Another round of brain-bending Canadiana just in time for the long weekend. - By Pique staff
06 OPENING REMARKS Canada Day reminds us a community is defined less by its disagreements and more by its celebrations, writes editor Braden Dupuis.
08 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR This week’s letter-writers share love for “In Their Own Words,” reflect on reconciliation and DRIPA, and say goodbye to the community.
40 RANGE ROVER A journey into a 400-million-year-old meteorite crater shows how geology shapes both landscapes and communities, writes Leslie Anthony.
70 PIQUE’N YER INTEREST Even by the aspirational math of an NDP government desperate to curry favour, World Cup economics are borderline delusional, writes Brandon Barrett.
12 GLACIAL RETREAT Three pivotal glaciers that have supported Whistler recreation for decades might not make it to the year 2100, a new study finds.
14 SOFI SAYS Whistler’s elected officials earned more in 2025, but claimed fewer expenses, according to the municipality’s latest Statement of Financial Information.
50 FINN FOR THE WIN Finn Iles rocketed to his third career World Cup downhill triumph on June 20 in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
56 COSMIC GUMBO L.A.’s eclectic Ozomatli brings a diverse blend of genres to the resort for the Whistler Summer Concert Series.
COVER I may not be learned, but I sure am looney. - By Jon Parris // Adobe AI // Getty images // @jon.parris.art
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Borrowed traditions
EVERY YEAR , before Whistler’s Canada Day parade winds its way down the Village Stroll, Pique hosts a little bikedecorating contest for local kids. We bust out boxes of ribbons and streamers, balloons and miniature Canada flags, shiny pinwheels and whatever other bits and bobs we can get our hands on,
BY BRADEN DUPUIS
then watch as a dozen or more young cyclists transform their ordinary bikes into rolling explosions of colour.
Some go all out, while others simply tape a tiny Canadian flag to the handlebars and call it a day. It doesn’t really matter. Every bike is perfect because every one reflects the kid riding it.
Then comes the best part.
The parade begins.
And for the next 30 minutes or so, we march our army of freshly decorated children through the Village, from Whistler Olympic Plaza to the foot of Whistler Mountain, alongside dozens of other community groups. Thousands of tourists and locals alike smile and wave from the sidelines with cameras and phones held high. It is admittedly a nice little boost for the ego (even if the cheers and smiles are really more for Canada than for us, specifically—but there’s no harm in pretending).
It’s also wonderfully disorganized. Every year there are balloons escaping into the sky, streamers tangled in spokes, kids bolting ahead of the group despite repeated instructions not to, and at least one tiny cyclist who decides halfway through that they’d rather stop and inspect a flower or something.
This delightful community chaos has been one of my favourite Whistler traditions since my first parade more than a decade ago.
Which is why I’ll miss it dearly this year.
With Canada Day falling on a Wednesday, the parade collides with production day at Pique . While the bikes roll through the Village, I’ll be back in the newsroom putting another newspaper to bed.
It’s hardly a tragedy. Plenty of people work holidays, and in news especially, it sort of just comes with the territory (don’t ask me how many family Christmases I’ve missed since starting at Pique).
The paper doesn’t magically assemble itself because there’s a parade outside.
Still, I’ll miss it.
Funny thing about traditions—you don’t notice you’re creating one until it threatens to disappear.
We don’t usually decide they’re important in the moment. Nobody rides home after their first Canada Day parade
pancake breakfast. Maybe it’s claiming the same spot on the grass in Whistler Olympic Plaza every year, hours before the kick-off of the Whistler Summer Concert Series (this year featuring the Steven Page Trio!). Maybe it’s a postparade dip in one of Whistler’s pristine lakes, or just meeting your crew for cold beers on a hot Village patio. Whatever it is, we all seem to accumulate these little rituals without realizing it. The tradition itself is almost beside the point.
What matters is that, for a little while, we all agree to pause whatever else is happening and simply enjoy being part of the same community.
That’s something I don’t take for granted.
Working in local journalism means spending an awful lot of time looking at problems. Housing. Wildfires. Budgets. Development. Politics. Crime and corruption and court cases.
Conflict is, by its nature, newsworthy. If everything were humming along perfectly, I’d probably be out of a job.
nobody cares who’s winning the latest dumbass Facebook arguments.
Children are showing off their decorated bikes while neighbours are chatting on the sidelines.
It’s a reminder that a community is defined less by its disagreements, and more by its celebrations—by the moments that ask nothing of us except to show up.
I’ve lived in Whistler long enough now that these moments no longer feel novel. They’re familiar and comfortable.
But that’s another trick traditions play on us—they get so woven into the fabric of our lives that we sort of stop noticing them until we’re about to miss one.
This year, while the parade marches its way through Whistler Village, I’ll be staring at page proofs, working towards a press deadline, like every Wednesday. And that’s OK.
The kids won’t notice one less adult marching alongside them. The tradition will carry on, exactly as it should.
And I suppose that’s the wonderful thing about community traditions. They
What matters is that, for a little while, we all agree to pause whatever else is happening and simply enjoy being part of the same community.
thinking definitively, “this has become an annual ritual in my life.”
Somehow, before you realize it, it’s just something you do every year.
One year turns into five. Five turns into 10. Before you know it, you’ve built a collection of small rituals that have somehow become part of who you are.
Maybe yours is the Rotary’s annual
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But a funny thing happens when you spend your days reporting on problems.
You can start to forget what all the work is for.
Then Canada Day rolls around.
For an hour or two, nobody is arguing about zoning bylaws, parking fees or dog poop. Nobody is writing angry, anonymous letters to the editor, and
don’t belong to any one person. We only get to borrow them for a little while before passing them on to the next group of kids, parents, volunteers and spectators.
With any luck, I’ll be back in the mix next year.
Until then, happy Canada Day, Whistler.
Enjoy the parade. n
SCANHERE
Over Three Decades of Warmth, in the Right Pair of Hands
Hilary Davison built Amos & Andes into a Whistler institution. The woman taking it on was next door the whole time.
Long before she ever saw a mountain, Hilary Davison knew the feeling of a good sweater. She grew up on a farm in England, in the thick hand-knit wool her Granny made for her. In 1988, long before chasing a season in the mountains was something people did, she set off across the world on her own and chose Whistler for herself. No one sent her and nothing forced her hand; she simply decided, which is about as clear a window into Hilary as you could ask for.
She found her own way of handing that same feeling to other people. “I got into the sweater business because of my grandmother,” she says. “When I wear a sweater I just feel at home. It is my comfort, and I wanted to share that love with others.”
The shop began small, a Nova Scotia franchise that mostly carried Ecuadorian knitwear. In Hilary’s hands it became something with no equal in the village. For more than thirty years, Amos & Andes has welcomed repeat visitors and loyal locals season after season. She filled the shop with a global collection of traditional premium knitwear, including Dale of Norway, authentic possum-merino from New Zealand, Aran sweaters from Ireland, and authentic Cowichan sweaters hand-knit by the Coast Salish peoples of British Columbia. Hers was a shop that belonged to the mountain, not the tourist economy passing through it.
When the time came to hand it on, Hilary did not have to look far. One door down, in the same building, Lana Beattie had spent those same decades building a life of her own. She had come to Whistler and to Keir Fine Jewellery, where she worked for years before buying into the business, buying out her partners, and becoming its sole owner. She knew what it meant to earn a place here.
The two had shared an address for thirty years, so when Hilary thought about who might carry Amos & Andes forward, the answer was a few steps away. An outsider could have bought the stock; only someone who had been there all along understood what it meant. She said yes.
The shop is changing hands, but it is not changing heart. The collections still carry the luxurious fibres and quiet warmth regulars expect, in the village and online. “I hope you can feel the warmth of Whistler firsthand,” Hilary says, “and keep the memory of this unique place close and warm, no matter where you are.”
