agencies, Essential Service Workers and other Whistler Employees. www.wvhousingsociety.com
Application deadline is September 27, 2026 wvhs.info@gmail.com
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The Karen Kögler Fonds: Documenting life through photography and self-reflection BY ATESSA SHOWRAI “Either go or fall” —Karen Kögler. Climbing, Mountaineering, Hiking, and Outdoor Adventures Log Book. KAREN KÖGLER was an avid rock climber and outdoorswoman, who documented her adventures through photographs, climbing log books, and self-reflections. The Karen Kögler Fonds consist of more than 300 photographs of various outdoor adventures in the Sea to Sky region, which showcase Kögler’s life as a snowboarder, mountaineer, and rock climber. While the collection’s photography instantly caught my eye—climbing at Nordic Rock, hiking Mount Fee, and beautiful photos of Whistler—what made the collection truly stick with me was Kögler’s story and her approach to life. Her outdoor adventures log book included a page at the end, which we interpreted as a list of self-affirmations to mentally prepare for the next climb. Throughout my experience as a summer student at the Whistler Museum, I’ve worked on several collections, most of which only contained photographs. Kögler’s collection stood out because it shows us not only the beautiful places she visited, but also demonstrates the thought and effort put into each adventure. The log books which accompany the photographs go into immense detail of her successes, small details and notes on what could be improved on for future climbs. Thanks to Kögler’s detailed note-taking, I was able to take a more personalized route when it came to processing and cataloguing the collection into our archive. Instead of going through Kögler’s photo albums without any context besides captions, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of why certain decisions were made. Although the logs were helpful to fill certain surface-level knowledge gaps, such as climbing location and difficulty
range, they also left me with even more questions. Why did she document her climbs? Did she often refer back to the logs for future climbs? Did the logs exist purely for her own reference? Kögler loved being outdoors. She had seemingly found her calling, and attended the University College of the Cariboo to attain her Adventure Guide diploma in Kamloops. The program had a competitive acceptance rate, only admitting 24 students per year at the time. On top of that, students in the program were already expected to have a certain level of experience and knowledge in order to succeed in their studies. Unfortunately, Kögler was never able to complete the program due to a tragic accident which occurred while she was ice climbing at Banff National Park near Mount Wilson with two of her peers. In January of 1999, Kögler was waiting her turn to safely climb up Ice 9, a waterfall ice climb, when a large piece of ice broke off of a frozen waterfall and fell on her. Although Kögler had years of experience as a climber and had ice climbed before, the incident was described as “bad luck” in the Calgary Herald. Kögler passed away at the age of 22 on Jan. 24, 1999. Soon after her passing, Karen’s father, Hans Kögler, created the Karen Kögler Memorial Award. The scholarship is awarded to students in the Adventure Guide program who exhibit a passion for the outdoors. Kögler’s collection serves as a reminder that the end-result might not always show how much thought or effort goes into reaching the summit. In the meantime, the power of self-reflection and committing action to written words is more powerful than most think. “No hesitating, clear head and tell yourself you are capable of doing” —Karen Kögler. Climbing, Mountaineering, Hiking, and Outdoor Adventures Log Book. Atessa Showrai is one of two Collections Coordinators at the Whistler Museum this summer, supported through the Young Canada Works Program. n
PARTIAL RECALL
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1 SUPER STARS More than 200 people turned out for the inaugural Whistler Parkinson’s Superwalk on Sept 13, raising more than $28,000. PHOTO BY JULIE ZONEY 2 FOR THE CAUSE A group of locals met with a couple from Washington to do the Parkinson’s SuperWalk around Lost Lake on Sept. 13. PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHERINE POWER-CHARTRAND 3 DUMB AND DUMBER These fine gents from Ontario, spotted at the Whistler Visitor Centre, sported the iconic outfits of Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne for their trip to Whistler—including on the plane and the bus! Mad respect. PHOTO BY SUSAN HUTCHINSON 4 TAKE A WALK The first completed section of the new One Mile Lake Boardwalk in Pemberton is now open to the public, currently functioning as a “there-and-back” route. Visitors are reminded to respect all posted signage, barriers, and temporary closures while work continues in the area. PHOTO BY SUSAN HUTCHINSON. 5+6 STRIKE A POSE Izzy (left) and Teebo compete for “cutest pose of the week.” We’d ask readers to vote but we know it would only end in a tie. PHOTOS BY BRADEN DUPUIS AND JON PARRIS
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ENTERTAINMENT LISTINGS & ASTROLOGY PIQUE’S GUIDE TO LOCAL EVENTS & NIGHTLIFE
COAST MOUNTAIN BREWING ANNIVERSARY Celebrating 10 years! Enjoy fresh beer, live music, delicious food and good vibes all day. DJ Whitness plays 3 to 6 p.m., followed by The Hairfarmers from 6 to 9 p.m. Check out food vendors, try the anniversary beer release and raise a glass to a decade of great beer. » Sept. 18, 3 to 9 p.m. » Coast Mountain Brewing
SATURDAY SESSIONS WITH MAC: COSTS & CONSEQUENCES OF IDENTITY THEFT
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
MAGIC!
