Vancouver Magazine, May/June 2022 by Canada Wide Media

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Why this Why thissmall smallbusiness business made the switch to TD made the switch to TD SINCE 2018, HARC CREATIVE has been helping organizations step into their own light. The duo behind the agency, Parker McLean and Jarren MacDougall, are helping empower businesses across BC and Canada to present themselves to the world with authenticity and joy.

Tell us, what is the story behind Harc Creative?

For years we thought we had to hustle in the same way every other creative agency did. We’d climbed up through Vancouver’s start-up scene but something always felt a little ‘off’. We had some work to do, so we rolled up our sleeves, checked our egos, did our own personal work, and asked ourselves some brave questions. That’s when it came to us: what if we gave our clients that same space for reflection and self-discovery we gave to ourselves? And so, we started Harc – named after Parker’s grandfather who had that nickname in his day. The word ‘hark’ is itself a perfect representation of the space we’re inspired to make for clients and ourselves to feel heard. It struck a perfect balance between close-to-home and openly accessible, so it stuck.

What is it about TD that attracted you the most?

We heard a TD representative speak very passionately about diversity and inclusion at a queer entrepreneurship conference a few years back. Since then, we weren’t able to shake the feeling that our banking relationship could be more meaningful than just purely transactional. At Harc, we believe that the highest impact projects always arise from partnering with clients whose values align with ours, so we thought why not apply that same principle when choosing a financial institution? With that lens, remembering the TD representative’s passionate speech at the conference, we felt that they were right for us.

What has the onboarding experience been like?

We didn’t know what to expect when switching to TD from another major

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COVER: DESTINATION BC/ADAM WELLS; ILLUSTRATION: STEVEN HUGHES; TRAVEL: DESTINATION BC/K ARI MEDIG

As Harc Creative is itself a small business, Parker and Jarren believed that their agency’s financial needs required a more personal relationship with their bank. Here’s more on their journey as small business owners and why they made the switch to TD. bank, so the experience we had was a very nice surprise. Arriving at our first appointment in downtown Vancouver, we immediately knew that ‘we weren’t in Kansas anymore’. Within minutes, the representative smoothly asked our pronouns, checked with us about access needs, and– more important than anything else– helped us feel visible and affirmed as the gay couple we are. No chuckles, no jokes, no foot-in-the-mouth moments– just a human helping some humans on their road to financial achievement.

In your view, what are some of the benefits TD has been able to offer from a small business perspective?

For us, honesty is extremely important. In everything we do, we show up honestly so that our clients have permission to do the same. That might include some tough conversations about hearts and minds and touchy-feely stuff, but we’re big believers in speaking from the heart. In our own lives as gay men, we’ve had to choose authenticity. Taking that one step further, we’ve had to learn how to be kind to ourselves, and we feel called to help clients make that same space for themselves, their colleagues, and their customers. And so, it is clear that one of the benefits of working with TD has been the team’s openness and availability every step of the way. For both of us, imposter syndrome and self-doubt have plagued our approach to our finances since forever, so the TD team’s willingness to support us on our financial journey has been invaluable. Whether you’re starting, growing or managing your business, TD can help you with your business’s financial journey. Learn more at www.td.com/businessbanking

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City 11 At Issue Wish executive director Mebrat Beyene is helping to find stability for the city’s most vulnerable. 16 City Informer Vancouver’s most plentiful resource isn’t fish or lumber: it’s Botox.

COVER: DESTINATION BC/ADAM WELLS; ILLUSTRATION: STEVEN HUGHES; TRAVEL: DESTINATION BC/K ARI MEDIG

Easy Rider E-biking through the Kettle Valley Rail Trail—with stops for wine, of course—is just one perfect way to spend the summer. For more ideas, turn to page 27.

16 FE ATURES

The Big Squeeze With real estate prices rising and buildings aging, condo stratas are being pushed to keep monthly fees low. But could that end in disaster?

21+ Places to Hike, Bike, Paddle and Chill in Your Own Backyard Sure, the borders and airports have opened up once more... but with so much to explore here in our own province, it’s still tempting to stay close to home.

Culture 66 Love Letter At the 24-hour Duffin’s, we go nuts for doughnuts (and empanadas and chicken and tortas and...)

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A GetA etAAw wAAAyy without w Compromise. Book it! Come for the finest cuts at Whiskey Prime Steakhouse and stay for an unforgettable Xperience in our newly renovated Hotel.

Publisher Samantha Legge Editorial Director Anicka Quin Art Director Stesha Ho Food Editor Neal McLennan Associate Art Director Jenny Reed Assistant Editor Alyssa Hirose Editor at Large Stacey McLachlan Contributing Editors Frances Bula, Melissa Edwards, Amanda Ross Editorial Intern Dani Wright Editorial Email mail@vanmag.com

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VANCOUVER MAGAZINE is published six times a year by Canada Wide Media Limited, Suite 130, 4321 Still Creek Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5C 6S7. Phone 604-2997311; fax 604-299-9188. Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the publisher’s written permission. Not responsible for unsolicited editorial material. Privacy Policy: On occasion, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened organizations whose product or service might interest you. If you prefer that we not share your name and address (postal and/ or email), you can easily remove your name from our mailing lists by reaching us at any of the listed contact points. You can review our complete Privacy Policy at Vanmag.com. Indexed in the Canadian Magazine Index by Micromedia Ltd. and also in the Canadian Periodical Index. International standard serial no. ISSN 0380-9552. Canadian publications mail product sales agreement #40068973. Printed in Canada by Mitchell Press, 8328 Riverbend Ct, Burnaby, B.C. V3N 5C9. Distributed by Coast to Coast Ltd.

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Coming Up Next Issue

Tripping Out Made in Vancouver Awards Last year’s winners included an incredible Spanish cheescake, rings inspired by staples and a candle holder based on stones found in the Salish Sea (above). Which local makers will be taking the top prizes this year? What It’s Like to Get Tinder Swindlered That Netflix hit series about a conman who used Tinder to financially manipulate women? We chat with a woman who had the same thing happen to her, right in our own fair city.

On the Web Where to See Comedy in Vancouver Many of the top comedy clubs were casualties of the pandemic. But luckily for humour fans everywhere, producers and performers are emerging from the rubble to reform, regroup and mount shows wherever and whenever they can.

Anicka Quin editorial director

anick a . quin @vanmag . com

@ aniqua

PORTRAIT: EVA AN KHERA J; ST YLING BY LUISA RINO, MAKEUP BY MEL ANIE NEUFELD; CLOTHING COURTESY HOLT RENFREW, HOLTRENFREW.COM

A couple of my oldest friends from back east are sharing a big birthday with me in the next year, and so we’ve started to figure out what a celebratory trip would look like. A few of my ideas were renting a villa in the South of France, surfing in Costa Rica or gathering a group to head to Greece. But all the two of them could talk about was coming out to B.C. to watch the storms in Tofino. And I’m totally on board for that. The past couple of local-travel-only years have had many of us discovering just how excellent our own backyard can be—and, in fact, many of the stories in our 2022 Staycation Guide (starting on page 29) began with writers who were needing to do just that. (Hyperlocal in some cases—our food editor, Neal McLennan, had to reschedule a West Coast Trail hike after the same-healthauthority edict came down earlier in the pandemic.) From architectural getaways in Victoria to grizzly-bear spotting in Haida Gwaii, the stories in this issue truly travel the province, and I hope they will be an inspiration point for planning your own summer and fall vacations. (I certainly know my Torontobased birthday-sharing friends are feeling inspired: after our planning chat this past weekend, I got a text saying that flights are already being booked.) But back to Neal: this happens to be his last issue as our food editor. I can say without bias (okay, maybe a little bias) that he’s the best food writer in the city—and possibly the country—so it’s no small loss for Vanmag that he’s decided to live the freelance life going forward. Fortunately, he’ll remain on board as our at-large wine and spirits editor, so you’ll still be seeing his pithy words in print and at vanmag.com. Neal and I have worked together for over 15 (!) years now, and over that time he’s simply been an excellent human to have around our offices. I know I speak for both the team here at Vanmag and for this city’s restaurant community when I say: You’ll be so, so missed, Neal. Thank you for being your excellent self.

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PORTRAIT: EVA AN KHERA J; ST YLING BY LUISA RINO, MAKEUP BY MEL ANIE NEUFELD; CLOTHING COURTESY HOLT RENFREW, HOLTRENFREW.COM

Kostuik Gallery represents visual artists from Vancouver, across Canada, the USA, Europe, Mexico and Argentina. Jennifer Kostuik offers painting, sculpture, collage, textile and all photography formats with expertise in special commissions. exper

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VA N M AG .C O M/C I T Y

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Upon a Star

K YOKO FIERRO

Vancouver nonprofit Wish is facing some of the toughest times in its almost 40-year history. But executive director Mebrat Beyene is helping to find stability for the city’s most vulnerable. by

Nathan Caddell

When Mebrat Beyene talks about how challenging the last couple of years have been, the range of emotions on her face is telling. “It’s difficult to do this work at the best of times,” says the executive director of the Wish Drop-In Centre Society, before breaking into a sardonic chuckle. “Though I don’t really know what those are.” Fair enough. The nonprofit Wish was established 38 years ago with the goal of improving the health, safety and well-being of women involved in Vancouver’s streetbased sex trade. Beyene has been with the organization since 2015, but the most recent years have inarguably been the hardest in her tenure. There have been some highlights, to be sure: the centre was able to open Canada’s first-ever 24/7 emergency shelter for women-identifying sex workers in 2020, and Beyene herself won a YWCA Women of Distinction Award. But mostly, it’s been challenging. The pandemic only exacerbated the trials of the ongoing and unprecedented toxic drug supply, as well as the homelessness and poverty issues that continue to hover over the city. COVID-19 restrictions resulted in lost income for sex workers, which in turn limited their ability to turn down unsafe work. “We saw during COVID what it looks like when multiple levels of government pull out all the stops to respond to a crisis,” Beyene maintains. “Okay, well, the Downtown Eastside has been dealing with multiple crises—where is the pulling out all the stops approach? It feels like we’re putting Band-Aids on massive issues. People need to