For Lana, stepping in is less a purchase than the continuation of a friendship a quarter of a century old. She still remembers walking into the shop in 2001 and falling for it on the spot. “It wasn’t just the warm, cozy sweaters she sold,” Lana says. “It was the warmth and comfort she brought to everyone she met. Hilary had a remarkable gift for making people feel like family.” “I feel incredibly blessed,” she adds, “to follow in her footsteps and continue what she has built.”
Hilary leaves behind a warmth that outlasts any season, woven into the fabric of a community that wrapped itself in her shop for thirty years. The address has not changed, and neither has the heart of it. ◆
To mark this momentous transition, we invite you to celebrate a new chapter for Amos & Andes. In honour of this legacy occasion and the spirit of Canada Day, we are pleased to offer a curated selection of heritage pieces at 50% off. Join us as we toast to the history we’ve shared and the exciting path ahead.
A toast to the next chapter: Hilary Davison, a devoted Ferrari Formula 1 fan, and Lana Beattie celebrate the handover in full podium style outside Amos & Andes in Whistler Village.
AMOS & ANDES · WHISTLER VILLAGE, BC
Love for “In Their Own Words”
I greatly enjoyed the stories written by students from Xet’olacw Community School in Pique’s June 19 cover feature, “In Their Own Words.” I agree with editor Braden Dupuis that it is refreshing to read stories that are honest without an agenda. I can definitely learn from these young writers.
I hope these writers continue to write their stories and I hope to read more from them. I hope Pique continues this tradition. All the stories are unique, meaningful and demonstrate the power of being honest and present.
Erica Osburn // Pemberton
More love for “In Their Own Words”
I absolutely love the “In Their Own Words” feature in Pique. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, and each time I learn a little bit more about my young neighbours.
I still tell friends about the hilarious rez dog story from last year’s instalment. Keep the stories coming!
Natalie Austin // Pemberton
Our reconciliation conundrum
Thank you for publishing the powerful essays by Xet’olacw students in honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day last week. Since the spring legislative session ended in Victoria, I’ve been reflecting on the most prominent debates in our province right now: reconciliation with Indigenous communities, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), and modern rights and title agreements like the K’ómoks Treaty that
was passed by the BC Legislature in May.
I’ve also been thinking about how these debates affect our relationships with Indigenous communities here in the Sea to Sky. As we face these critical issues, my goal is to work towards a common understanding of the rights our justice system has established over decades. When settlers arrived in what is now British Columbia, European recognition of Indigenous rights and title was expressed through trade processes and negotiated
agreements, such as the Douglas Treaties. Despite these and other agreements, only a small number of treaties were reached in B.C. and most land was taken contrary to these commitments. Since then, the rights of Indigenous peoples have been enshrined in many parts of Canadian and B.C. law, including Section 35 of the 1982 Canadian Constitution and decades of judge-made law.
DRIPA was passed unanimously in B.C. in 2019. It sets minimum standards for Indigenous human rights, dignity, wellbeing, and survival. It provides a roadmap for First Nations and the Crown to come together at the negotiating table instead of in the courts, and acknowledges the difficult decisions to be made.
While DRIPA offers a way forward, this path to certainty only works if the government shows up to the table. When the Crown doesn’t negotiate seriously, Nations have little choice but to turn to the courts, and in the absence of negotiated reconciliation, the courts continue to remind the government of their own obligations. This trajectory has led us to the recent Cowichan Tribes and Gitxaala court cases.
The Cowichan ruling was an inevitable correction to a historical injustice going back to the 1800s, when the Cowichan were promised reserve land in Richmond,
SEE PAGE 10 >>
and authorities betrayed that commitment multiple times. The Cowichan never claimed private property in this 11-year long court case, and the court found that the onus is on the government to reconcile, not private landowners. The Gitxaała case was not about private property—it examined the Mineral Tenure Act, where subsurface claims could be made online for as little as $1.75 without consultation with the Gitxaała people.
Along with court action, the failure of the government to honour its commitments to First Nations has led to decades of blockades, social division, economic uncertainty, and misinformed interpretation of complex, 800-page legal decisions.
The consequences of this are not theoretical. In our area, multiple Nations have reported a surge of hateful correspondence. Recently, someone circulated a fake letter in Britannia Beach claiming to be from the Squamish Nation and asking residents to vacate. As the Nation’s chairperson put it, “this type of deliberate provocation is designed to divide, and it truly hurts us all.”
DRIPA is a story of collaboration and hope. It can bring respectful, mutually beneficial economic development. We need steady leaders who are willing to
sit down at the negotiating table, have difficult conversations, and build new traditions of collaboration in B.C. politics. This government needs to be doing that work over the course of this summer and beyond, as promised when they agreed not to meddle with DRIPA this spring.
If you’re interested in more depth on this topic, I encourage you to view or read a discussion with two former Attorneys General of B.C. and a former MLA from across the political spectrum, hosted by my MLA colleague Rob Botterell, at mlabotterell.ca.
To summarize in the words of Chief Justice Antonio Lamer, who wrote the landmark Delgamuukw decision nearly 30 years ago: “It is through negotiated settlements, with good faith and give and take on all sides … that we will achieve … the reconciliation of the preexistence of aboriginal societies with the sovereignty of the Crown. Let us face it, we are all here to stay.”
Jeremy Valeriote // MLA, West Vancouver-Sea to Sky
A thank you to Whistler
After more than 20 years in Whistler, I am beginning a new chapter back on the Island. Before I go, I wanted to say thank you to the community that has shaped so much of my adult life.
Whistler has been far more than a place I lived. It has been a place where I worked, volunteered, raised a family, built friendships, learned hard lessons, and experienced some of the best days of my life.
Like many people who come to Whistler, I started out working multiple jobs and doing whatever I could to make it work. Over time, I was fortunate enough to build a career here, including what I once considered my dream job with the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW). I also had the privilege of volunteering with local soccer, hockey, Whistler Secondary School, and the Whistler Community Foundation. Those experiences gave me a deep appreciation for the people who quietly keep this community moving.
Losing my job at the RMOW was one of the most difficult experiences of my life, but it also taught me something important: a job is not your life, and health has to come first. That lesson was hard-earned, but I am grateful for the perspective it gave me.
I also want to thank the Whistler Community Services Society for the support they provided over the years, especially around mental health and concussion recovery. Their work matters more than many people will ever know, and I will always be grateful for the
compassion and care I received.
Whistler has given me powder days, mountain bike days, hockey rinks, soccer fields, classrooms, boardrooms, community meetings, après afternoons, and friendships I will carry with me. It has also given me challenges that made me stronger and a deeper understanding of what community really means.
As I head back to the Island, I leave with gratitude. Thank you to the friends, colleagues, volunteers, neighbours, coaches, parents, and community builders who made Whistler feel like home.
I will miss the mountains, the people, and the energy of this place. Most of all, I will miss the sense that, even in a town that changes constantly, there are still people here who show up for one another.
Thank you, Whistler. It has been a privilege.
Kevin Creery // Whistler n
FOR THE RECORD
A photo used to illustrate a story about taxis in last week’s Pique showed a Whistler Taxi vehicle being stopped by police. For the record, the driver in question is not connected to specific claims mentioned in the story. n
Whistler Glacier could disappear within a decade, study finds
RESEARCHERS SAY WHISTLER BLACKCOMB’S REMAINING RESORT GLACIERS ARE MOVING FROM PRESERVATION TO ADAPTATION
BY LUKE FAULKS
THREE PIVOTAL glaciers that have supported Whistler recreation for decades might not make it to the year 2100, according to new research.