WHISTLER X TRI Whistler X Tri is a bucket list race boasting an invigorating lake swim paired with globally renowned, singletrack mountain bike and running trails. Take in fall’s spectacular colours and immerse yourself in Whistler’s fresh mountain air. » Sept. 19 and 20 » Lost Lake Park
Identity theft is becoming increasingly common, and the consequences can go far beyond losing money. Your personal information can be used to open accounts, make purchases, access services, or create serious financial and legal problems in your name. Join Whistler MAC for an informative and engaging education session with Mary Pichette, Business Development Consultant and Risk Mitigation Specialist, as she explores the real costs and consequences of identity theft—and, importantly, what you can do to protect yourself. » Sept. 19, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. » Whistler Public Library
WHISTLER FARMERS’ MARKET A feast for your senses, the Whistler Farmers’ Market features local produce, tasty food, local artisans, live entertainment and family activities. Markets happen every Sunday until Thanksgiving on Oct. 11, with the addition of select Saturday markets. » Sept. 20, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. » Upper VIllage Stroll
SUNDAY SCRIBBLES FAMILY ART-MAKING
WORCA PRESENTS: THE HILLMAN AND THE WITSEND The Hillman enduro blends competition and camaraderie on Whistler’s legendary trail network. Riders can choose between a five-stage full course or three-stage short course, with every entry supporting local trails through WORCA and partial proceeds benefiting Whistler Search and Rescue (SAR). Meanwhile the Witsend women’s enduro welcomes riders of all skill levels to Whistler’s world-class trail network. Choose a full or short course, ride for fun or competition, and support local trail building, maintenance, and the Líl’wat Ka-xléq-a Indigenous Youth Mountain Bike Program. » Sept. 19, 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. » Various locations
LONGHORN SALOON OKTOBERFEST Raise a stein at Oktoberfest at Longhorn Saloon, part of Whistler Village Beer Festival 2026. Enjoy authentic music, German-style beers and a lively beer hall atmosphere in the heart of Whistler. Your first beer is included, and lederhosen and dirndls are encouraged for this festive fall celebration. » Sept. 19, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. » Longhorn Saloon and Grill
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magicians, with his work appearing in performances on America’s Got Talent and theatrical productions across Canada and the US. He also creates magic and trains actors for film and television, most recently for Disney’s Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. » Sept. 19, 7 p.m. » Maury Young Arts Centre
Spend your Sunday afternoon creating together as a family at the Audain Art Museum! This drop-in style workshop invites participants of all ages to dive into the beauty of the natural world through hands-on art activities inspired by Whistler’s summer flora. » Sept. 20, 1 to 3 p.m. » Audain Art Museum
THE SEASONAL PAUSE: AUTUMN EQUINOX PHOTO COURTESY OF ARTS WHISTLER
FRIENDS OF THE FARMER LONG TABLE Gather around the table in Pemberton Meadows for an unforgettable evening featuring a four-course Spanishinspired feast by Chef Javier Blanc, thoughtfully paired wines, and a stunning ranch setting beneath the mountains. Experience local food, warm hospitality and a long-table dinner worth travelling for. » Sept. 19, 4 p.m. » Pemberton Meadows
WHISTLER SOUND BATH Take a break from the busyness of life and step into a serene space designed for relaxation, healing, and connection. An immersive 90-minute sound bath that will guide you on a journey inward, helping your mind
and body find balance, harmony and renewal through the profound power of sound. » Sept. 19, 7 p.m. » The Bhavana Studio
ARTS WHISTLER LIVE! PRESENTS: MAGIC! For one night only, the Maury Young Theatre transforms into an evening of astonishing sleight of hand, impossible illusions, and laugh-out-loud comedy as three of Canada’s most acclaimed magicians take the stage. East Van legend Travis Bernhardt, once called the “hardest guy to follow in Vancouver” by comedian Dino Archie, has been touring his award-winning magic shows across Canada since 2008. When not performing, Travis mentors and creates material for other