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I remember seeing that job post come out and thinking, ‘Wow, that’s a massive job, I wonder who’s going to take that on?’” deteriorate in and around Montreal, every weekend there was some kind of police incident involving members of the Black community.” Beyene moved to Vancouver in the early 2000s with her then-husband and got a job working in federal MP Hedy Fry’s Vancouver Centre constituency office before moving to Status of Women Canada, where Fry was the minister in charge. “I think her confidence grew as she did better and better,” says Fry about Beyene’s early days. “Everyone knows Mebrat to be funny, engaging, charismatic, personable. But there’s no beating around the bush with her. She gets the work done.” After about a year working with the veteran member of parliament, Beyene returned to the nonprofit arena to become the executive director at PeerNetBC, which provides training, resources and support to peer-led initiatives across the province. “Having worked as a program officer at Status of Women and then moving into the nonprofit sector, where she doesn’t have all the kinds Of Montreal of things you get in a department, like pensions, health care, drug Beyene’s family, originally from prescription programs—that tells you Eritrea, was living in Ethiopia about her personality,” says Fry. during the Eritrean War of As Beyene tells it, not working with Independence. They moved to and for community groups wasn’t ever Montreal when she was three much of an option for her. Instead, months old. She didn’t forget her she used the government experience roots, though—she did both a as a sort of training ground. “It was bachelor’s (McGill) and a master’s (Howard University in Washington, fantastic to work on the government side of things,” she says. “I had been D.C.) in African Studies. She thought she’d go into academia a grantee forever, writing grants or being part of a team that was writing after that, but ended up continuing grants, so it was really valuable to in the community activism she had understand how government works, started in Montreal. “It was usually how funding works, and what the around police violence against the avenues actually are versus what’s on Black community,” Beyene recalls. the page.” “As police relations continued to be housed and their health and mental health need to be addressed immediately.” In the last two years, Wish, with nearly 200 workers and 117 volunteers, has experienced decreased supply—in the form of staffing shortages—along with an increase in demand: the new shelter hit capacity almost immediately after opening, and had to turn away sex workers more than 1,000 times during its first year. In many other industries, there would be a plethora of startups looking to solve this demand and supply deficiency. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in the nonprofit sector. Most anyone you ask with experience in community work in Vancouver expresses great gratitude that Beyene is in her current role, helping find stability for the city’s most vulnerable. But as she fights against what sometimes must feel like a stacked deck at a rigged table in a corrupt casino, it’s fair to wonder if things will—or even can— get better.

Following the birth of her son, Beyene took two years off before she began working as a consultant, doing organizational development and support contracts for a variety of nonprofits. A lifelong musician and singer, she also took to teaching her son’s music classes. “It was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had,” she says. “Singing and dancing and playing with kids and their families, being able to bring grandparents, aunties, uncles, brothers, sisters all together.”

Community calls But it wasn’t long before duty reared its complicated head. Kate Gibson, the longtime executive director at Wish, was retiring. “I remember seeing that job post come out and thinking, ‘Wow, that’s a massive job, I wonder who’s going to take that on?’” recalls Beyene. The foundation went through a couple of posting rounds, which Beyene says is not uncommon. “Downtown Eastside work is not easy,” she notes. “You want to find the right person. And if the pay is not really up there, it can be hard. Lots of nonprofits end up going through several rounds of searches.” She got some calls imploring her to think about it. “I said to myself I would never do another ED job, that I just wanted to have some time for my kid. And I went and did it anyway,” she says with a laugh. “I’m a glutton for punishment, I think.” The seven years she’s spent thus far at Wish have been a marriage of high-level policy work and grinding it out on the ground. “It’s everything from literally mopping up from a flood to meeting with ministers and the mayor’s office,” says Beyene. That seems fitting for Wish, which has two separate but equal goals. “We are definitely a frontline social service

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organization, but we’re also trying to move the needle on really complex, intersecting issues, like poverty, homelessness, addiction and genderbased violence.” There isn’t a silver bullet for any of these issues, but there is one path that Beyene adamantly believes is key in unlocking this prism of connected problems. “There are moments where it feels as simple as housing, housing, housing—first and foremost,” she says. “Because nothing can happen unless someone feels some form of stabilization in their lives. That’s everything from shelters to supported and supportive housing to full housing.” That solution will obviously rely on continued government support, and while she maintains that things have improved in terms of funding since the NDP took the provincial reins, the upcoming municipal election will also be crucial. One of Beyene’s former allies on council—Vision Vancouver councillor Andrea Reimer—decided not to run for mayor after pondering the idea.

“If you spend a bit of time around politics or community organizing, you learn to recognize the people who are doing the heavy lifting but not standing at the microphone,” says Reimer. “Mebrat to me seemed like one of those people. She makes a lot of stuff work, takes on a lot of emotional labour and doesn’t get recognition for that work. To do that, you either need to do it, or you have to find pure joy in it. Or it’s somewhere in the middle of that.” For Beyene, one gets the sense it’s the latter. She’s always been more comfortable working in and for communities, she says. And it’s pretty clear she’s going to fight for this one and for the 800 or so visitors Wish sees annually. “We’re pushing for a true intersectional gender lens on these issues,” she maintains. “Women, Indigenous folks, gender diverse folks, people of colour—at the intersections of all those identities are the folks falling through the most cracks and facing the most amount of vulnerability or risk of exploitation.” But, she argues, if you were to simply look at the raw numbers,

you’d quickly identify that there are more shelter and detox beds for men. “In the Downtown Eastside, at least 41 to 45 percent are women, but the services, the funding, it doesn’t match that.” Fortunately, in her personal life, Beyene does know what the “best of times” looks like. To her, it’s engaging in community music and singing, often volunteering with the Vancouver Youth Choir and jamming out with her son. “We have karaoke parties at home—just waiting for the neighbours to be like, ‘Yeah, you need to stop,’” she laughs. “I was introducing him to Wu Tang Clan yesterday, and he was like, ‘I don’t like this.’ I joked that I felt like a failure as a parent. He says, ‘What about Linkin Park?’ I’m not a fan, he’s trying to push that on me.” Of course, Linkin Park once did an album with another hip-hop legend, Jay-Z. The title of that deliciously mid-2000s effort also fittingly describes where Beyene could be headed: Collision Course.

SUGGESTION BOX What’s one thing you’d change about Vancouver?

JAMES IRANZAD,

co-founder and president of Gooseneck Hospitality (operator of Bells and Whistles, Bufala and Lucky Taco)

Our schools shouldn’t be named after scumbags. I have friends with kids at Lord Kitchener Elementary. Lord Kitchener didn’t even come to Canada: he was a brutal war strategist for England who went scorched-earth in Africa and the Middle East. And he’s just one of so many examples of terrible humans that are being celebrated for some reason because we couldn’t think of anything better a hundred years ago. Lord Roberts Elementary is another one. A tiny fraction of these schools are named after women; an even smaller percentage are named after Indigenous people. It doesn’t reflect the zeitgeist of what’s going on or the diversity we want to see in the community. It has to change.

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BC seaweed grown in partnership with Indigenous First Nations

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CIT Y INFORMER

Was Botox Really Invented in Vancouver? by

Stacey McLachlan Byron Eggenschwiler

illustration by

Have you ever seen the Vancouver coat of arms? It features two hot white guys, confidently wearing high-waisted pants and pulling it off. (That’s part of what makes them so hot.) One is holding an axe, representing the lumber industry; the other is holding a mesh bag, representing either the fishing industry or the fact that he’s just been to the Kitsilano Farmers’ Market. Either way, as much as I admire these strapping young men and as many fanfiction masterpieces as I’ve been inspired to pen (spoiler: there’s a lot of kissing!), I think it’s time to update this iconography to better represent Vancouver’s economic foundation. Move over, Resource Hunks, and make way for Alastair and Jean Carruthers: pioneers of cosmetic Botox. Picture it: the married duo could be proudly wielding syringes as they flank the Vancouver crest. The motto below currently says “By sea, land and air we prosper,” but with a few tweaks we can easily change that to “Eternal youth through strategic facial poisoning.” It’s the least we can do for the people who discovered and popularized the now-ubiquitous

Not even one receptionist regretted their decision to get injected in the forehead on their lunch break. Success! treatment for vanquishing wrinkles and frown lines—the Carutherses never were able to get a patent. Let them have this. As the legend goes, Vancouver eye doctor Jean was using tamed botulism toxins back in 1987 to treat eye spasms, a revolutionary treatment she learned working under Californian ophthalmologist Alan Scott. One patient noticed that the injections were giving her not just relief from her twitches, but also a

“beautiful, untroubled expression,” as Jean said in a 2014 Maclean’s interview. Naturally, Jean went to her receptionist the next day and, in what can only be described as the height of lean-in-girl-boss confidence, asked if she could inject her with the Botox to test it out. (Obviously, everything worked out great for everyone involved here—the receptionist got rid of her frown lines, Jean made an incredible discovery, I got a weak

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excuse to talk about the thirst-trap coat-of-arms boys in the first paragraph of this column—but I would just like to interrupt myself to remind all entry-level employees that if your boss asks to inject your face with something, you are allowed to say no. Also, you should maybe call WorkSafe?) By 1990, Jean and Alastair (who ran his dermatology clinic out of the same office) had treated 10 very trusting patients, and by 1992 they were presenting their bold methodology to rooms full of skeptics. Their haters wouldn’t be raising their eyebrows for long. The couple travelled through Europe and Asia demonstrating their technique—a crusade for smoothness, if you will—and quietly gained a following from beauty devotees who were happy to blast their wrinkles into submission. The results spoke for themselves, and importantly, not even one receptionist regretted their decision to get injected in the forehead on their lunch break. Success! Now, 30 years later, the FDA-approved Botox has become the most popular non-invasive cosmetic procedure, with 4.4 million performed in the U.S. alone in 2020. But if Jean and Alastair are upset that they weren’t able to patent the cosmetic usage of Botox, you wouldn’t know it: there’s no evidence of frowning on their beautiful, untroubled faces. Get these ageless mugs on that coat of arms already. Got a question for City Informer? stacey.mclachlan@vanmag.com

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With real estate prices rising and buildings aging, condo stratas are being pushed to keep monthly fees low. But could that end in disaster? by JENNIFER VAN EVRA illustration by