The paper, published in Annals of Glaciology’s May 2026 edition, found the Whistler, Horstman, and Blackcomb glaciers have shrunk sharply over the past five decades, losing between 60 and 95 per cent of their area.
Using glacier mapping and modelling, the researchers project Whistler Glacier will disappear within the next decade. Horstman Glacier is projected to vanish in the next 10 to 50 years, while Blackcomb Glacier is projected to disappear in the next 20 to 70 years.
“Our work demonstrates that ski resorts that rely on glaciers will need to balance current ice-preservation strategies with adaptation in light of future climate change,” the paper states.
The study was led by Chloé Monty of Simon Fraser University, with co-authors Gwenn Flowers, Jeffrey Crompton, Brian Menounos and Caleb Mathias.
Monty said the overall decline was not a shock, but that historical comparison
was striking.
“I would say it wasn’t a surprise,” she said. “I was just looking through imagery from the last decade, especially for Whistler Glacier, because I saw how little was left, but I think what was surprising was seeing the extent in the historical aerial imagery from 50 years ago—seeing how big it was then and then comparing it to the size now, which we’re more used to seeing on a regular basis.”
due to glacier retreat and low summer snow levels.
Horstman Glacier later became the centre of summer ski camps, but the Horstman T-Bar was installed directly on ice, forcing the resort to reposition towers as the glacier changed. The resort tried snow fencing, snowmaking and geotextiles to preserve the lift and ice beneath it.
“Despite these efforts, the T-bar was
“I think what was surprising was seeing the extent in the historical aerial imagery from 50 years ago...”
- CHLOE MONTY
ALMOST 60 YEARS OF SUMMER GLACIER USE
The glaciers are more than background scenery for Whistler Blackcomb. The paper notes that Whistler Blackcomb’s glaciers have supported almost 60 years of summer glacier use, including ski, snowboard, freestyle, mogul and downhill programs.
The paper charts six decades of changing glacier use, as a warming climate shrunk the requisite terrain.
The first glacier ski camp was help in 1967—the summer after Whistler Mountain first opened for commercial alpine skiing. But summer skiing on Whistler Glacier ended in the late 1990s
permanently removed in 2020 as the evolving glacier profile caused excessive cable tension and created a dangerously steep exit from the lift,” the paper states.
Horstman Glacier did not open for summer skiing in 2024 due to low snowfall—marking the first time in decades neither Whistler nor Blackcomb had a summer ski season. And summer ski camps were indefinitely cancelled in March 2025 because of the diminishing glacier and snowpack.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SHOW
The researchers mapped glacier change from 1973 to 2024 using aerial and satellite
imagery.
Whistler Glacier declined by approximately 95 per cent from 0.224 square kilometres in 1973 to 0.012 square kilometres in 2024. In the last two decades, it has also fragmented into several pieces.
Horstman Glacier declined about 75 per cent from 0.467 square kilometres in 1973 to 0.121 square kilometres in 2024. The paper says only two Showcase T-Bar towers are still underlain by glacier ice, while no glacier ice remains at the tower locations of the former Horstman T-Bar.
Blackcomb Glacier declined about 60 per cent from 0.725 square kilometres in 1973 to 0.307 square kilometres in 2024. It remains the largest of the three, which is one reason its future disappearance date has the widest range.
The researchers used two main approaches to estimate when the glaciers could disappear. One approach extended the observed trend in glacier area into the future. The other used a positive degreeday model, which is a way of estimating melt based on how often temperatures rise above freezing.
In plain language, the second model looks at how much warmth is available to melt snow and ice. The warmer the days, and the more days above 0 C, the more potential there is for melting.
WARMING, NOT JUST LOW SNOW
The researchers said the decline is being driven mainly by rising temperatures, not simply by a lack of snowfall.
“If you think of glacier nutrition, as you know, they gain mass due to snowfall, they lose mass due to melt,” Flowers said. “The snowfall hasn’t changed that much in the last few decades, but the melt has increased a lot.”
Menounos said small glaciers around Whistler and Garibaldi are also affected as they fragment. More surrounding rock is exposed. Darker surfaces absorb more energy than snow and ice. And wind can move heat across the landscape.
“One of the main reasons is due to rising temperatures,” he said. “When you focus back to the small glaciers around Whistler and sort of the Garibaldi area, there’s probably a number of factors, also, as they fragment, they’re feeling more effects of the surrounding landscape warming up.”
Menounos said the small resort glaciers have already been pushed onto a clear path.
“These small glaciers—we’ve really kind of sealed their fate based on what’s already happened,” he said.
Flowers described glaciers as slow to respond to climate.
“Glaciers respond slowly, slowly to climate, and they have a memory,” she said. “They are responding now to the conditions they experienced in the last several decades.”
CHANGING TERRAIN AND ACCESS
The research is not just about when the last ice disappears. The glaciers are already changing how the mountain is used.
“I would say that there’s a difference for skiing as the glaciers are thinning and it’s causing there to be steeper terrain,” Flowers said, adding the effect is especially noticeable in terms of lift access, and at the entrances to runs on Whistler Peak.
The team noted The Saddle, one of the steepest runs on Whistler Mountain, has become even steeper in recent years because of glacier “downwasting.” Whistler Blackcomb increased the difficulty rating of the run from intermediate to advanced in 2021, according to the paper.
“Downwasting” refers to the surface of a glacier lowering as the ice thins. That can change the shape of surrounding terrain, expose rock and make old access routes harder or less predictable.
Flowers said the hardest part for an operation like Whistler Blackcomb is not only the loss of ice, but the pace of change.
“If the landscape were ice-free since the time of development, then you build the lifts and you construct the infrastructure in a way that suits the landscape,” she said. “What seems really challenging to cope with is the change of the glaciers, and then the challenges that those produce, that Chloe [Monty is] talking about, and also the pace of change, that things now are not just changing from decade to decade, but things are different from year to year.”
FROM PRESERVATION TO ADAPTATION
The researchers said Whistler Blackcomb’s experience shows a shift
NEWS WHISTLER
from trying to preserve ice to adapting to its loss.
Monty said past efforts to protect Horstman Glacier were not without merit. They helped preserve summer camps and lift access for a time.
“I don’t think it’s something that’s pointless, necessarily,” she said. “I think they were especially trying to save it, like I was saying, for Horstman T-bar, and for the summer ski camps that were there as well.”
Flowers said mitigation measures such as geotextiles can slow glacier loss, but not stop it.
“The way to think about these mitigation measures anywhere in the world is they’re meant to bend the curve,” she said. “They’re not going to prevent the disappearance of ice, they’re just going to slow it down.”
For Whistler, adaptation could mean changing how skiers and riders reach Blackcomb Glacier, managing expectations around ski-out access and planning for more terrain changes— including following the snowline as it moves farther up the mountain over time.
ROCKFALL AND HAZARD PLANNING
Flowers said adaptation should also include hazard assessment, particularly around rockfall.
That concern comes after recent rockfall activity near Whistler Peak. Residents spotted a rock slide near Peak Chair on March 12. More rock movement was later reported in June, with preliminary assessments pointing to “hangfire”—an unstable section of rock fractured during the earlier slide.
Those incidents underline the type of terrain-management issue Flowers said will become more important as ice retreats and rock is exposed.
“As the glaciers continue to retreat, they’re probably destabilizing slopes in some sense,” Flowers said. “Adaptation, I think, should involve some pretty serious hazard assessment about the rockfall that maybe we didn’t have to worry about so much over the last few decades in the places that were still ice-covered.”
The U.S. Geological Survey has also described how warming can affect high mountain slopes, particularly where ice in cracks and crevices helps hold rock together. When that ice degrades, rockslides and rock avalanches can become more likely.