As summer softens into autumn, this gathering is an invitation to pause before life speeds up again and to spend an afternoon moving gently, breathing deeply, reflecting honestly and reconnecting with what matters most. Together, you’ll create space to root, release and receive as a new season is welcomed. » Sept. 20, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. » Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre
THE PEOPLE’S FILM PRESENTS THE MARTIAN In celebration of Whistler Public Library’s 40th birthday, in collaboration with the Friends of the Library, The People’s Film is proud to present a special free book to box office edition of The Martian, based on Andy Weir’s best-selling debut novel. » Sept. 23, 7 p.m. » Maury Young Arts Centre
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42 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
ASTROLOGY
Free Will Astrology WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 18 BY ROB BREZSNY
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Realities you’ve been oblivious to will soon pop into view. Hints and signals you’ve been unconsciously pushing away will start flocking toward you. A lingering emotional numbness will thaw, and surges of feelings will pour into your awareness. Warning! At first, it may feel like an overload: too much sopping wet data arriving too quickly for you to organize or interpret. If you’re willing to be patient and focus on slowly metabolizing the influx, though, the apparent chaos will ultimately weave itself into a luminous web of new understanding. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In Peru’s Andean mountains, Indigenous and smallholder farmers cultivate a rich diversity of potato varieties, continuing a farming tradition rooted in the crop’s domestication thousands of years ago. Each variety thrives in slightly different soil, altitude, and climate. By planting many types at once, the farmers ensure that at least some crops will flourish no matter what conditions arise. I suggest you apply this way of thinking to your own life in the coming weeks, Taurus. Diversify your efforts instead of depending on a single plan or expectation. Plan for multiple small initiatives that will evolve with unique growth patterns. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In biology, many organisms survive harsh or unpredictable conditions by entering dormancy. This is a reversible state of greatly reduced metabolism and development. Seeds, spores, and the dormant stages of some small animals can remain viable for years until cues such as water, temperature, light, or nutrients signal that conditions are favourable again. Then they can resume growth, development, or activity, often rapidly. I suspect you may experience a comparable upsurge in the coming weeks, Gemini. A project or aspiration that seemed inert may reawaken and reignite. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Novelist Kurt Vonnegut advised us to try some task that scares us every day of our lives. That may be a viable experiment for a Scorpio like him, but is it a wise prescription for us Cancerians, who like to feel secure and protected? Normally, I would say no. I’d recommend that you and I dare ourselves to wrestle with one of our fears no more than once per month. But the coming weeks may warrant a departure from our typical rhythms. I suspect we can fortify our long-term safety and peace through more frequent encounters with unpredictable episodes that rouse our hidden reserves of courage. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The ancient Greeks believed that the goddess Harmonia presided over the blending of opposites into balanced beauty. Her dad was the god of war and her mom the goddess of love, so she had a lot of practice. In her line of work, tension between different forces could produce elegant unity rather than conflict. In alignment with astrological omens, I’ve appointed Harmonia to be your guardian angel in the coming weeks, Leo. I urge you to call on her dynamically and frequently. Rifts and splits and divisions that have never before been possible to heal are now swayable by the collaborative efforts of you and the goddess. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): If I were writing this horoscope for the Gun Lovers’ Gambling Porn website, I might counsel my Virgo readers to maintain strict control over their wickedness, debauchery, and decadence. Why? Because now is a time when vices and sins are even more likely than usual to sow chaos and spawn big messes. However, since you are reading my oracle in a more genteel publication and are almost certainly a refined person of high integrity, I’m confident there will be minimal uproar if I dare you to tap into your raw animal energy and unruly instinctual nature. I believe it’s time to at least experiment with wilder aspects of your deep self. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The Real You and the Semi-Real You have been embroiled in a showdown with