STEVEN HUGHES

y the time Mary Fines and her husband bought their condo at the Gardenia Villa in East Vancouver, the worst of the damage had already been done. The 11-building, 250-unit complex was in desperate need of major repairs—not least of which was the replacement of the entire exterior, which had been leaking for decades and putting the buildings at risk of structural failure. But instead of repairing and maintaining the 1994 complex, the owners, many of whom were immigrants and seniors with limited means, had opted to save money by pushing the fixes into the future or settling for

Band-Aid solutions. Some believed the problems were overblown, and didn’t need fixing at all. Unlike many of her neighbours, Fines knew what she was getting herself into. It was 2015, and her husband had a disability that was worsening to the point where the couple wouldn’t be able to live in their west side townhouse. They couldn’t afford a pricey Vancouver property, so they opted to buy into the Gardenia, where they paid just $220,000 for a two-bedroom condo, knowing there would be a hefty repair bill to come. Still, Fines, a now-retired mortgage broker, was amazed by what she saw. Because of the infighting over how, and even if, the owners’ money

should be spent, there was constant turnover on the strata council and among property managers. “It was clear it was chaotic,” says Fines, who later became president of the council. Things were just as bad inside her suite, where the window seals were so far gone she couldn’t see outside and cold, wet air blew through in the winter—just as it does today. “I don’t even bother turning on the heat,” she says, explaining how the windows are so poorly sealed the warmth just gets sucked outside. “And when I walk up the stairs in my building, there’s an area where the ceiling is literally taped up with duct tape.” The disrepair has been a problem almost since the complex was

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example, but it’s far from the only one. Condo strata councils—often made up of owners with no experience in real estate or construction— have long been pressured to keep monthly fees and special levies (which cover shared expenses like roofing, plumbing and landscaping) as low as possible. As condo and townhouse prices reach record highs, however, many buyers are putting every penny they have into down payments and saddling themselves with ever-larger mortgages, adding even more pressure to keep costs low.

Avoidable Disaster Last year’s condo collapse in Surfside, Florida, has served as a wake-up call to many condo stratas.

The challenge for most strata councils is you can only really spend on what your owners approve. And one of the challenges in British Columbia around having no minimum funding or reporting requirements for depreciation reports is that many strata corporations barely have enough money in their reserve funds to meet the next emergency.” At the same time, many of the buildings that were constructed between the 1970s and the 2000s are aging and require more substantial repairs, all while construction costs skyrocket and inflation is on the rise. Insurance rates are becoming prohibitive, and climate change is taking its toll—all of which is leading to ballooning expenses that tapped-out owners can’t afford. But, as some owners are learning, cutting corners can end in disaster. Last year’s collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium in Surfside, Florida—a catastrophic structural failure that killed 98 people—served as a wake-up call, especially after reports show that the condo board knew the complex was in need of major repairs but deferred or delayed those fixes anyway. “The concrete deterioration is

accelerating. The roof situation got much worse,” wrote Jean Wodnicki, president of the board at Champlain Towers, in a letter to owners explaining a $15-million (U.S.) special assessment less than three months before the collapse. “A lot of this work could have been done or planned for in years gone by. But this is where we are now.” Tony Gioventu, executive director of B.C.’s Condominium Homeowners Association and the court-appointed administrator of Gardenia Villa, says he is seeing a definite uptick in deferred repairs, which can become very costly very quickly. As buildings age, things like roofs, windows, elevators, balconies, plumbing and building envelopes require maintenance, repair or replacement, and the price tags regularly run into the millions. By

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completed nearly 30 years ago. Then in 2006, a faction of owners complained to the City of Vancouver about the strata’s failure to perform necessary repairs, which triggered an inspection and engineering report—something that, surprisingly, doesn’t happen as a matter of course for Vancouver condos. In a survey completed by the engineering firm, 63 percent of the owners of Villa Gardenia’s woodframe units reported they had issues with condensation, and 41 percent had mould, fungi or mildew. Forty percent said their apartments had leaked within the last year. Following the inspection, the city warned that some of the buildings on the property were damaged to the point where they were at risk of failing, and ordered the owners to perform the repairs, which the engineering firm estimated at $40 million—or roughly $160,000 per unit. “It’s crazy. I cannot afford that much money... It’s like buying another apartment,” one owner, who paid $185,000 for her unit in 2004, told the Vancouver Sun in 2006. “I’m very disappointed,” said another, who paid $115,000 for his condo. “My heart feels very uneasy.” Without a 75 percent majority vote from owners, however, the strata council could not, and did not, do the full repairs. The owners did approve a $10-million fix in 2008, but little was done and to this day most of the money is unaccounted for; one former council member was later convicted of theft after siphoning more than $160,000 from shared funds. Finally, a group of owners filed a petition to the B.C. Supreme Court, and in 2016 a judge ordered the appointment of an administrator who would take control of the strata, as well as a special levy to cover the cost of the repairs. Those repairs are now estimated to be a whopping $60 million—on average, $250,000 per suite. When it comes to cautionary tales, Gardenia Villa may be an extreme

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law, all B.C. strata corporations with five or more units are required to produce a depreciation report—that is, a detailed plan that forecasts the shared costs owners will likely face over the next 30 years—every three years. The report must also offer at least three cash flow models that show how those repairs will be paid for: through the contingency reserve fund (basically a joint savings account), special levies, higher monthly strata fees, borrowing or a combination of all four. The problem is, strata corporations have the right to waive the depreciation report through a three-quarters vote—and even if a strata corporation gets a report, it isn’t required to have the money on hand to fund the repairs. So when a majority of owners don’t want to cover the costs of repairs and maintenance, those necessary fixes often don’t get done. “The challenge for most strata councils is you can only really spend on what your owners approve. And one of the challenges in British Columbia around having no minimum funding or reporting requirements for depreciation reports is that many strata corporations barely have enough money in their reserve funds to meet the next emergency,” says Gioventu. To make matters worse, a June 2020 report by the BC Financial Services Authority found that condo insurance rates in the province had skyrocketed 40 percent over the previous year—50 percent in Metro Vancouver—mostly because of minor repairs that resulted from a lack of building maintenance and poor-quality construction. (Plumbing leaks accounted for approximately 46 percent of the total claim costs from 2017 to 2020, with more than 11,000 separate claims in 2018.) Those costs, along with the rising price of new building construction and excessive earthquake risk, have led insurers to severely hike

rates and deductibles or leave the market altogether. As a result of these findings, the report called the B.C. strata insurance market “unhealthy” and said it “fails to meet the goals of sustainability, affordability and availability.” In other words, by cutting corners on maintenance and repairs to save money, strata owners actually sent their insurance rates soaring, which in turn left them with less money for maintenance and repairs—and, notes Gioventu, just a couple of $250,000 deductibles can wipe reserves out altogether. “A number of strata corporations simply did not contribute anything to their contingency funds to offset the incredible increases in insurance,” he says. “And then the insurance companies are complaining the strata corporations are underfunding and not planning for renewals. Well, they’re funding at zero and not planning for renewals because you guys just increased their rates by 300 or 400 percent.” What’s more, construction costs in B.C. have spiked because of supply chain issues, material shortages and high demand, so most condos that have depreciation reports are vastly underestimating, and underbudgeting for, the sky-high cost of repairs. With roughly 800,000 to 900,000 residential strata lots in B.C. and a rapidly growing condo market, that problem could quickly accelerate. “Because of the volatility of market conditions worldwide, in most cases they’re out by 50 to 100 percent,” says Gioventu. Many stratas contribute 10 percent of their annual budgets to the contingency reserve fund, but Gioventu says that’s not nearly enough, as it only reflects operating costs, not the real cost of future renewals—and, as the Gardenia Villa owners discovered, once a strata falls behind, catching up becomes even more difficult. Gioventu points to a mathematical model showing that the cost to owners doubles every five years: so if

owners fully fund their depreciation plan from the first year of a strata building’s life, it might cost them $100 to $150 per unit per month and there will be no special levies. If they wait until year five, that amount doubles, reaching $200 to $300 per unit. At 10 years the pain is amplified further, at $400 to $600. “That’s where we get the difficulty with catch-up, and that’s why people are faced with these horrific special levies,” says Gioventu. “We have a lot of buildings from the ’60s and ’70s that have done a lot of renewals— but there are a number of them out there that are due for some major upgrades, and I don’t know how they’re going to pay for them.” It’s a story that’s all too familiar to strata lawyer Phil Dougan, who regularly represents owners who are concerned about their health and safety when key repairs aren’t getting done. When he saw last year’s collapse in Surfside, Dougan feared the same could happen here. “We have an awful lot of people living in an awful lot of stratas who cannot actually afford to be there. They paid an absolute fortune for their property, but that puts downward pressure on strata fees... and when you have that kind of pressure, that’s when something like Florida can happen,” says Dougan. “Everybody says, ‘I don’t want to spend the $10,000 or $20,000 levy.’ Well, those people paid with their lives.” That “I don’t want to pay” mentality crops up in properties from boutique luxury condos to run-down budget apartments, adds Dougan, who has seen many repair-related strata meetings devolve to the point where the police had to be called. When owners take their strata councils to court, however, judges have little patience for those who violate section 72 of the Strata Property Act, which requires them to repair and maintain common property. “If the engineers’ report says,