Menounos said the glaciers could reform one day if surface temperatures cool enough and snow lines drop again, but not on a near-term timeline.
Flowers said the underlying cause— planet-warming emissions from human activities—should remain part of the discussion.
“The reason these glaciers are disappearing is because choices that we, as humans, have made in the past,” she said. “We always need to keep that underlying cause in focus as we’re thinking ... about how we want to conduct ourselves as a society and what our priorities are.” n
Whistler council pay rises, expenses fall in 2025 financials
MUNICIPALITY REPORTS $50.9M IN PAYROLL AND $118.6M IN SUPPLIER PAYMENTS IN ITS STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION
BY LUKE FAULKS
WHISTLER’S ELECTED officials earned more in 2025, but claimed fewer expenses, according to the municipality’s latest Statement of Financial Information (SOFI).
The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) released its 2025 SOFI as part of a staff report going before council on Tuesday, June 23. The provincially required document provides an annual look at compensation for elected officials and municipal employees, along with payments to contractors and suppliers.
Elected officials collectively earned $491,672 in remuneration in 2025, up from $477,352 in 2024.
Mayor Jack Crompton received $150,296 last year, up from $145,918 the year prior. Each of Whistler’s six councillors earned $56,896 in 2025, up from $55,239 in 2024.
Council expenses moved in the other direction.
The seven elected officials claimed $26,076 in expenses in 2025, down from $39,386 in 2024. Crompton claimed the most at $5,426. Councillor Arthur De Jong followed at $4,738, while Coun.
Ralph Forsyth claimed the least at $1,458.
Coun. Jessie Morden claimed $4,429, Coun. Cathy Jewett claimed $4,381, Coun. Jeff Murl claimed $4,151, and Coun. Jen Ford claimed $1,493.
The SOFI report provides an annual snapshot of municipal spending, including salaries, revenues and contractor payments; however, listed remuneration does not reflect takehome pay or hourly wages. It includes salary, wages, taxable benefits, overtime, statutory holiday pay, accrued vacation, sick and banked overtime payouts and retroactive pay rate changes.
STAFF SALARIES REFLECT FEWER EMPLOYEES OVER THRESHOLD
The number of RMOW employees listed in the SOFI dropped slightly in 2025.
The municipality reported 242 employees earning more than $75,000, down from 246 in 2024. In a staff report, the RMOW said the decrease is largely because retroactive pay processed in 2024 for the 2022-to-2023 period temporarily increased reported remuneration for some employees that year.
The $75,000 SOFI disclosure threshold has not changed since 2002. According to the staff report, if that
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Total payroll per the financial statements reached $50.9 million in 2025, up from $48.8 million in 2024. Municipal employee expenses totalled $355,959, down from $439,293 the previous year.
TOP MUNICIPAL EARNERS
Several municipal staff earned more than $200,000 in 2025:
• Virginia Cullen, chief administrative officer—$307,456;
• Tom Doherty, fire chief—$228,703;
• Ted Battiston, general manager of corporate services and public safety—$218,975;
• James Hallisey, general manager of infrastructure services—$217,521;
• Dale Mikkelsen, general manager of climate action, planning and development services—$216,326;
• Andrew Del Bosco, fire training officer—$200,191; and Dave Evans, firefighter captain—$200,154.
CONTRACTOR AND SUPPLIER PAYMENTS RISE SLIGHTLY
Contractor and supplier payments also rose in 2025, reaching $118.6 million, compared to $116.2 million the previous year.
Contractors receiving more than $25,000
are listed by name in the SOFI document.
Top supplier payments included:
• Tourism Whistler—$8,494,077;
• BC Transit—$5,912,637;
• Receiver General for RCMP— $5,136,973;
•Drake Excavating (2016) Ltd.— $5,108,533;
•GFL Environmental Inc.— $4,147,530;
• Corona Excavations—$4,049,144;
• Alpine Electric Ltd.—$2,142,399.
• BC Hydro—$2,094,603;
• Wastech Services Inc.—$2,059,499; The RMOW also reported $1.49 million in grants-in-aid payments in 2025.
The largest recipients were Arts Whistler at $594,825, the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association at $290,925, the Whistler Museum and Archives Society at $224,950, Whistler Animals Galore at $124,373, and the Sea to Sky Invasive Species Council at $75,152.
The SOFI is prepared on a cash basis, meaning it records when payments were made rather than when services were received. The RMOW report also includes consolidated financial information for municipal subsidiaries, including the Whistler Housing Authority and Whistler 2020 Development Corp. n
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Vail Resorts cuts 2026 forecast after ‘challenging’ winter
COMPANY POINTS TO WEAK WESTERN U.S. SNOW, LOWER VISITATION AND SOFTER EARLY PASS SALES
BY LUKE FAULKS
VAIL RESORTS has posted a lower thirdquarter profit and reduced its full-year forecast after what CEO Rob Katz called “one of the most challenging winters in history across the Western U.S.”
The Broomfield, Colo.-based owner of Whistler Blackcomb reported net income of $314.4 (USD) million for the third quarter of fiscal 2026, down from $389.7 million in the same period last year.
Resort-reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) fell to $586.4 million, compared with $647.7 million in the prior year.
“Weather conditions remained extremely unfavourable in the third quarter, adding to what had already been one of the most challenging winters in history across the Western U.S., driving continued pressure on visitation and revenue in the quarter, particularly at our destination resorts in the Rockies,” Katz said in the company’s June 8 release.
Vail Resorts said the drop was primarily driven by poor weather, which hit visitation and revenue from both local and destination guests. Total lift revenue declined five per cent, while visitation was down 15 per cent.
The company now expects fiscal 2026 net income of between $128 million and $162 million, and resort-reported EBITDA of $735 million to $755 million.
That marks another step down from the company’s original fiscal 2026 outlook of $201 million to $276 million in net income and $842 million to $898 million in Resort Reported EBITDA.
Vail Resorts first cut that guidance in March, then signalled in April that results would likely land at or near the low end of that reduced range.
At that time, Katz said it had been “the most challenging winter across the Rockies that we have ever experienced,”
citing the lowest snowfall levels in more than 30 years at the company’s Colorado and Utah resorts, along with warmer temperatures and reduced terrain.
Whistler’s season was not hit as severely.
Blackcomb Mountain opened as scheduled Nov. 21, though with limited terrain and mandatory downloading early in the season.
In Vail Resorts’ latest release, the company said early 2026-27 North American pass sales were down 10 per cent in units, eight per cent in days sold and five per cent in sales dollars through May 26. But the company said the softer results were most evident in Colorado, Utah and Lake Tahoe, while performance was “much stronger” in the East and at Whistler Blackcomb.
“While any decline in pass sales is disappointing, it is not surprising given the severity of this past season’s conditions,” Katz said. “We believe the challenging conditions have delayed purchase decisions, creating the opportunity for improved pass performance in the fall selling season and/or ultimately through lift ticket purchases during next season.”
Vail Resorts also reaffirmed its 2026 capital plan, with a total planned capital investment of $234 million to $239 million.
At Whistler Blackcomb, the plan includes replacing the Showcase T-Bar with a fixed-grip quad chairlift to improve access to Blackcomb Glacier, which Vail Resorts notes offers 215 acres (87 hectares) of terrain.
The company is also planning upgrades to Roundhouse Lodge as part of dining improvements across its resort portfolio, including changes meant to improve guest flow, add seating, expand menu offerings and create new bar and coffee spaces.