the False You. This is as tough and heroic a struggle as you’ve had to deal with in quite some time, though it has often been subtle and partially cloaked. I am of course rooting for the Real You and the Semi-Real You to emerge victorious from the conflict, though I also hope you don’t feel the need to humiliate and crush the False You. That part of you has sometimes served a valuable purpose and doesn’t deserve to be trashed. And what will become of the Semi-Real You after this drama is finished? I suggest you give it a modest place in your repertoire. Like the False You, it sometimes proves to be useful. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Hummingbirds can fly backward. They’re the only birds capable of sustained reverse flight. This requires extraordinary wing flexibility and energy expenditure, but it gives them access to nectar that forward-only fliers have more difficulty sampling. Let’s treat this as a useful metaphor for you in the coming weeks, Scorpio. It may be that your progress and success won’t always come from advancing. Some rich resources may require the equivalent of reverse flight. Consider returning to conversations you thought were finished, revisiting places you’d mentally filed away as “done,” and extracting value from sources you’ve already passed by. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In chemistry, catalysts are substances that accelerate reactions without being consumed in the process. A tiny amount of catalyst can dramatically transform how quickly elements combine. An example is the enzyme catalase in our cells, which breaks down hydrogen peroxide (a byproduct of our metabolism) into water and oxygen millions of times faster than it would decompose on its own. I believe you are now in a phase when your catalytic powers are at a peak, Sagittarius. Be careful where you point that potency of yours! Make sure you really want to change what you’re capable of changing. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Every species adapts to its surroundings. Even harmful microbes evolve over time in order to survive. Syphilis, for instance, was once ferociously swift and deadly, but that intensity limited how far it could spread. So a gentler strain gradually evolved that allowed its hosts to live longer and pass it on more widely. Let this serve as a metaphor for how you handle your dark moods, odd compulsions, and brief bouts of craziness. Befriend the mild, manageable versions of these states and give them space to be felt and understood. Over time, the harsher, more destructive versions will lose ground and fade from power. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Paleontologists know that some dinosaurs travelled in herds with a specific formation: the most vulnerable members gathered in the centre, protected by stronger individuals on the perimeter. It was a savvy way to run things, ensuring the group would thrive. I hope you’re willing to borrow some dinosaur wisdom, Aquarius. The coming weeks will be a good time to apply it to your own life. Who or what needs protection? What vulnerable projects or relationships deserve to be surrounded and shielded? Are you willing and able to use your strength to guard what’s tender and growing? Be a shepherd, a steward, a defender. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In ancient times, Hawaii’s Coconut Island was renowned for its healing powers—but on one condition. Those who sought its medicinal help couldn’t just expect the local spirits to do all the work, but had to take part in awakening the magic. Legend tells us that a seeker could be cured by swimming three times around the island. This participatory approach to healing mirrors your current situation, Pisces. You are close to a source of renewal, but if you hope to unlock its full strength, you must coax it out with your ingenuity.