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‘This is dangerous, and it has to be fixed now,’ it doesn’t matter how big the levy is. It could be $10 million. It will take about 10 minutes to get a court order,” he says. “The judge will simply look at the owners and say, ‘I don’t care that it costs a lot of money. You have no choice unless you’re going to vote to wind up your property and move out.’ If it’s a life or safety issue, you have to do it.” To make matters worse, large property management companies that advise strata councils on repairs and gather quotes from contractors are buying up smaller firms, which makes for fewer options in the market; in fact, there are now just 500 to 800 active managers for the province’s more than 800,000 residential strata units. (Gioventu says the province could easily use up to 200 more managers right away.) They, too, are pressured by stratas to keep their fees down— which leads to low salaries, high turnover and inexperienced managers overseeing complex issues that are rife with conflict. “Their role is very important but they’re not being paid enough for the same reason: we don’t want to pay big management fees,” says Dougan. “So a lot of managers are saying, ‘It’s not worth it to do this job. If I have to stay at meetings until two in the morning, I want to get paid more than 50 grand a year.” Dougan believes there should be legislation that requires stratas to fund depreciation reports—that is, they should have the money in the bank for all forecasted expenses— and have their finances audited annually. He also thinks regular inspections of buildings should be made mandatory before there’s a catastrophe like the one in Surfside. “People think, ‘It’ll never happen here, and I just can’t afford a big levy,’” he says. “People are hiding from the truth because they don’t want to go looking for it.” In the meantime, strata councils would be wise to budget for expert

consultants and inspectors, hold regular town halls to better involve and inform owners, and save enough money to fully fund the “gold-plated version” of all upcoming repairs, he says. And, even then, they should expect the unexpected. “It shocks them that all of a sudden the elevator doesn’t work in their 25-storey building and they can’t repair it without replacing it, so they need $1.5 million tomorrow,” says Dougan, who admits he would never buy into a strata. “And those things are going to happen.” Vancouver lawyer Lisa Frey regularly represents stratas that have run out of options and are forced to sell—or “wind up”—their properties for redevelopment. She’s also been on the receiving end of panicked phone calls from strata managers who can’t get insurance because their properties are deemed too risky, even though they were warned it could happen. “One of our property management clients called us and said, ‘What do we do?’” says Frey, who is also on the board of the Canadian Condominium Institute. “What happens if this building has no insurance? What is our liability?” Frey believes that, to help stem the tide, there should be mandatory education for anyone joining a strata council, and that depreciation reports should be more standardized to include a simplified summary prepared by the expert, since they are often hundreds of pages long and use complicated language. She would also like to see more oversight from governments—which incentivize energy upgrades but not ongoing structural inspections—as well as low-interest loans for stratas facing big expenditures so they’re not tempted to skip key repairs. “It would not be ideal to wait until there’s a lawsuit,” she says. “But that’s often the way things go.” Of course, that is the way things

went at Gardenia Villa. At one point, the owners explored a wind-up, but Gioventu says the City was unclear about what could be built on the $130-million site—plus, they required any interested developer to pay an additional $55-million community amenity charge, which has a significant impact on the property value and, as he puts it, “basically prevented any possibility of a sale on this property.” (He adds that, more generally, the City’s hefty community amenity charges are “an overwhelming deterrent to wind-ups” and prevent vulnerable people from getting out of bad situations.) As a result, the cashstrapped Gardenia owners had two options: cough up more than $200,000 or sell their units for a song. Fines says some residents have water literally flowing into their units because of the leaking cladding and the failed window and door seals. But until the whole building envelope is replaced, she says, doing temporary repairs is just throwing good money after bad, so they live with it. Some think they shouldn’t have to pay because their own suites are fine (which anyone in the condo business will tell you is a common refrain), and tensions are running so high that at times Fines, who is still strata president, feels unsafe. “Sometimes being on council is a little scary. There are people who really do not want things to evolve,” says the grandmother of three. “Sometimes I wonder what’s going to happen if

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I’m walking down the street and there isn’t anyone around.” Now, construction permits, construction insurance and a construction manager are finally in place, and the first payments of the special levy—on average about $75,000 per suite—were due at the end of March. “It’s huge money, especially for the elderly who don’t have additional family, or don’t have savings,” says Fines. She notes that some former owners who have lived there for nearly 30 years are now renting back their own suites after having sold them to investors. The repairs are expected to last three years, and Fines is hopeful that, at the end of the ordeal, she will recoup her costs and come out ahead, assuming the real estate market holds. She says strata councils should get regular reports from professionals and property managers, do the fixes that need to be done, and clearly communicate the costs that are on the horizon. (Gardenia Villa never had a depreciation report, but it will once the overhaul is complete.) And owners, she says, should inform themselves and be ready for anything. “Take a look at what’s happening in the building,” says Fines. “Then really start saving money.” Gioventu agrees. Some condo owners don’t want fees to increase because they’re concerned it will negatively affect their property values, but Gioventu says these days more and more buyers are looking for stratas that are well-managed and well-funded, because anything else is too big a gamble. “It’s a self-regulated industry, so it’s buyer beware,” he says, adding a final word of advice: “Do your homework before you buy. It’s fine to say there’s a depreciation report, but how much money is there really in the bank?”

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DESIGNERS of the YEAR

2022

CELEBRATING THE BEST NEW DESIGN IN WESTERN CANADA, AS JUDGED BY THE WORLD’S FOREMOST DESIGNERS AND ARCHITECTS.

COMING SEPTEMBER 2022 DESIGNERSOFTHEYEAR.CA

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TOP 100 the

PRESENTED BY

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Join us for a conversation with the CEOs of several Top 100 companies

Wednesday, June 22, 2022 • 11:00 am – 2:30 pm Hosted by BCBusiness at The Vancouer Club 915 West Hastings Street Meet the business leaders, representing a variety of industries, who will share lessons learned during the pandemic and their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for B.C. Panelists include TECK RESOURCES PRESIDENT AND CEO DON LINDSAY, FUTURA CORP. CEO AMAR DOMAN AND KEVIN QUINN, CEO OF TRANSLINK, among many others! bcbusiness.ca/Top-100-event-2022 PLATINUM SPONSOR

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PLATINUM SPONSOR

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4/15/22 8:05 9:33 AM PM 2022-05-09

/22 9:33 PM

COVER STORY —

HIDDEN PLACES to Hike, Bike, Paddle and Chill in Your Own Backyard

DESTINATION BC/STIRL AND RAE PHOTO

GET OUT

For the past two years travel has been local out of necessity. But the stayclose-to-home mandate opened our eyes to an amazing reality—we just might live in the best place in the world. So we’ve doubled down on the staycation and sourced the best adventures from every corner of our home turf to keep the local dream alive. VA N M A G . C O M M AY/J U N E 2 0 2 2

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VANCOUVER COAST MOUNTAINS

Coureur de Boys Four weekend warriors seek a slice of classic Canadiana in Powell River. by Neal McLennan

Lake Outdoor Learning Centre and an avid canoeist, to see if he could give Paul’s plan a local’s once-over. His exceedingly diplomatic response like portage and J-stroke freely—so included phrases like, “Well, you we put him in charge of figuring out could do that, but why?” and “Are a route. Because Paul also took on you guys not interested in taking in the work of building an itinerary, any natural beauty?” Ultimately, we we let certain things slide—like reached a hybrid plan that combined his last-minute decision to take Prichard’s vast experience and an unburdened plane ride from Paul’s original idea (at least the Vancouver (travel time: 35 minutes) part that was about going canoeing, while the rest of us hauled up all somewhere). We would arrange to the necessary gear by road (travel be dropped off a quarter of the way time: a very scenic five hours). And through the traditional five-day while I had infinite faith in Paul’s route and picked up at the end, four pack planning, his suggestion to days later. We’d be undertaking at compact the standard five-day least one portage every day, and we time frame for the route into three would camp along the way—since it “hard” days had me concerned. was mid-June, we wouldn’t have to To ease my fears, I reached out to worry about reservations. If we were Hugh Prichard, director of the Powell lucky, added Prichard, we might

(TOP) TOMAS JIRKU; NEAL MCLENNAN

’d like to say that I came to the Powell River Canoe Route because it had long been on my outdoor-pursuit bucket list, but the truth is that I hadn’t been in a canoe since I was 12 and my connection to Powell River began and ended with ordering their truly excellent craft beers while in the very urban watering holes of Vancouver. And while the even more famous West Coast Trail likewise wasn’t on my bucket list, it was on my buddy Kevin’s, and he had cajoled a bunch of us into hopping aboard his pandemic adventure—including me, despite a fair amount of trepidation around the related worries of my inability to physically carry the necessary amount of Lagavulin for the trip. So when B.C. announced its pandemic ban on regional travel just days before our scheduled departure, the news was received with a mix of deep sorrow (Kevin) and private elation (me). But we had already embarked on our half-assed preparatory fitness regimen and I had also already bought a bunch of brand-new gear that I couldn’t return (because I had purposefully scuffed it up so I wouldn’t look like a newbie from the city). So we gathered to determine where within our health region we might still wrest some outdoor immersion—and it was Paul who came up with Powell River. Paul is a canoer. He takes a yearly trip to Algonquin and he uses words

J Crew The paddling is mostly easy on the Powell River Canoe Route, the portaging a little less so, but it’s all worthwhile for the solitary views.

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(TOP) TOMAS JIRKU; NEAL MCLENNAN

not even run into other folks at all. The next morning, with a modicum of fuss, we picked up our rented canoes and pushed off into to the glassy waters of Nanton Lake. There really is something primordially Canadian about the way a canoe bow cuts silently through the water. That reverie, however, was frequently interrupted by my sternman, Mac, saying things like: “Neal, we both need to paddle,” and (after telling me to paddle hard right only to watch me immediately dig in left) “Are you sure you’re not dyslexic?” Still, our leisurely itinerary allowed as to wend around the lake, get lost a bit, and still find our way to our first portage in plenty of time. The concept of portaging has ingrained itself into the Canadian psyche in a way that makes a more descriptive word, like “carry,” less meaningful. But thankfully my role in this work was, again, modest. One of Mac’s children had done this same canoe route the previous summer and had boasted about carrying the canoe all by himself. Mac, therefore, insisted he follow suit, which left me to carry all of our packs—backpacks, front packs, side packs—and trudge sadly behind him like an overburdened Sancho Panza. The hikes were strenuous, but not gutting (that would come later: we had been warned that the final portage of the trip—the 2.4 kilometre trail at Windsor Lake—would test our mettle), and while most of us had proper hiking boots, Paul accomplished the whole thing in the same pair of Allbirds he had worn on the plane. On the first night, we made camp at a perfectly isolated site on the shore of Dodd Lake... then did a little fishing, drank the entire trip’s worth of Lagavulin and promptly fell asleep. In the morning, and despite a seriously rainy night, we woke to warm sunshine with just a little haze on the water—the ideal combo for postcard Canadiana.