“Despite the weather challenges of the past year, our strategic focus remains unchanged,” Katz said. n
WEATHER WOES Whistler pass sales held stronger than Western U.S. markets with poorer weather conditions. PHOTO BY ASCENTXMEDIA / E+ /
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Whistler eyes clearer ‘yes-or-no’ path for tourist accommodation licences
STAFF SAY PROVINCIAL REGISTRY HAS IMPROVED ENFORCEMENT, WHILE COUNCIL PRESSES FOR FASTER ANSWERS FOR BUYERS AND REALTORS
BY LUKE FAULKS
THE RESORT MUNICIPALITY of Whistler (RMOW) is looking at a new way to give prospective tourist accommodation (TA) owners a faster answer on whether a property can receive a business licence, after mayor and council heard staff say the resort’s short-term rental system is working—but still creating uncertainty for some buyers.
Mayor Jack Crompton said one of the “major concerns” he has heard, particularly from the real estate community, is that residents can struggle to confirm whether a TA-zoned property will actually qualify for a business licence before they buy it.
“It’s a real challenge when you can’t tell your client whether or not the property that they are considering purchasing would qualify for a business licence,” Crompton said at the June 23 council meeting.
The update came through a report on Whistler’s TA business licence process, presented by manager of protective services Lindsay DeBou and building department manager Melissa Hollis.
Council received the report without opposition.
HOW WHISTLER’S TA SYSTEM WORKS
DeBou told council Whistler has about 9,000 commercial accommodation units, including hotels, inns, lodges and other properties that can be used for either residential or visitor use.
“Tourist accommodation in Whistler is designed to support residents and visitors, protecting our housing for residents, maintaining the character in neighbourhoods, supporting tourist accommodation, as well as providing a safe environment for tourists to stay,” she said.
The key distinction, staff noted, is zoning. Properties in residential-only zones cannot be used for TA for any length of time. TA is only permitted in specific zones, and a business licence is required before an owner can market, manage or rent a property to visitors.
Whistler’s current process has four basic steps: zoning compliance, building permit review, a municipal business licence and provincial registration.
Staff explained the province’s ShortTerm Rental Accommodations Act, introduced in 2024, has changed the landscape.
Since May 1, 2025, hosts and platforms like Airbnb and VRBO have been required to register properties
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through a provincial registry, which is cross-matched with municipal business licence numbers and addresses.
Staff said it allows the RMOW to compare platform listings against municipal zoning and licensing records, making it easier to find illegal rentals and TA-zoned properties operating without licences.
WHISTLER’S CURRENT TA LANDSCAPE
According to a staff report, Whistler currently has 4,828 active TA listings— referring to properties that have shown bookings in the last three months. About 7.7 per cent, or 371 listings, are not in compliance, including properties with expired licences, no licence or incorrect information (like a wrong address). Of those 371 properties, 48 had applied for and were awaiting a business licence.
Asked by Councillor Arthur De Jong about the impact on illegal short-term rentals, DeBou said the registry has “pretty much wiped out anything that we couldn’t capture before.”
Before the registry, Whistler’s main focus was finding nightly rentals operating in zones where TA was not allowed.
Now, staff say there are “very few” listings on the provincial registry that are not zoned for TA, and the work is
increasingly focused on owners who are allowed to operate but have not completed the licensing process.
Since 2017, the RMOW has issued nearly 500 bylaw notice tickets for TA infractions; however, calls for service and ticketing declined in 2025. TA-related calls dropped from 38 in 2024 to 31 in 2025, while tickets fell from 100 to 36.
APPLICATIONS, REVENUE AND BUILDING FILES
The licensing changes have also brought a major jump in applications and revenue.
New TA applications rose from 80 in 2023 to 1,603 in 2024, before dropping to 870 in 2025. Total business licence revenue across all business types increased from $687,000 in 2023 to $828,000 in 2024, then $1.3 million in 2025.
Staff said that growth reflects both the higher number of licences and a revised fee structure that took effect in 2025. Under that change, every TA property must now have its own business licence. Previously, property management companies could operate many units under one licence.
The shift is intended to make the system more equitable and easier to
PAGE 20 >>
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Human remains found in Whistler’s Alta Lake
SEARCH FOR MISSING PERSON BEGAN MAY 28 AFTER PADDLEBOARD FOUND ADRIFT
BY BRADEN DUPUIS
THE SEARCH for a missing person on Whistler’s Alta Lake has ended in tragedy.
In a release on June 23, police said human remains were discovered in the lake near Rainbow Park on June 21.
The Sea to Sky RCMP was notified of the discovery just before 3:30 p.m. on June 21, the release said.
Police investigators attended and were assisted in the recovery of the remains by the Whistler Fire Rescue Service, BC Conservation Officer Service and the Whistler Sailing Association.
“Details of the individual located will not be released pending an investigation by the BC Coroner Service,” said Cpl. Katrina Boehmer,
TA LICENSES FROM PAGE 18
administer. DeBou said property managers previously submitted long lists of units, with review processes sometimes taking up to three months. Now, each unit moves through the process independently.
Since the provincial changes, the building department has received 461 TA referrals connected to active, incomplete or non-conforming building files. Of those, 378 have been completed. Another 62 applications were still working through the process, while 20 were cancelled and one was denied.
‘DEMYSTIFY THE PROCESS’
Council’s main interest was in a faster front-end check for people considering a purchase.
DeBou said staff are working toward a pilot business licence inquiry process that would let prospective applicants ask whether a property has zoning or building flags that could prevent a licence.
Hollis said the proposed process would not provide a full explanation of how to fix a problem. Instead, it would give a basic
media relations officer for the Sea to Sky RCMP, in the release. “We recognize that several individuals may have witnessed this incident, and we want them to know they are welcome to contact our RCMP Victim Services team if they have been affected in any way and feel they would benefit from support.”
The search for the missing person began May 28, after a paddleboard was found adrift in the lake.
Multiple agencies assisted in the search, including Whistler Search and Rescue, Whistler Fire, RCMP Air Services and BC Conservation Service.
A helicopter was seen hovering over Alta Lake for extended periods on May 28 as authorities carried out the search.
Anyone with questions or concerns can contact the Sea to Sky RCMP’s Whistler Detachment at 604-932-3044. n
yes-or-no answer on eligibility.
Crompton asked when that could be in place. DeBou said staff are aiming to bring forward a bylaw amendment for the next licensing cycle, around the new year.
Councillor Cathy Jewett said the issue is a concern council hears about “a lot in the valley,” and welcomed the update.
“I think it’s really great to clear up these misconceptions, and it sounds like the provincial registry has really cleared things up a lot,” she said.
Forsyth also supported the direction, saying the proposed process could help “demystify” the system for buyers, realtors and owners.
Crompton said the proposed yes-orno inquiry process would be “a real add” based on the concerns he has heard.
“My hope is that we’ll hear back from some of those people who have had concerns about what they’ve heard tonight on how we can continue to up our game and make sure that this is a great place to do business and a great place to live,” he said. n
TRAGIC END A helicopter was seen hovering over Alta Lake for extended periods on May 28 as authorities carried out the search for a missing person.
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Pemberton gets ready for July 1 Nkwúkwma & Pemberton community celebration
THE ANNUAL EVENT, TAKING PLACE ON CANADA DAY, WAS RENAMED LAST YEAR FOLLOWING CONSULTATION WITH INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY MEMBERS
BY HILARY ANGUS
THE VILLAGE OF Pemberton is gearing up to host the July 1 Nkwúkwma & Pemberton community celebration—a family-friendly, full-day event that celebrates connection, community, and pride in the Pemberton Valley.
The event, taking place on Canada Day, was renamed in Pemberton in 2025 following consultation with Indigenous community members.
“We need to acknowledge the fact that Indigenous folks were here thousands of years before first contact and colonization, and to separate those two, and to try to celebrate Canada without that, I think just seems incomplete and wrong,” said Pemberton Mayor Mike Richman.