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Must have 3+ years of experience in a Farm Supervisor position. Responsibilities include: supervising field staff, operating farm equipment and machinery, overseeing irrigation systems, applying soil amendments, general farm work, and maintaining quality control and production records. 14
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BLOWING UP Gauging the risk
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BEST IN SHOWDOWN 72-Hour Showdown returns with a bang
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Lil’wat Nation
Employment Opportunities
Governance • • •
Title & Rights •
Referrals Manager ($76,560.00 to $105,270.00 per year)
Ts’zil, Language & Culture •
Employment Placement Specialist – WorkBC ($47,120.00 to $61,845.00 per year)
Health & Healing + Pqusnalhcw Health Centre • • • •
WE’RE HIRING
Community Safety Officer ($67,040.00 to $92,180.00 per year) Senior Human Resources Generalist ($76,560.00 to $105,270.00 per year) Human Resources Generalist ($67,040.00 to $92,180.00 per year)
Community Health Nurse ($41.42 to $52.81 per hour) + $2.15 hourly premium) Peer Support Worker ($47,120.00 to $61,845.00 per year) Bus Driver ($22.86 to $30.00 per hour) Trauma Therapist ($80,160 to $115,230 per year)
Child & Family Services •
Transition House Support Worker ($25.89 to $33.98 per hour)
Community Programs 14
17
SPRING OOPS WB apologizes for rocky start to spring season
40
ENGAGE THIS Whistler council to limit input at meetings
APRIL 28, 2023 ISSUE 30.17
LIGHT IT UP Gordon Lightfoot tribute
•
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SAFETY FIRST? Whistler Blackcomb weighs in on safety
•
Term position with a wage of $34.06 an hour.
T h e L E G E N D( s ) o f
Industrial Electrician - Utilities CUPE full-time position with a wage of $49.78 an hour.
38
BEAR SEASON Old, emaciated bear euthanized near Whistler Village
HIT PARADE Introduce Wolves launch new multifaceted music company
• •
Early Childhood Educator Assistant ($41,600.00 to $54,600.00 per year) Elders’ Activity Assistant ($25.89 to $33.98 per hour) Bus Driver ($22.86 to $30.00 per hour)
Apply to the Resort Municipality today: whistler.ca/careers
• • •
High School Teacher - Special Education ($63,670.00 to $116,19.00 per year) Education Assistant ($47,120.00 to $61,845.00 per year) Custodian ($22.86 to $30.00 per hour) Bus Driver ($22.86 to $30.00 per hour)
Please visit our career page for more information: https://lilwat.ca/careers/
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MAY 12, 2023 ISSUE 30.19
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SQUAMISH
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WISHES Quest University closes its doors with a Tantalus Twist
14
MIND THE GAP Whistler Valley Society looks to fill in housing
MAY 19, 2023 ISSUE
Housing
gaps
15
POT OF GOLD Whistler has its
34
first
cannabis retail applicants
FOR THE CHILDREN Whistler Children’s Festival celebrates
40 years
30.20 WWW.PIQ UENEWSM
AGAZINE .COM
FRE E
CLOSET SPACE
2026 ISSUE
This role serves as a senior HR practitioner and trusted advisor to leadership, with a primary focus on employee & labour relations. The role manages complex employee relations matters and supports performance management, workplace investigations, recruitment, accommodations & return-to-work, compensation & classification, HRIS, and organizational change - all in alignment with Lilwat Nation’s values, cultural teachings, and community priorities
Experience:
What We Offer:
• Relevant degree or diploma, or a combination of education & experience • CPHR designation is an asset • 5-7 years of progressive HR experience • Solid experience in labour relations and knowledge of labour laws • Employee relations: Investigating and resolving complex or critical issues. • Experience in federally regulated, Indigenous, public sector, government or similarly complex organization preferred
• Salary Range: $76,560 to $105,270/year • Full-Time, Regular Position • 6% vacation pay • Up to 5 wellness days per year • Up to 10 paid sick days per year • Extra stat holidays including one week off between Christmas and New Year’s • Extended health and wellness benefits • Registered Pension Plan (RPP) • Supportive and collaborative team environment
Whistler’s only dedicated wedding magazine. AVAILABLE ON STANDS IN THE SEA TO SKY 14
INTO ACTION Whistler’s new Housing Action Plan revealed
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RAINBOW
REVISITED Popular park set to close for construction
56
Find full job post and apply here:
For more info contact: hr@lilwat.ca or 604-894-6115
ARTNERS
IN CRIME Cary and Paulo Lopes launch new exhibit, ‘ARTnership
SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
45
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COORDINATOR, SALES OPERATIONS & FINANCE Full Time, Year Round
The people make the place, and in Whistler’s case that couldn’t be more true. Tourism Whistler is looking for people passionate about mountain culture and sharing this special place we get to call home. As part of the Whistler.com team, the Coordinator, Sales Operations & Finance works closely with Sales Operations and Finance teams to support the day-to-day operations of Whistler.com, ensuring that products, bookings, supplier information, and financial processes are administered accurately and efficiently. If you’re someone that is organized, detailoriented, resourceful, a team-player and that likes a varied mix of responsibilities, we’d love to hear from you. What We Offer:
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• Nine-day fortnight schedule • Hybrid work environment balancing in-office and remote work • Excellent benefits package • Supportive, collaborative team culture • Starting salary range: $50,000 - $54,000 annually, plus incentive bonus TO VIEW OUR CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, AND TO APPLY, VISIT US ONLINE AT: WHISTLER.COM/CAREERS.