the forced abstinence served us well on our third day as we made our way closer to the feared Windsor Lake Portage. It turned out to be a steep ascent of about 80 metres, followed by an 111-metre descent and, while it was definitely challenging, it offered the immediate reward of several stunning vistas, the first being the sight of Goat Lake, with Allbirds might seem like Overlook Mountain looming over an odd shoe choice for it. The final reward of the portage backcountry living, but Paul was the eerie paddle that followed swore by his waterproof it: navigating the submerged Mizzles ($170)—they kept old growth forest at the start of him dry and happy and Powell Lake felt very “hour two” of he could go out for dinner Apocalypse Now... if Colonel Kurtz without changing his wore Allbirds. But as we emerged shoes—so who are we to into the open vastness of the lake argue? allbirds.ca (Powell is by far the largest lake on the circuit) and came up against the wall of the strong prevailing headwinds, it became clear that the last leg of our paddle was going to be the most challenging. Especially for Mac at the back of the canoe. Like the winds, we prevailed, and spent our final night in a hut that also is part of the Sunshine Coast Trail. The work of the day’s paddle had me dreaming of reaching some hand-carved Swiss idyll with a wood-fired stove, but the simple plywood structure—no fire, zero hand-carved anything— still offered a nice break. The next morning—our final day on the water—brought more of the same: Powell Lake is huge and, during our time there, very blowy, and the plentiful presence of both cabins and power boats made our And, like day one, quiet mostly choice to paddle feel quaint. But ruled our second day of paddling, Mac was up to the challenge, and I save for the times we’d look up at the towering 6,000-foot-elevation Coast even pitched in a bit more when it became clear our group was going Mountains cascading down around to race to our final stop. (We won, us straight into the water and one of thank you.) Overall, we made good us would snarkily ask: So, Paul, how enough time the final day to sneak does this compare to Algonquin? in nine holes, where Paul, no word Night two brought the double whammy of more rain and no whisky, of a lie, took off his Allbirds for the first time in three days and put on so we truly understood what the a pair of Teva water sandals he had early explorers must have felt. Like, exactly how they would have felt. But been carrying for the whole trip. THE ‘IT’ GEAR

Navigating the submerged oldgrowth forest at the start of Powell Lake felt very “hour two” of Apocalypse Now... if Colonel Kurtz wore Allbirds.

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Iconic Hike

VANCOUVER COAST MOUNTAINS

STAWAMUS CHIEF

Audain x Alta

Round trip: 14 kilometres Elevation gain: 625 metres

1. You buy a ticket for one of the upcoming Friday events— which, at $99, is a screaming bargain for Whistler (plus it’s $10 off if you’re a museum member)—and show up at the appointed time. Before you’re seated, you get an intimate docent-guided tour through the museum’s permanent collection, hitting the highlights (like this jawdropper of a piece by James Hart), and giving you a just a taste of what one of the best small museums in North America has to offer.

3. You sit in the open air, sipping a Nichol Syrah, wondering how you got so freaking lucky.

THE ‘IT’ GEAR

2. Next, you’re led to your en plein air table facing the museum’s lawn and interior courtyard. Now, the Alta Bistro team shifts into gear with an art-inspired (and not in a hokey way) four-course menu. Expect a few showstoppers— like the tomato panzanella salad with gazpacho dressing hidden under a Warhol-inspired soup can that blew up Instagram last summer.

4. Over the next two days, use your dinner ticket for free entry into the museum as often as you like, allowing you to peruse the collection at your leisure—perhaps dropping a few of the docent’s observations and passing them off as your own to impress the other onlookers.—N.M.

You want to be rugged, not ragged. To cut the swath of Indiana Jones, not the Jones family from Indiana. That means you want this duffel from the purveyors of the original Klondike Gold Rush: Seattle’s Filson. Equally at home in a Gulfstream V or a 1952 Beaver— we love this bag. filson.com

Location: Stawamus Chief Provincial Park (Squamish)

Climb the three peaks of the Stawamus Chief for classic clifftop views of Howe Sound and the Squamish River valley. From the day-use parking area, stroll through the campground to the trailhead. The steep Chief Peaks Trail kicks off with lots of stairs, soon merging with the Sea to Summit Trail. After the Sea to Summit exits right, take a left fork, signed for the First and Second Peaks. Before long, the trail splits again. Go left and ascend to the bare rock of First Peak. Back at the fork, proceed north to the top of the South Gully. Ascend a ledge with the help of a fixed chain, traverse a cleft covered by logs and climb a short ladder to Second Peak. Follow the markers northeast to North Gully. Stay left at the junction with the third backside trail to visit Third Peak. Return to the last junction and plunge down the rough North Gully Trail. Turn right and head back to the trailhead. —Stephen Hui

(AUDAIN X ALTA) MIRAE CAMPBELL

We’re allergic to hyperbole so when we say this Whistler dinner might be the greatest event in the West this summer, please don’t snicker. Bear with us as we convince you. On the one hand, we have Eric Griffith and Nicholas Cassettari of Alta Bistro, the reigning champ of Vanmag’s Best Whistler category in the Restaurant Awards. On the other hand, you have architects John and Patricia Patkau, Western Canada’s greatest living architects (or, really, Canada’s, because Frank Gehry is more or less a Californian these days) and the designers of the stunning Audain Art Museum. And on the third hand (the last one, we promise), you have the magnificent collection inside the museum itself. Here’s how it all comes together.

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ICONIC HIKE

Savour the Flavours SURREY'S SPICE TRAIL showcases global dining experiences ranging from neighbourhood favourites to unique fine dining restaurants. With 40+ new restaurants, there's even more to explore.

(AUDAIN X ALTA) MIRAE CAMPBELL

Discover flavours from around the world like South Asian chaat, Colombian empanadas, Afghan bolani and even Spice Trail inspired cocktails. Book a self-guided Spice Trail Tour or a 'Stay & Dine' package at one of Surrey's hotels and savour the flavours of Surrey today!

Presented by Presented by

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SpiceTrailSurreyBC.com

Visit hellobc.com/know-before-you-go for travel advisories and restrictions.

2022-05-09 8:05 AM

VANCOUVER COAST MOUNTAINS

5 Must-See Hits in Squamish by

Kurtis Kolt

My wife and I do not own hiking boots, nor do we own bikes. We’re not rock-climbers, and the vast amount of adventuring we do is more in the line of culinary and thirst-quenching pursuits. So, what did we do when offered the opportunity to house-sit up in Squamish? Well, we got our eat and drink on—and here’s where we landed.

1 FOX AND OAK

1396 Main Street This lively, cute-as-a-button café features a rotating roster of seasonal, well-sourced coffee roasters, but it’s their delish brioche, cake and vegan doughnuts that are the talk of the town. The core lineup features rings of chocolate glaze and a bright and zippy mango passionfruit number, while the limited edition specialty doughnuts venture toward gems like a churro crueller or the key lime pie. foxandoak.ca

2 A-FRAME BREWING CO. AND LUZ TACOS

38927 Queens Way Step into this bright and cheery craft brewery for fresh and lively pours like Shuswap Lake IPA and Sproat Lake Pale Ale, then toddle outside and treat yourself to Mexican fare from the Luz Tacos food trailer, which is frequently parked on the property. We gobbled up gusto plates of tacos al pastor, chorizo and potato tacos and the excellent Luz nachos with reckless abandon. aframebrewing.com, luztacos.com

3 BACKCOUNTRY BREWING

405–1201 Commercial Way Chock-full of families and boisterous buddies returning from outdoor adventures, the buzzy tasting room has locals and visitors alike feasting on wood-fired pizzas—like the prosciutto

and fig with melted leeks, arugula and mozzarella. While their core beers, like the Widowmaker IPA or Trailbreaker Pale Ale, are consistent hits, do opt for a flight so you can get weird with pours like the “Might as Well Go for a Soda” Cherry Cola Sour—a definite hit at our table. backcountrybrewing.com

4 FLIPSIDE BURGERS AND

juice, simple syrup, El Jimador tequila, Cointreau and a top-off of your choice of cider. Right around back is the Flipside Burgers food truck, serving up beef, chicken and veggie burgers piled high. flipsideburgers.ca, cliffsidecider.com

CLIFFSIDE CIDER

103–37760 2 Avenue Cliffside is just the most adorable little craft cidery, featuring a small bar, a couple of high-top tables and—you guessed it—tasty, tasty ciders. Start with the OG, which is a 5.6-percent classic apple version that also doubles as the base for their other ciders—such as the Tina Louise, which has a punchy kick of fresh ginger juice, or the grapefruit cider, which manages to walk a steady tightrope between tart and sweet. Looking for something more complex? House cocktails include everything from a Squamish mule (simple syrup, lime juice, Luksusowa vodka, ginger cider and a ginger sugar rim) to the Cliffside margarita, with lime

5 PECKINPAH

38005 Cleveland Avenue The longtime Vancouver hub for Carolinastyle barbecue has packed their bags and headed up the Sea-to-Sky Highway, landing on Squamish’s main drag. Meats are smoked in-house anywhere from five to 14 hours and can be accented with a tomato-based barbecue sauce or, if you want to go full-Carolina, a zippy chili vinegar to perk things up. Beef brisket, pulled pork, smoked chicken wings and the like are handily washed down with hits from an ample booze list or a tidy selection of craft beer and wine. A little outpost of home. peckinpahbbq.com

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KOOTENAY ROCKIES

OHM MG (Clockwise from top) The Temple of Light; the temple’s stunning interior, designed with eight curved “petals”; a solo hatha yoga session above Kootenay Lake.