However, some residents have questioned the name change.
A post on Facebook’s Pemberton Community Forum from earlier this month that called for “bringing back Canada Day” in Pemberton asked why residents can’t celebrate the birthday of the country without being made to feel bad for it.
The post, which had 50 comments
as of press time, included several mostly respectful discussions from other residents that acknowledged celebrating Canada Day, which marks confederation, evokes complex feelings for many Indigenous people.
Richman said the name change was developed through months of collaboration with the Lil’wat Nation, including a councilto-council meeting, about how the event
more together, we’re going to create a stronger, richer future for all of our residents,” Richman added. “That’s to me what this is meant to represent, is the fact that we share this land, now we’re here together, we have a future together, let’s celebrate together.”
Richman also stressed that the July 1 event is, as it has always been, a very local event to get together and celebrate
“The idea is not to diminish or devalue the pride we feel in being Canadian, it’s to be more inclusive ... and to recognize that our past is much deeper.”
- MIKE RICHMAN
can more inclusively reflect the history of the land, the history of the valley, and celebrate a shared future together.
“It’s still Canada Day … nobody’s trying to change that. It’s July 1, it’s Canada Day,” Richman said. “The idea is not to diminish or devalue the pride we feel in being Canadian, it’s to be more inclusive … and to recognize that our past is much deeper.
“For me this celebrates the fact that by coming closer together, by collaborating
the communities in the Valley.
“It’s always been a day where I’m just grateful for the good fortune of having been born Canadian and found this valley,” Richman said.
“I know every mayor will say this about their town, but I really feel this community is quite special in so many ways, and I speak of the extended community,” Richman said. “So days like July 1 are just an excuse for us to get together and celebrate our good fortune together.”
WHAT’S HAPPENING ON JULY 1
The July 1 Nkwúkwma & Pemberton community celebration will feature a full schedule of events and live music. Richman is co-MCing the day with Maxine Bruce, territory stewardship manager for the Líl’wat Nation.
The event kicks off at 8 a.m. with the return of the Spud Run, a free, all-ages, eight-kilometre out-and-back that starts and finishes at the Pemberton & District Community Centre.
Runners, joggers, walkers, and families are all welcome to participate, and registration is available online through the Village of Pemberton recreation site.
The annual parade will follow, leaving the community centre at 10:30 a.m. and travelling toward downtown, before ending at the intersection of Prospect Street and Birch Street.
The festivities continue with the Community Celebration in Pioneer Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., where residents can enjoy live music and drumming, crafts from local artisans, food from local vendors, and games and activities for all ages.
New this year is the location of the Community Celebration, which was moved to Pioneer Park from the Downtown Community Barn in order to offer more shade and open space for people to gather and enjoy the festivities. n
PLAN THE PARADE Pemberton’s annual July 1 parade will kick off from the community centre. PHOTO BY KELLY COSGROVE / COURTESY
Blue House Organics owner says farm corrected worker-housing issue before $387K federal fine
ALEJANDRO
SUCRE
SAYS
A DELAYED
FEDERAL PROCESS HURT THE PEMBERTON FARM’S ABILITY TO OPERATE
BY LUKE FAULKS
THE OWNER OF A Pemberton-area farm is speaking out after Service Canada fined the business $387,500 and barred them from hiring temporary foreign workers for two years.
In a response to Pique provided June 19, Blue House Organics owner Alejandro Sucre said the Pemberton-area farm did have a temporary worker-housing issue in 2023, but argued it was corrected quickly and that a lengthy federal delay caused lasting damage to the farm.
“I do not dispute that we had a housing issue in 2023,” Sucre wrote. “We had a flood in Birken that impeded [having] proper housing so I got trailers as [a] temporary solution,”
On May 29, 2026, Service Canada listed Blue House Organics Inc. as having been fined $387,500 and barred from hiring temporary foreign workers for two years after being found non-compliant with Temporary Foreign Worker Program rules.
The federal government’s public registry of non-compliant employers lists Blue House Organics as ineligible to hire temporary workers until May 29, 2028.
The registry lists three violations: the employer could not show the job description on its Labour Market Impact Assessment application was accurate; it broke federal, provincial or territorial hiring or recruitment laws; and the pay, working conditions or job did not match, or exceed, what was listed in the worker’s offer of employment.
Burial to follow at Whistler Cemetery Celebration of life
Sun. June 28th • 3:00pm Whistler Secondary School 8000 Alpine Way
Refreshments Following
Please join us for as many of the viewing, burial and celebration times of my much-loved husband, Tim, who was a friend to so many of you or made a difference in your life somehow. Please consider coming as Tim would want you here even if you didn’t know him well or just knew me. He would want this as a “Feast Day of Celebration” with as many as could be there. For Tim, there were never too many people and he always wanted to have a chat or see someone IN PERSON.
A live stream for the service and the link will come closer to the date. Information will also be on the Squamish Funeral Home soon to make comments and share stories.
HEFTY FINE Blue House runs a 20-acre farm in Pemberton and a 50-acre farm in Birken.
Rocks in my Head I: The Charlevoix Astrobleme
I’VE WRITTEN in this space before about Global Geoparks. It’s a UNESCO designation under the same program that recognizes World Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage Sites, a troika that seeks to conserve both tangible and intangible aspects of natural and human heritage. Since the Sea to Sky’s fledgling Fire & Ice GeoRegion has similar aspirations, over the summer I’ll share the experiences I’ve had in some of Canada’s established and aspiring geoparks, then circle back to our own local initiative.
BY LESLIE ANTHONY
Each geopark begins with the rock beneath your feet. Which, in one case, includes rock from outer space. Some 400 million years ago, a 4.5-kilometre-wide, 15 billion-tonne meteorite slammed into what is now Quebec’s Charlevoix region on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. The 54-kilometre-wide crater is still apparent in geomorphology that puts the town of Baie-Saint-Paul at the mouth of a valley on the crater’s west side, La Malbaie at the eastern margin, and the mountainous jumble of Parc National des Grand-Jardins on its northern rim (Google Earth is helpful in visualizing the crater’s remains).
Although the heavily eroded impact site—astrobleme to geologists—lies within the Charlevoix UNESCO World Biosphere
Reserve, a local group hopes to make it the centrepiece of a new Géoparc de Charlevoix. Though mere conceptual designations that neither claim land, impinge on rights or titles, nor erect barriers to development, geoparks’ multi-stakeholder touristic and educational nature requires some level of organization. In Charlevoix that was manager Félicia Corbeil-L’Abbé, who I met one morning at the Géoparc visitor centre, an old converted golf clubhouse.
Inside, wood-panelled walls were ringed with interpretive displays, including chunks of meteorite and shatter cones—rock that radiates with the impact forces which travelled through it. On a 3D topographic model dominated by the astrobleme, Corbeil-L’Abbé employed fancy projection tech to bring me up to speed on regional geology: the billionyear-old Canadian Shield rock that represented roots of the once-immense Laurentian Mountains; the 450 millionyear-old marine sediments of the St. Lawrence Platform that lay atop this; and, just offshore, shards of the Appalachian Mountains—even more ancient seabed pushed into the Shield along an ancient fault. All, of course, subsequently broken, bruised and bent in every direction by the meteorite impact to create new structures, themselves subjected to tectonic folding, repeated scraping by Pleistocene icesheets, and waterborne deposition and erosion.
Given such a dynamic history, it was a wonder there was anything left to see, yet the astrobleme’s continued traces suggested how those original structures—caused not by the meteorite but the explosion it generated—were likely significant. To visualize these, onto her 3D-model Corbeil-L’Abbé projected a similar-sized crater from the moon, where there are no plate tectonics, glaciation or water to mess things up. The result was eye-opening: a perfectly
round, steep-rimmed crater with a significantly raised centre surrounded by subtle concentric rings—like a photo of a drop of water hitting the surface of a pond turned to stone.