46 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
P: Justa Jeskova
SNOW SERVICES SUPERVISOR: Whistler, 5+ yrs heavy equipment/civil or winter maintenance experience, supervisory experience preferred, Class 5 BC licence. Lead winter operations, coordinate crews and equipment, and oversee safe, efficient service delivery. Opportunity to take ownership of winter operations, lead a team and contribute directly to operational performance. $44.00-$50.00 per hour.
We’re Hiring!
WHISTLER’S PREMIER LUXURY ESTATE BUILDER
Join Our Team at WorldMark by 7 8 &5Sundance 9 Wyndham – Cascade1Lodge We’re looking 9 for motivated 2 7and reliable 8 team 3 members to join our Housekeeping team at our 4 3 6 vacation ownership properties in Creekside and Whistler 3 Village. 6 4 2 7 Housekeeping Wage: $26.75 to $28.00 Based on 2 5 3 1 9 Experience 1 3 5 Hours: 37.5 hours per week 9 2Employment: 5 6 1 Seasonal • Hiring8Bonus: 5 +76 month 9 bonus for successful 2 full-time hires V. EASY # 10 Full time Permanent Employment: • 12 vacation days after 12 months of employment • 6 paid sick days per year • Extended medical/dental benefits. • WB Season Pass every November 9 by Email 6 1 Apply David 6 7 Housekeeping: 5 4 8 david.thomson@travelandleisure.com
$30-$45+ per hour
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8 2 9 9 HIRING 2 6 7 5 NOW Room Housekeepers 5 Hotel Whistler 8 6 Pinnacle Whistler Village 7We're looking for 5reliable, detail-oriented 3 2 Room 4 Housekeepers who take pride in their work and in 3 7 8 1 delivering guest-ready rooms. If you have a commitment to cleanliness and a 2 8 1 7 3 keen eye for detail, we want to hear from you. These positions offer a wage of $25.00+ per hour. 8 7 9 Please note: the Hotel does not provide staff accommodation.
V. EASY
# 12
Please email your resume to parmstrong@pinnaclehotels.ca.
# 11
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# 12
2 3 5 9 7 8 6 1 4 6 7 9 1 5 4 3 8 2 Become 4 1 8 a 3 6 2 9 5 7 8 9 2 6 4 7 1 3 5 monthly donor 3 5 4 2 8 1 7 6 9 today! 7 6 1 5 9 3 2 4 8 5 4 3 7 2 6 8 9 1 Sign up at 9 2 6 8 1 5 4 7 3 www.whistlerwag.com 1 8 7 4 3 9 5 2 6
4/11/2005
SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
47
PUZZLES ACROSS 1 6 11 16 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 32 34 35 37 38 40 41 42 44 46 49 52 53 55 59 60 61 64 65 66 67 68 70 71 72
Collision Tennis great -- Becker -- -colored Became 23-Across Woodworking machine Clio’s sister Wan Town in Florida Lazy one Gridiron players First showing Actress -- Farrow Versifier Football’s -- Manning Bedouins “-- on a Grecian Urn” Supervisor Lubricate Go aimlessly Black cuckoo Domicile (Abbr.) Grow limp Sent along Building wings Stick Full of tricks Name Took by force Peruses Sets of points Be restless Big and strong Giant brute Angry Feel sorry for “Kindergarten --” Track Ticked off Private school (Abbr.)