Architecture and Asanas in the Kootenays Two of Canada’s most acclaimed architects have crafted something magical just outside of Nelson. by Anicka Quin

R Living. By all accounts, their new Temple of Light is stunning: a lotus-like design in the middle of the woods. (And, boy, is it ever in the middle of the woods.) And now, after the past couple of years of uncertainty and anxiety, I can’t imagine a more ideal place to escape to. Perched on a rocky outcrop of Kootenay Bay, Yasodhara Ashram takes a while to reach: from Nelson, B.C. (itself a 90-minute flight or eight-hour drive from Vancouver), you drive a half hour, then you take another half-hour ferry to arrive at the 85-acre property. The ashram itself—which hosts both full-time residents and yoga students whose retreat times range

from a few days to many months— was the brainchild of a German woman, Swami Radha, who studied under a guru in India in the late 1950s. That guru’s encouragement to bring yoga to the West evolved into the current women-led retreat and study centre that practices the spiritual tradition of the Divine Feminine, with a kind of weproduce-our-own-honey Kootenays

DANIEL SÉGUIN, AMY ALLCOCK

ack in 2019, a visit to an ashram wasn’t that high on my travel wish list. I mean, I’ve read Eat, Pray, Love, so I get the appeal. But I’ve always thought that my mind is too busy, too distracted for me to manage an extended time in a space that’s all about self-reflection. But sometimes you don’t know how much you need a space like Yasodhara Ashram until you’re in the middle of it. After a (much too short) long-weekend retreat, I came away from the experience feeling like I’d gained a better sense of self—and some stress management skills, too. (Even as I write this, I’ve remembered a meditation I picked up at Yasodhara that could be the perfect antidote for my present-day ball-of-stress self— and just now I stopped to do it.) I had been lucky enough to be invited up to the retreat some time ago for non-traditional reasons: they’d just built an architecturally significant temple with legendary Canadian architects John and Patricia Patkau, and I had come to profile the new building for Western

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KOOTENAY ROCKIES

vibe that’s almost instantly calming. The pandemic was challenging for a retreat that’s designed to be an open-door teaching space, and so they pivoted to online courses for much of it, with some residential stays being permitted after a decently long quarantine. Now they’re back to offering in-person courses and restorative retreats that range from five days to three weeks, with a two-day quarantine (and a two-negative-rapid-test requirement) at the onset. Throughout the course of a given retreat, yoga is just a small part of what you’ll do. Depending on the program, you’ll be asked questions to reflect on, sometimes through writing, sometimes by drawing pictures. What is a single word that expresses relaxation? What do you need to let go of? Even yoga sessions are done with a notebook close by, for reflection on what comes up during certain poses. There’s karma yoga— the act of selfless service—that might involve pulling weeds in the kale patch or digging out invasive scotch broom in the orchard. Nourishment comes in a literal form, too: all meals are held silently and in reflection, and the ingredients are often grown right on the property. The summer I was there, one spread included bruschetta topped with garden tomatoes, garlic scapes and dill; rice-wrapped salad rolls with peanut sauce; rich yam and coconut

THE ‘IT’ GEAR

soup drizzled with homemade pesto—plus homemade biscuits or, for those in need of it, glutenfree pumpkin-seed crackers, and an always-present garden salad topped with tahini lemon dressing. And that stunning, architecturally significant temple from the Patkaus? It’s as breathtaking as you’d hope it would be. The structure is both spiritually significant to the local community— it’s designed with eight doors, signifying the eight major religions of the world, along with an aperture at its peak—and a truly stunning piece of architecture. Eight petals curve together to form one dome, and each petal is made of eight panels. That aperture at the top is dotted with hanging lights; you’ll feel the same hush coming into this space that you’d experience in centuriesold churches around the world. Yasodhara is designed to help folks process whatever is going on within them at that moment—to help visitors work on those big-picture questions. As the organization’s president, Swami Lalitananda, told me back then, “We have tools to give people so they can find meaning—to take the time to pause and ask: Where am I? What do I want to do in my life?” I can’t imagine a more perfect spot to process the last couple of years—and to plan for the great ones to come.

We’ve now unquestionably entered into the era of golf-as-legitimate-physical-sport, so it’s time to drop the 100-percent cotton gear of the Nicklaus era and let technology work its wonders. The nice thing about these Lululemon Commission Slim Fit ($138) is that they’re not golf pants, they’re just slim-fitting advanced fabric wonders that happen to work for golfing (or for hiking... or, really, for a street brawl if it came to that). lululemon.com

The Bright Future of Revy It was just before the 2007 meltdown and I, a young cub reporter, was dispatched to Revelstoke to meet with the legendary British golfer Sir Nick Faldo, who had been Tktktktk retained to design a worldOne of the trestle bridges class overlooking golf courseMyra nearCanyon the on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, Chute Lake base of the newly revamped Lodge ski hill, thus cementing Revy’s ascendency as a year-round playground for the well-heeled. We all know what happened next: once the stock market tanked, the first thing to go was pricey destination golf courses... and while the ski hill is amazing, I think it’s fair to say it still remains a hiddensecret sorta place, not soon to be a stop on the global jet set circuit. (Which, I should add, suits most residents just fine, thank you very much.) But the announcement last year that the team behind the Cabot course that had turned New Brunswick into a serious global destination didn’t just revive that long-ago dream— it doubled down on it. Rod Whitman, the West’s greatest golf course designer, has created a new layout right near the old Faldo one at the base of Mount MacKenzie—right near the gondola—and there’s a housing development planned as well. The only downside? It’s not set to open until 2024. But, until then, there’s the surprisingly excellent Revelstoke Golf Club course, a track with a 124-year-old legacy and a fantastic layout—and that can still be enjoyed with the calm idyll that Revelstoke specializes in.—N.M.

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Jasper National Park

Photo by A Barrett Photography

Get off the beaten track.

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Banff National Park

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Iconic Hike

Getting Outside in Golden

PAGET LOOKOUT Round trip: 7 kilometres Elevation gain: 520 metres Location: Yoho National Park

(east of Field)

There’s a scene in the 1984 classic Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom—admittedly the most cringey of the Indy series—that has me forever traumatized. To get away from a pack of cult-loving baddies on a suspension bridge, Indy gets his crew to hold on tight so he can slash the ropes—thus dropping the bad guys into the valley below when the bridge collapses. He does, they do, and my 11-year-old self knew I’d never be able to hang on. And, yes, that’s exactly what I pictured happening just before I stepped onto the Golden Skybridge suspension bridge that crosses over a canyon floor sitting a mere 426 feet below. And yet, even while hyperventilating my way across the bridge and swearing I’d never do it again, I thought, “Man, would my niece and nephew think this place is awesome. I’ve got to get them back here.” That’s the magic of this place called Golden: it’s full of thrilling challenges that keep you coming back. Because everything around here is big. If you’re here in the winter, then

you’re screaming your way down the steep and deep chutes of Kicking Horse Mountain. In summer, it’s the Via Ferrata climbing experience— likely one of the edgiest in Western Canada, with cliffside scrambles and ladder climbs—that has thrillseeking climbers of all skill levels belaying from ground to peak. (And, like the Skybridge, you can’t actually fall—you’re clipped in the whole time. Plus, there’s also a “chicken trail” exit for those who change their minds.) The town itself is surrounded by six national parks, and over 20 backcountry lodges stage out of the area. Not to mention whitewater rafting in the Columbia River, and over 100 kilometres of mountain bike trails. Legend has it that when the survey camp for the CP railway settled in the area, they changed the site’s name—McMillan’s Camp—to Golden City after they heard that a nearby camp was naming themselves Silver City. Perhaps it was just competitive spirit, but they also weren’t wrong: around these parts, days are big, and days are golden.—A.Q.

B KOOTENAY ROCKIES TOURISM/MITCH WINTON/GOLDEN SK YBRIDGE

Span Decks The jaw-dropping/stomachchurning Golden Skybridge

An old fire lookout located partway up Paget Peak rewards hikers with sweet views of the Kicking Horse River, the Continental Divide and the Rocky Mountains. Find the trailhead at the Sherbrooke Lake parking lot, off the Trans-Canada Highway. The trail starts off easy, gently gaining altitude in the subalpine woods. Then the path narrows and steepens, switchbacking up the mountainside. Mount Ogden and Sherbrooke Lake are particularly eye-catching to the west. Arrive at the lookout, now a day-use shelter. Bask in the mountainous views. Then turn around here, unless you’re prepared to tackle the peak—a much higher and farther objective. Note: kids under 8 are not allowed on this trail, and youth 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult. —Stephen Hui

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Wide Open Spaces

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CARIBOO/ CHILCOTIN

The Greatest Canoe Trip You’ve Never Heard Of The Bowron Lakes are great, but if you want serious solitude it’s time to look west. by Andrew Findlay

IF YOU GO For canoe rentals, flights and campsite and cabin bookings, contact Tweedsmuir Air Services. tweedsmuirair.com

will see for six days. Someone had told me Turner Lakes is one of B.C.’s bestkept paddling secrets. Now I get it. Late in the afternoon, after our third mini-portage of the day, we paddle down Junker Lake, propelled by an exciting tail wind. Small whitecaps splash over the canoe’s bow. The acrid smell of a distant forest fire

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ANDREW FINDL AY

It takes two flights from Nimpo Lake to shuttle eight people and a week’s worth of gear to Turner Lake, the largest of the seven. If the sound of a Beaver evokes the enchantment of frontier B.C., then the silence that follows after the plane leaves you behind is equally as evocative. A trio of grey jays circles curiously as we begin shuttling our waterproof bags and packs to the three rustic cabins that make up Tweedsmuir Wilderness Camp. The camp sits at nearly 1,100 metres of elevation. It’s single-digit temperatures that night, so we enjoy the luxury of woodstoves and cabin accommodations. The next day we’re underway, skirting the shoreline toward a lush estuary at Turner Lake’s southern end. After 20 minutes of easy paddling, we pause to speak with a Montana couple enjoying their morning coffee next to a crackling fire. “We’re flying out today. We haven’t seen any other people up here,” the man tells us. They are the last other humans we

DESTINATION BC/ K ARI MEDIG

The engine sputters to life, and I put on the headset to dampen the telltale roar of the de Havilland Beaver’s radial piston engine. Soon we’re taxiing along the rippled surface of Nimpo Lake. The pilot throttles up. At first, the floatplane seems to plow water sluggishly, then it quickly gathers speed. The pontoons skip, suggesting flight, and before long we’re airborne, temporarily leaving behind our wives and kids waving on the dock. The vast Chilcotin Plateau unfolds beneath us, a tapestry of lakes, marshy wetlands and dense young pine forests in a constant cycle of recovery and renewal from forest fires and beetle attack. To the southeast, the crown of Monarch Mountain is secluded in cloud. Whenever I strap into a Beaver, it usually means good times lie ahead. We are bound for a two-family, six-day paddling adventure on the remote Turner Lake Chain, a string of seven lakes located in southern Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. It’s our back-to-school gift to the kids: the gift of being immersed in the wilderness of B.C.’s largest provincial park—at 9,800 square kilometres, it’s an area almost the size of Hawaii’s Big Island.