It’s one thing to ogle virtual re-creations of the geologic past, another to unpack them on the ground. But that’s precisely the role that the geosites within geoparks serve, and so out the door we’d gone with retired geologist Pierre Verpaelst and naturalist Étienne Govare. With CorbeilL’Abbé at the wheel we headed north, forsaking highway for country lane. “Main roads have the views but backroads are much more interesting for understanding the territory,” she said.
Yet Charlevoix’s verdant, rolling hills seemed nothing but bucolic, with no immediately recognizable aspects of the cataclysmic past from one of the largest impact sites on Earth.
Our first stop was a bloom of rock first stumbled on by a government geologist. Instead of the mineral resources he sought, he’d found something more interesting—striations fanning throughout the bedrock, the defining characteristic of shatter cones, even more apparent at a nearby outcrop where a Plexiglas plaque commemorated the astrobleme discovery.
Continuing northward, we dropped from the raised 770-metre central uplift to a lower elevation then climbed again— the concentric rings dissipating outward a reminder of the water-drop analogy. That’s because the titanic forces of a meteorite impact momentarily turn even the hardest rock to liquid, creating structural artifacts that become frozen in time. Ahead, ringing the crater, towered higher mountains, where, after a sweaty hike to a summit geosite in Parc National des Grands-Jardins, we revelled in a stunning real-life overview of the visitor
centre’s topographic model. Rock in the bottom of each concentric ring had eventually been covered by material thrust higher onto intervening ridges that had fallen back down to obscure the true relief. This post-hoc role for erosion became clearer at an overlook of Baie-St.-Paul. Gazing over the bay’s wide mudflats and mountainous backstop, Étienne explained how it was but a postcard palimpsest: the meteorblasted bedrock was now buried 200 metres below the delta by glacial, river and marine sediments that left a series of unstable benches on the hillside—hence the region’s frequent landslides. “This valley is a beautiful trap for the erosion story,” enthused Govare, who, over lunch, produced an explanatory back-of-thenapkin diagram so detailed that Pierre photographed it for interpretive posterity.
This exchange channelled the essence of the global geopark movement—knowledge sharing. “Spreading information so everyone can celebrate where they live in as many ways as possible,” said Corbeil-L’Abbé of geoparks’ intention to connect a region’s geological story to biological and human stories. By educating through outreach, education and geotourism (e.g., geofoods grown in volcanic soil or geoactivities like hiking, cycling, skiing, paddling), a bridge is built between ivory-tower science, commercial enterprises and the public, fostering geological interest, stewardship and hazard awareness.
In other words, framing the rippled land of an astrobleme wasn’t just about a pretty picture—not that a pretty picture wouldn’t get your attention, as I’d see at my next stop.
Leslie Anthony is a biologist, writer and author of several popular books on environmental science. n
GEOLOGY ROCKS Geologist Pierre Verpaelst points to the uplifted north rim of the Charlevoix Astrobleme.
PHOTO BY LESLIE ANTHONY
WHISTLER
1. Whistlerites will elect a new mayor and council on Oct. 17. How many people ran for Whistler’s six council seats in 2022?
A) 9
B) 20
C) 6
D) 15
2. Out of 3,224 registered voters, what percentage voted in the 2022 municipal election?
A) 37 per cent
B) 35 per cent
C) 31 per cent
D) 54 per cent
PIQUE’S ANNUAL CANADA DAY QUIZ
6. Which of these local businesses/buildings is rumoured to be haunted?
A) The Point Artist-Run Centre
7. Whistler officially unveiled its first Coat of Arms a decade ago, in 2016. Which animal is NOT featured?
A) Cougar
B) Black bear
C) Whiskeyjack
D) Hoary marmot
3. In 2015, the Peak 2 Peak Gondola earned two Guinness World Records. What were they?
A) The fastest-moving gondola and the highest cable car above ground
B) The fastest moving gondola and the first gondola system to officially host a multi-course dinner
C) The highest base jump from a gondola and the longest unsupported span between two cable car towers
D) The highest cable car above ground and the longest unsupported span between two cable car towers
4. What is the elevation of the Peak 2 Peak gondola above Fitzsimmons Creek at its highest point?
A) 326 m
B) 436 m
C) 536 m
D) 626 m
5. Former councillor (or alderman, as it was known at the time) Al Raine served from 1975 to 1982, eventually leveraging his expertise to become the mayor of which B.C. municipality?
A) Sun Peaks
B) Pemberton
C) Prince George
D) Revelstoke
8. Whistler’s trees are currently under attack by which native defoliator, causing needles to turn red?
A) Mountain pine beetle
B) Spruce budworm
C) Western tent caterpillar
D) Douglas-fir tussock moth
9. At which Whistler lake are you most likely to see someone naked?
A) Alta Lake
B) Alpha Lake
C) Green Lake
D) Lost Lake
10. Which First Nations are recognized as the shared stewards of the Whistler area?
A) Nlaka’pamux and Stó:lō
B) Secwépemc and Ktunaxa
C) Lil’wat and Squamish
D) Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh
ANSWERS
PHOTO
CANADIANA
1. Which Canadian province has the longest coastline?
A) British Columbia
B) Newfoundland and Labrador
C) Nova Scotia
D) Quebec
2. Which province joined Confederation in 1949?
A) Prince Edward Island
B) British Columbia
C) Newfoundland
D) Alberta
3. What is Canada’s largest national park?
A) Banff
B) Jasper
C) Wood Buffalo
D) Nahanni
4. Which Canadian invention debuted at Expo 67 in Montreal?
A) BlackBerry
B) Snowmobile
C) Canadarm
D) IMAX
5. Which Canadian city is nicknamed “The City of Bridges”?
A) Halifax
B) Montreal
C) Saskatoon
D) Ottawa
6. Which province is home to the giant roadside “Mac the Moose”?
A) Saskatchewan
B) Manitoba
C) Alberta
D) British Columbia
7. Which Canadian city was founded as “Bytown”?
A) Winnipeg
B) Kingston
C) Halifax
D) Ottawa
8. Which person has appeared on the greatest number of different banknotes?
A) Sir John A. MacDonald
B) Queen Elizabeth II
C) Terry Fox
D) Wilfrid Laurier
9. Which Canadian novel has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide?
A) The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
B) The Handmaid’s Tale
C) Fifth Business
D) Anne of Green Gables
10. Which Canadian physician shared the 1923 Nobel Prize for the discovery of insulin?
Norman Bethune
James Collip
Frederick Banting
8. One of the most important figures in the fight for women’s suffrage in Canada was Nellie McClung. In which province was she born?
A) Nova Scotia
B) Ontario
C) Saskatchewan
D) Manitoba
9. Which B.C. premier served the longest?
A) Bill Bennett
B) John Horgan
C) W.A.C. Bennett
D) Christy Clark
10. Which Canadian prime minister was born in British Columbia?
A) Kim Campbell
B) Joe Clark
C) John Turner
D) None of the above
ANSWERS
POLITICS
1. How many seats are there in Canada’s House of Commons?
A) 350
B) 322
C) 343
D) 305
2. Which Canadian prime minister served the shortest term?
A) Charles Tupper
B) Kim Campbell
C) John Turner
D) Joe Clark
3. The BC Conservatives elected a new leader in May. Who is it?
A) Trevor Halford
B) David Eby
C) John Rustad
D) Kerry-Lynne Findlay
4. Which Canadian prime minister introduced the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
A) Stephen Harper
B) Pierre Trudeau
C) Lester Pearson
D) Joe Clark
5. Which province has the fewest seats in the House of Commons?
A) Manitoba
B) Newfoundland and Labrador
C) Saskatchewan
D) PEI
6. Which level of government is primarily responsible for health-care?
A) Provincial and territorial
B) Federal
C) Municipal
D) The World Health Organization
7. Who is the youngest person to have served as Prime Minister of Canada?
A) Justin Trudeau
B) Joe Clark
C) Kim Campbell
D) Brian Mulroney
2.1) C. 2) A. Tupper held office for just 69 days in 1896. 3) D. 4) B. 5) D. 6) A. 7) B. Clark assumed office in 1979 at the age of 39, the day before his 40th birthday. 8) B. 9) C. W.A.C. Bennett led the province for 20 consecutive years from August 1952 to September 1972. 10) A.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
1. Which of these chocolate bars is considered a Canadian original?
A) Milky Way
B) Twix
C) Coffee Crisp
D) Kit Kat
2. Which is Canada’s oldest brewery?
A) Labatt Brewing Co.