73 74 76 77 79 80 82 84 85 86 87 88 90 91 92 95 96 98 100 101 102 104 105 106 107 108 110 112 113 114 116 117 118 119 121 124 125 128 130 131
Airborne speck Faux chocolate Give -- -- whirl Sheepish Exclude 500 sheets Morose Black Dunderhead Commedia dell’-Sapling Seer Vow Chinese “way” Regret Also not Blunder Is in the red Marsh bird Wok Ballerina’s skirt Root veggie Ran away Darkens NaCl Emissary Brawls Tempting thing Wait on Vend “-- Fledermaus” Create Heart Number prefix Large building Corrosion on iron “Eureka!” New Deal org. Saw logs, so to speak Ryan Gosling role
132 136 137 139 140 141 142 144 147 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156
Strike Morning moisture Housekeepers Grassland Opera by Verdi Spain’s continent (Abbr.) Astonish Early time of life Spot on a card Singer -- Osmond Doctrine Tall and thin Nest Dozed Borders Efface Religious law
DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 27
Scale Walkie-talkie Book of maps That girl That girl City in Wisconsin Bay window -- and rave Native of (Suffix) In a clearheaded way Appease Invite Flightless bird -- -cotta Non compos mentis Seed cases High card Work hard Get away from Assignations Inter --
30 33 36 38 39 43 44 45 47 48 49 50 51 52 54 56 57 58 60 61 62 63 66 67 69 72 73 74 75 78 79 81 83 85 88 89 92 93 94
Krakow native Beak Stockholm native Sandwich shop, briefly Plush bear Taxing agcy. Paddy plant Excavated High toss Tart Pleasant smell French painter Pitiless News Turned into Site for mobile homes (2 wds.) Cream of the crop Welsh poet -- Thomas Burden In good health Repeated Rocky hill Natural surroundings Window in the QE2 Signs for public notice Soap plant Brewing need -- -- -nine-tails Myanmar, formerly Jackson Five hit Wild pig Times Star sign Condemned Readily available (2 wds.) Baton --, La. The Eternal City Unguent PC key
97 99 100 103 105 106 107 109 111 112 113 115 117 118 120 122 123
PC component Director -- Craven Beget Nullify Nourishes High-ranking noble Denominations “Waterfalls” trio Rest Shoestring Family member Singer -- James Wondrous event Albacore Pilot a plane Fjords Enemies
Nighttime flight (Hyph.) President John Quincy -Of blood Conscious Said further Strikes with the foot Memorize Broadcast portion Primp Sporting event Ballad “-- Karenina” Close a certain way Actor -- Majors Corn serving Cul-de- -Legume
LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS
4
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5 8 1 4 9 1 6
124 125 126 127 129 131 133 134 135 137 138 140 143 145 146 147 148
7 2
6 8 7 9
6 2 3 5
4 6
9 4 2 1 5
7 5 8 9
V. EASY
7 3 4 #9
Enter a digit from 1 through 9 in each cell, in such a way that: • Each horizontal row contains each digit exactly once • Each vertical column contains each digit exactly once • Each 3x3 box contains each digit exactly once Solving a sudoku puzzle does not require any mathematics; simple logic suffices.