Iconic Hike CAMEL PASS

THE ‘IT’ GEAR ANDREW FINDL AY

DESTINATION BC/ K ARI MEDIG

and walk on logs. The adults set up camp and work on dinner. The following morning breaks blue and clear. Winds have shifted and blown the smoke haze elsewhere. We linger over multiple coffees while the kids play on the beach and practice casting with a fly rod. A breeze ripples the surface of Widgeon Lake, so we load up the canoes with day provisions and start paddling into the stiffening wind. An hour of strenuous paddling brings us to a half-sunk jetty at the lake’s end. Soon, we’re walking rough trail between Widgeon and Kidney View Finder Lakes. Head-high blueberry and Two vignettes of what it’s like to huckleberry bushes, plump with fruit canoe on Turner Lake in South Tweedsmuir Provincial Park: and wet with dew, crowd the path. stunning views, no people. Landmines of fresh bear scat, purple from this berry abundance, dot the trail, an acute reminder that we’re in grizzly country with four little kids tinges the air. A smoke haze gathers in tow. We stay close together, and I on the northern horizon. An hour’s breathe silent relief when we reach paddling brings us to a sheltered the shore of Kidney Lake. bay at the lake’s west end, where we That evening, back at our perfect find the trailhead for the day’s last portage. The kids look for frogs in the campsite on Widgeon Lake, the adults sit on the beach with cups of lily pads while the adults begin the wine, taking in a magenta sunset. tedious task of unloading the canoes The kids play some sort of imaginary for the fourth time today. The kids ninja game that has been unfolding groan when we load their packs up, for the past few days, using boulders but it’s a short walk on flat trail to and logs as an obstacle course. our campsite on Widgeon Lake. If it These are the dying days of summer wasn’t for glacier views and conifer vacation, and the kids are at home in forests, the white sand beach might this giant outdoor classroom beneath fool us into thinking we’ve stumbled the expansive skies of Tweedsmuir upon a slice of the Caribbean in the Provincial Park. For a moment B.C. interior. Give a kid a lake and a beach, then let them loose. They drop I’m melancholy, thinking about their lifejackets and paddles and race September and the four walls of the down to toss stones, wade in the water indoor classroom that awaits them.

Round trip: 17.5 kilometres Elevation gain: 1,090 metres Location: South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park (north of Gold Bridge)

Take a hike on the High Trail to experience a corner of this backcountry paradise in the Coast Mountains. Set off from the Gun Creek logging road near Tyaughton Lake. Stick with the old mining road as it heads northwest, steadily gains elevation, and encounters clear-cuts, crosses streams and passes a park boundary marker. Going left at the signed junction, say hello to lovely single-track and the wildflower meadows and ore-stained mountains of the Pearson Creek basin. Turn right on the Taylor-Pearson Trail in the subalpine meadows. Keep an eye out for spruce grouse. Ascend northwest and up a dirt track to the otherworldly Camel Pass. The Chilcotin Ranges surround you, Harris Ridge and Taylor Peak are nearby high points and Nea Peak rises across the basin. Return the way you came. —Stephen Hui

Packable rain gear. Other than “canoe that floats,” these are the three most important words you’ll hear in the backcountry. Which is why the Trino SL ($300) from Arc’teryx is a lifesaver—it packs down to nothing, it stops the rain like no other... and it still looks cool for grabbing a beer in town three weeks after your trip. arcteryx.com

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Fat Tire Nirvana The South Chilcotin is veiny with pack trails worn down by gold miners hauling in supplies and hauling out their bounty. But in the Spruce Lake Protected Area, about 150 kilometres north of Whistler, the real gold in the hills these days is the trails themselves. The flowing world-class single-track yields epic days spent biking, hiking or horseback riding through God’s country: think alpine and sub-alpine meadows, copper-rich red rock slopes, glacial green lakes and sweeping vistas of mountains. So even if you like to earn your turns, a little boost from a float plane is welcome—especially if you’d like to get deep into the backcountry on a multi-day trip. Enter Tyax Adventures, Canada’s only float-plane supported mountain biking company. Founded by national veteran cross-country champion Dale Douglas, the company has a 1965 de Havilland Beaver to airlift 1,100 pounds of riders, gear and bikes up into pedalling nirvana.

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Tyax can pick you up from anywhere there’s water, including directly from Vancouver, Seattle or Tofino. However, the best bang for your time and money is meeting the plane on Whistler’s Green Lake, thus turning a four-and-a-half-hour drive along rough roads into a half-hour scenic flight over the spectacular Coast Range. Maybe you’ll detour off the flight path to check out a herd of mountain goats—little white puffballs on a mountain ridge. It’s a good prelude to the drama of skidding onto a glassy alpine lake and the realization that you’re about to cover somewhere around 80 kilometres of pure rolling bliss over the next three days. Bikes can be rented but most riders on this intermediate trip will want to bring their own.

You’ll open your eyes to warm Wake, ride, repeat. You’ll want to morning light diffusing through the savour this cycle, as it’s your last white walls of your “safari-style” on this trip. You’ll ride just shy of 28 Identify your backyard’s purpose, then build the yard of y wall tent; having made it to Bear kilometres today with another 1,000 Paw camp yesterday afternoon, metres of elevation gain (and then you can replay the previous day of as much elevation drop) as your creek-crossings, hill-climbing and journey through Windy Pass takes general wonderment as you made you down into Eldorado Basin and your way through Big Creek Park, the final descent along the fast, down through Graveyard Valley and sandy track following Lick Creek. up Elbow Pass to the headwaters Depending on the time of year, you of Tyaughton Creek. Here your may get slowed down by photo-ops camp host awaits with oatmeal among the alpine wildflowers or and pancakes to fuel you for 27 within sight of wandering bears or kilometres and about 1,000 metres deer. The final reward at the end of elevation gain and loss through of your journey at Tyaughton Lake Deer Pass to a quintessential is to make an entrance, salty from Chilcotin view spot, then through your miles in the saddle, through the technical terrain. Push a rowboat lobby of Tyax Wilderness Resort. into Spruce Lake and see if you Trade your spurs for a civilized drink can’t supplement dinner with a at the bar and a session in the spa. fresh trout or two. You’ve earned it. — Masa Takei

SUNDAY

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THE ‘IT’ GEAR

Backyarding Personality Types

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BACKYARD PERSONALITIES:

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THE NORTH

Paw Patrol

THE ‘IT’ GEAR

piece of advice: “Remember, you don’t have to run faster than the bear, you just have to run faster than one of us.” The grizzly sanctuary and the surrounding inlet conservancy are 100,000 hectares of protected habitat that are home to upward of 60 grizzlies—and it’s the lure of witnessing these land giants in the wild that has drawn me here, as it has as a Swiss family who’ve travelled across the globe for a chance to spot one of these rare behemoths. We’ll all be bunking in at the floating lodge, which sleeps eight as a bobbing respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Shortly after getting settled, we head out with lodge owner

Even in the summer, the weather patterns in the North are not to be trifled with, which makes discovering a low-cost, high-quality purveyor of ultralight backcountry gear a gamechanger. Outdoor Vitals does the direct-to-consumer route, so options like the Down Topquilt meet all the quality requirements while going easy ($289) on the price. outdoorvitals.com

Jamie Hahn aboard his workhorse aluminum Zodiacs. The remote inlet is devoid of other humans... and, it seems, of bears too. We pass towering cliffs and a half-dozen waterfalls, but our lone grizzly sighting consists of a passing glance at a small juvenile nicknamed “Big Ears,” who bolts from the shore back into the dense brush as soon as we manoeuvre our craft a little closer. It’s not exactly Wild Kingdom, but I can now safely pass a polygraph test on whether I’ve ever seen a grizzly in the wild. So, check that box off. We chug back to camp for an early dinner so luxe that the mind immediately wonders how it could come from such a small kitchen footprint. But before I can get an answer and/or meet the chef, we’re back out on the water (up here, summer nights stay light very late) searching for giants. Like last time, none exactly announce themselves— but, again, it’s surprisingly easy to forget what the prime objective is when you have a hundred thousand pristine hectares all to yourself. Getting off the boat within the sanctuary is not allowed, but outside

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For those of us who grew up in Western Canada, one of the conceits we perpetuate is that we are all very comfortable with bears. But my guess is that the share of the full-blown adult population that has read all the Harry Potter novels more than three times is much larger than the share of those who have actually seen a grizzly in the wild. But there are areas out there where grizzlies are not just present, they are a common enough sight to actually be the star attraction. Which is how I find myself—a person who spent an entire summer living in a remote ranger station on the border between Banff and Jasper but never once saw a grizzly—on a float plane from Prince Rupert with a wily old bush pilot named Ken Cote, destined for the floating Khutzeymateen Wilderness Lodge— the only accommodation near the neighbouring Khutzeymateen grizzly bear sanctuary. As we disembark, Cote bestows an obvious

DESTINATION BC/ANDREW STRAIN

Getting up close and hopefully not too personal with Ursus horribilis in the Khutzeymateen by Neal McLennan

NORTHERN BC TOURISM/SHAYD JOHNSON

DESTINATION BC/ANDREW STRAIN

Bear Necessities (clockwise from left) A family of grizzlies cruise along the tideline in the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary; the local version of a Land Rover; the rustic charm of your floating accomodations smack dab in the middle of nowhere.

in the conservancy where the lodge is located there are a few spots where a brief landfall is doable. That means there are waterfalls to explore, ancient cedars to commune with and a whole lot of trails that seem to have been blazed by our ursine friends... all underscoring that sometimes the process is every bit as important as the result. The next morning I find myself adopting an it-doesn’t-matter-if-wesee-bears-it’s-about-experiencingwilderness outlook when one of the Swiss folk asks: “Can grizzlies swim?” All eyes dart hard left to a slow-moving form paddling across the channel that, from a distance, could be the head of a jacked seal. But as we drift closer it’s unmistakably a 750-pound Ursus horribilis. Unlike Big Ears, this fella has zero worries about us—or

about anything else, for that matter. He pulls himself up the beach and we can clearly hear his massive claws click-clacking over the rocks as he goes about his explorations and we excitedly snap away with our cameras. We silently follow him for another 30 minutes or so, and it’s fascinating to watch him in his element—a little foraging, a bit more swimming and an occasional break to scratch himself. Finally, the bear decides to head inland and we silently putt back to the lodge. Everyone is wearing smiles befitting the interlude we’ve just had. The Swiss will stay on for a few days— they have a level of appreciation for the rarity of the occasion that I, until a few days ago, did not share. On my part, I’ll return with a bona fide up-close-and-personal grizzly experience of my own.

Iconic Hike PESUTA SHIPWRECK

Round trip: 12 kilometres Elevation gain: Minimal Location: Naikoon Provincial Park (Haida Gwaii)

Running from Tlell to Tow Hill, the bucket-list-worthy East Beach Trail covers 89 kilometres on Graham Island. Sample the south end of this remote coastal route and pay a visit to the wreck of the Pesuta. From the trailhead at Tlell, set off north. The trail follows the left bank of the Tlell River to the sandy shore of Hecate Strait. Keep going until you reach the intriguing remains of the 264-foot log barge. The shipwreck is the result of a winter storm in 1928. Turn around here. Backpackers may continue north, crossing the Mayer River, to camp at the mouth of the Cape Ball River. Once back at the trailhead, consider visiting the Haida Heritage Centre at Kay Llnagaay, down the road, to learn about Haida culture. —Stephen Hui

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There’s More to Northern B.C. Than Nature A trip up north is equal parts adventure and education. by Lucas Aykroyd “I was born in June when the spring salmon were just starting to go up the Nass River,” the groundbreaking Hazelton-based painter Roy Henry Vickers once said. And this same season is the perfect time to gain your own inspiration from the culture, cuisine and curated adventures you’ll find in this vast region. Spanning close to 570,000 square kilometres and featuring more than 60 major parks and wildlife refuges, Northern B.C. is home to thousands of black and grizzly bears, caribou, and bison. But that’s just the beginning. From stunning Indigenous landmarks to a thriving craft beer culture, the region has plenty of human-made wonders to complement the natural ones. The ’Ksan Historical Village, which debuted in 1970 on the site of an old Gitxsan village, is a Hazelton-area must-see. Featuring seven replica longhouses, it’s open May to September—and on a guided tour, you can admire and touch traditional warrior armour and intricate leather robes adorned with abalone and mother-of-pearl. Don’t miss the Frog House—which could accommodate up to 80 people—where wolf and bear skins hang on the walls, and a huge feast bowl for serving meat and berry stews is on display. Over in the Nisga’a Homeland, the twostorey, spectacularly curved Nisga’a Lisims

THE ‘IT’ GEAR

History Lesson Ksan Historical Village celebrates Indigenous culture in northern B.C.

Government Building, opened in 2000, offers a more contemporary architectural interpretation of the longhouse. Nestled in the Nass Valley, the 1,800-strong village of Gitlaxt’aamiks is the centre of power for this self-governing First Nation, set in a territory covering close to 2,000 square kilometres. The Government Building’s elliptical, redcarpeted legislative chamber is impressive, but the carved cedar masks and the exterior totem pole featuring beaver, wolf, and orca motifs work to elevate the facility inside and out. The Nisga’a Homeland boasts extraordinary natural highlights, too. The Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Park (Anhluut’ukwsim Laxmihl Angwinga’Asanskwhl Nisga’a) is where, some 300 years ago, a giant volcanic eruption snuffed out close to 2,000 lives. Today, this 1992-established provincial park and its carpet of alkali basalt covered in lichen seems like a landscape from a different planet.

It’s easy to associate Canada Goose with fashion, and while there’s no doubt their parkas fly off of the shelves at Holts, make no mistake—it is the most serious wear for northern climes out there. While you’re unlikely to need a full expedition parka in the summer, something like the madein-Canada, lifetime-warranty Crofton vest ($595) will do the seasonal trick in the wilds of B.C. (and in the urban jungle back home). canadagoose.com

Nearby, the cedar, spruce and pine trees of the Drowned Forest sit half-immersed in blue water when the Tseax River floods. The scene’s surreal, translucent beauty is as haunting as any sciencefiction movie. But if your taste for liquid runs more toward craft beer, a drive to Sherwood Mountain Brewhouse in Terrace is in order. Yes, the 2014-established brewery’s name pays tribute to the Robin Hood legend, and its Germanstyle lagers—like the Munich and Friar House options—are refreshingly on target. Another craft-house mainstay is the Smithers Brewing Company. Located steps from the iconic Alpen Man statue, the 10-barrel brewhouse offers memorable favourites—like the Bootlegger Brown Ale, which features notes of toffee and chocolate. When it comes time to eat, start with a breakfast of a hearty vegetable omelette from Louise’s Kitchen, which also dishes up classic Ukrainian lunches, from perogies to cabbage rolls. Or try the avocado toast at Two Sisters, which uses local organic produce, eggs and meat. For those with an appetite for adventure, there is, of course, Northern BC Jet Boat Tours. On a guided Skeena River expedition, you might spot bald eagles soaring overhead, grizzly bear footprints in the sand or a CN train passing by over the dramatic and historic high-level deck truss of the Skeena River Crossing Bridge. But why not wrap it up into a single all-in-one luxury getaway? The secluded, 15,000-square-foot Bear Claw Lodge provides true magic with eight themed rooms, each featuring locally sourced Indigenous and contemporary art. Helihiking, kayaking, horseback riding and snorkelling with salmon are among the diversions you can find here. Once you’ve worked up your appetite, feast on smoked salmon corn chowder, bannock with fireweed jelly, or some pan-seared Prince Rupert halibut.

DESTINATION BC/@CALSNAPE

THE NORTH

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FullPage

REBUILDING THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE The Salvation Army Vancouver Harbour Light has been a key part of the social infrastructure of the Downtown Eastside for over six decades. We feed, shelter and provide more services and programs than any non-governmental organization in the community, but we need a new Vision. The new realities impacting the community have pushed our ability to serve to the limit and our buildings have reached their ability to serve. The facilities can no longer support the growing demands… and it’s time for a new facility.

The nine-storey, 170,000 sq ft, purpose-built facility will replace the four aging buildings we currently use and consolidate programs and services under one roof. New programs will be created, including a much-needed women’s treatment program. This once-in-a-generation project will transform peoples’ lives and revitalize the community, now and for years to come. To be a part of this vision, contact us today. ninestoriesofhope.org

DESTINATION BC/@CALSNAPE

“Without The Salvation Army, I would have been another statistic of the opioid crisis.” My story is not unique. I was an addict and I needed help. The Salvation Army took me in without judgement and they saved my life. I work there now, sending the elevator back down to help others like me. –Christina Petrina, Salvation Army Case Worker

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LOV E LET TER

Bradley Fung

The Doughnut Shop That Fills a Hole

Duffin’s Donuts brings sugar, salt and an unpredictable spice to this city, with wide-open doors and an even wider menu.

Duffin’s logo emblazoned in red across the front. It’s really the only time anyone looks at my chest with any hint of admiration. An added bonus is that there is no better place to people-watch: the Duffin’s clientele is as varied as the items on their menu. Painters caked in the residue of their day’s work, business folk nervously squeezing BMWs in the cramped parking lot... hell, I’ve seen a funeral party make their way through these doors for a

respite from a difficult day. This is a place where people from all walks of life (and levels of sobriety) converge at all hours of the day for something affordable, comforting and satisfying. Yes, those are three things that Vancouver may not always be known for, but they are also three sentiments that make Duffin’s special to me. It’s a hug you can taste, and it’s a stubborn stalwart in a city of constant change.

JENNY REED

When you enter Duffin’s Donuts, you’re welcomed in with a mouth-watering—albeit confusing— smellscape. On a popularity level, their greatest hits include fried chicken, doughnuts and tamales, but it’s the Viet chicken sandwich that takes the cake for me. Yes, they also have cake. Of course they do. When I was growing up, the beige-tiled confines of Duffin’s was one of my family’s favourite take-out spots— we’d go for any occasion, from after-school snacks to the first taste of real food after a stint in the hospital. My sister had an affinity for window-shopping the perfect box of doughnuts, but my one true love was that Viet chicken sandwich. The weight alone will tell you that this sandwich is an architectural feat, but once you unsheathe it from its paper-bag cocoon, that fact becomes unmistakable. It’s stuffed crust-to-crust with enough ingredients to satisfy a hungry stomach after baseball practice, yet boasts the structural integrity to survive the inevitable bumps of any road trip. Crunchy French bread slathered with mayo envelops shredded lettuce, tangy marinated chicken, cucumber, herb-that-shall-notbe-named (cilantro), pickled carrots and the wild card: a sliced jalapeno pepper—sometimes just a sliver, enough to wake up a tired palate, and sometimes a green inferno, living proof that variety really is the spice of life. While Duffin’s has always held sentimental real estate in my heart, it has also achieved cult-like status in Vancouver as the premier establishment serving hungry customers 24 hours a day on weekends (and from 6 a.m. to midnight on weekdays). Nothing triggers a more vigorous head-nod when I’m out and about than a fellow fan spotting me rocking my T-shirt with the

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Brought to you by

Did you know that you can get Prometrium® at no additional cost* versus the generic? With the ORGANON SELECT TM card, you can ask your pharmacist for brand name Prometrium®. You can obtain the ORGANON SELECT ™ card by visiting www.Prometrium.ca or www.rxhelp.ca or by calling 1-866-RxHelp4 (1-866-794-3574). Simply bring your card to the pharmacy when you fill your prescription, and you will receive immediate payment assistance.

JENNY REED

* Coverage determined by the difference in the drug cost between brand and generic including reasonable markup by province. Patients may still be required to pay pharmacy costs out of pocket. The ORGANON SELECT TM Program is available in all provinces except Quebec.

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West Coast Prime at its Best Riley’s brings a new fish and chophouse dining experience to Downtown Vancouver’s waterfront. From seafood towers that surprise and delight to the highest-quality steak and chops. Book now to find out what everybody is talking about.

RILEYSRESTAURANT.CA @ R I L E Y SVA N CO UVE R

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Vancouver Magazine, May/June 2022

Articles inside

Love Letter

At Issue