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: VERY EASY
6
8
2 7 8 6 1 1 5 4 7 9 9 2 1 5 4 9 6 7 2 3 4 8 1 5 7 3 6 6 2 4 8 7 9 1 V. Solution, EASY # 11 tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com
ANSWERS ON PAGE 47
48 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
49
PIQUE’N YER INTEREST
Right-sized LAST WEEK, after a beautiful long
weekend in the Gulf Islands, I started back at work on Tuesday morning refreshed and ready to get back into the thick of it. The company I work for was starting the month off with a Town Hall meeting over Zoom, with hundreds of employees in attendance. In my four months of working at this company, I’ve come to enjoy these
BY VINCE SHULEY Town Hall sessions, where I get to see the great things people are creating all over the company. This time, something was off. Rather than having a people/culture staff member warm up the crowd, our CEO appeared immediately on screen, reading from a script in a sombre tone. This was not good news. Our CEO had let 55 people go in the company. I’m relieved to say I wasn’t one of them, but there’s no world where news like this doesn’t leave you rattled. This was more than trimming the fat and optimizing operational efficiencies. This was a bet our CEO had made on an entire department, a bet that had not paid off. To give the other departments (including mine) the operational runway they
GUESS WHO? Live by the Zoom, die by the Zoom. ILLUSTRATION BY JON PARRIS / ADOBE AI
50 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
needed, this one had to go. A message of “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few,” or something to that effect. It’s a familiar story: young, ambitious companies have to keep adapting to a changing marketplace and to their own growth to keep their financial momentum, and later, keep the investors satisfied. Sometimes, through no fault of your own, you can get caught in that corporate crossfire and lose your job to right-sizing. Getting fired for underperforming has its own particular sting (one I’ve felt before), but at least it comes with a
But I’ve learned the difference between a course correction and attempts to save a sinking ship. When it comes to the corporate workforce, bigger isn’t necessarily better, and nowhere is that more true than in the tech sector. Global tech layoffs actually accelerated into 2026 even as overall job cuts elsewhere in the economy eased off. Some of 2025’s largest single-company cuts came from the giants like Intel (27,000-plus roles), Microsoft (between 9,000 and 15,000) and Meta (8,000), among others… scale doesn’t buy immunity—it just means the
Getting fired for underperforming has its own particular sting (one I’ve felt before), but at least it comes with a reason you can argue with...
reason you can argue with, learn from, or—if it makes you feel better—reject outright. Getting right-sized doesn’t offer that. You’re left confused, anxious and often depressed. This wasn’t the first time I’ve attended such a meeting in my career. The last company I worked for went through two separate rounds of layoffs in three years due to a shrinking market. Both times, people I actually knew—people I liked and had worked with—were on the list. You develop your own type of scar tissue after that. I’m not numb to it, of course.
job cuts make bigger headlines. If you draw a paycheque from Whistler’s tourism economy, you’re dealing with a slightly different beast of swings in weather and visitation. Work tends to slow down to a crawl during these low points, and shifts get cut, but it takes a lot of terrible weather to lay off a salaried employee. On the other hand, in 2024, Whistler Blackcomb’s parent company, Vail Resorts, cut 14 per cent of its corporate workforce in what it called a “Resource Efficiency Transformation Plan.” Very few operational jobs were
affected in that cut, but it probably didn’t help with company-wide staff morale that month. I’m not speaking from experience here, but I’ve heard enough tech business commentary to learn about the trends. The longer you spend in a leadership seat, the more of these difficult calls you either sit through or have to make yourself. I remember business podcaster Scott Galloway describing the act of a CEO right-sizing their own company as “putting your big boy (or girl) pants on.” I don’t love the analogy, but Galloway is not wrong. When you’re the boss, you can’t always do what’s right for every individual who works for you. But you can do what’s right for your company, and the people remaining there. The longer you spend in the workforce, the more you realize that while it always sucks, some layoffs can actually be a good thing. It’s an opportunity for the company to refocus and grow the business and people that it needs to invest in. For the poor souls who lose their jobs, it’s a hard pill to swallow, but it can lead to positive change, perhaps at a company that values your skill set more than the last one. After the news last week, I went through a few days of survivor’s guilt like everyone else. But I’m actually feeling more positive about it after the CEO gave us honest and transparent reasoning for the layoff. Had he not made that difficult decision, we’d all be in a more precarious position than we were before. Now with a bit more mental scar tissue, I’m ready to get back to work. Vince Shuley is in a good place to survive 2026. n
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