B) Molson Brewery
C) Moosehead Breweries
D) Coast Mountain Brewing
PHOTO BY STEPHEN BARNES // GETTY IMAGES
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS VIA PICRYL
Wh istler ’s Canada Da y: Ce lebr at in gO urNatu ra l Beauty &S to ries
Join Piqu eN ew smagazin e as we leadou t Wh istler ’s Canada DayParad e! De co ra te yo urbi ke at homeor co me al it tl ee arlyan dd ecorat ew it hu s.Ge t crea ti ve wi thth et hemean dc eleb ra ti ngourna tu ra lb eaut y.
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11:00am Signin,waiversanddecorating 11:30am Bike judgingandprizes
3. What ingredient gives traditional Nanaimo bars their yellow middle layer?
A) Bananas
B) Mustard seed
C) Egg yolk
D) Custard powder
4. Which of these cheeses originated in Canada?
A) Havarti
B) Gruyère
C) Oka
D) Jarlsberg
5. Toutons are a traditional breakfast food from which province?
A) Newfoundland and Labrador
B) Nova Scotia
C) Quebec
D) Manitoba
6. Which province is Canada’s largest producer of honey?
A) Quebec
B) Ontario
C) Alberta
D) None of the above
7. Which province is most closely associated with Malpeque oysters?
A) PEI
B) British Columbia
C) Nova Scotia
D) New Brunswick
8. Crown Royal whisky was originally created to celebrate the 1939 visit of:
A) Prince Philip
B) Princess Diana
C) Winston Churchill
D) King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
9. Bannock has become closely associated with Indigenous cuisine in Canada, but its origins trace back primarily to which country?
A) Ireland
B) Scotland
C) France
D) None of the above
10. Canada is the world’s largest exporter of which crop?
A) Oats
B) Lentils
C) Canola
D) Cranberries
3.
ARTS
1. Which artist released the album
A) Barenaked Ladies
B) Alanis Morissette
C) The Tragically Hip
D) Our Lady Peace
2. Which Canadian singer/songwriter sang about lying in bed, “just like Brian Wilson did?”
A) Gordon Lightfoot
B) Shania Twain
C) Anne Murray
D) Steven Page
3. Which future Hollywood star was not a cast member of iconic Canadian sketch comedy show SCTV?
A) Mike Myers
B) Catherine O’Hara
C) Eugene Levy
D) Rick Moranis
4. Which artist painted The Jack Pine?
A) Franklin Carmichael
B) Emily Carr
C) Tom Thomson
D) Lawren Harris
5. Canadian actor Seth Rogen stars as Matt Remick, the head of which fictional movie studio in The Studio?
A) Paramount Studios
B) Sunset Pictures
C) Atlas Films
D) Continental Studios
6. Speaking of The Studio, which iconic Canadian actress who passed away in 2026 won a posthumous acting award for her work on the show?
A) Rachel McAdams
B) Neve Campbell
C) Catherine O’Hara
D) Tatiana Maslany
7. Canadian actress Pamela Anderson has recently become known for making public appearances without wearing what?
A) Designer clothing
B) Shoes and socks
C) Makeup
D) Suspenders
PHOTO BY BLURR // GETTY IMAGES
Rare lakesideopportunity at Adventures West Lakeside.This4-bedroom endunit sleepsupto9 guestsandoffers directlake accessononeofWhistler’smostdesirable private beaches. FeaturingclassicWhistlercharmwith extensivewoodwork,a river rockfireplace, andoversized sunnydeck,thehomeisperfect foryear-roundlivingor entertaining.Includeskayak,paddleboard,andbike storage, just minutesfromWhistler Village,skiing, biking,andlakeside recreation.
This
A) Robert Munsch
B) Margaret Atwood
C) Lucy Maud Montgomery
D) Gordon Korman
9. Which Canadian artist created The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, featured on the former $20 bill?
A) Norval Morrisseau
B) Bill Reid
C) Robert Davidson
D) Joe Fafard
10. The Stratford Festival, one of North America’s largest theatre festivals, is held in which province?
A) Ontario
B) Quebec
C) Nova Scotia
D) B.C.
ANSWERS
SPORTS
1. Which two Canadian cities are hosting matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
A) Vancouver and Calgary
B) Vancouver and Montreal
C) Vancouver and Toronto
D) Saskatoon and Regina
2. Who captained Canada’s women’s soccer team to Olympic gold at the Tokyo Olympics?
A) Jessie Fleming
B) Christine Sinclair
C) Kadeisha Buchanan
D) Janine Beckie
3. Against which country did Canada record its first-ever victory at the FIFA World Cup?
A) Nigeria
B) Qatar
C) Japan
D) Argentina
4. Canada’s best finish at the FIFA Women’s World Cup is:
A) Champions
B) Runners-up
C) Third
D) Fourth
5. Which Canadian scored the country’s first-ever goal at a men’s FIFA World Cup?
A) Alphonso Davies
B) Jonathan David
C) Cyle Larin
D) Tajon Buchanan
6. Which country eliminated Canada at the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup?
A) Belgium
B) Croatia
C) Japan
D) Morocco
7. How many countries are competing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the largest in tournament history?
A) 24
B) 32
C) 48
D) 54
8. Which country is not making its FIFA World Cup debut at the 2026 tournament?
A) Uzbekistan
B) Bosnia and Herzegovina
C) Curaçao
D) Jordan
9. Canada’s official World Cup mascot is:
A) Gainer the Gopher
B) Maple the Moose
C) Barry Beaver
D) Clutch the Eagle
10. The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be primarily hosted by which three countries?
A) Spain, France and Portugal
B) Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia
C) Russia, Iran and Israel
D) Spain, Portugal and Morocco
ANSWERS
8.
Canadian author penned beloved children’s books such as the Bruno & Boots series.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Finn Iles conquers Lenzerheide Bike Kingdom for second consecutive World Cup victory
JACKSON GOLDSTONE FINALLY ENTERS TOP 10 WITH FOURTH-PLACE RESULT, ANNA NEWKIRK BECOMES FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN TO WIN A DOWNHILL WORLD CUP IN 23 YEARS
BY DAVID SONG
IN A DECISIVE display of courage over caution, Finn Iles rocketed to his third career World Cup downhill triumph on Saturday, June 20 in a time of two minutes and 46.348 seconds. As a result, he took a 41-point lead in the men’s overall while denying French rival Amaury Pierron a fourth win in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
Pierron settled for silver by a tiny margin (2:46.830) and Asa Vermette of the United States rebounded from a gnarly crash last week to obtain bronze (2:47.584).
Having previously gone nearly four years between World Cup gold medals, Iles demonstrated that his June 13 breakthrough in Leogang, Austria was no fluke.
“It feels incredible,” said the Whistlerite in a press release. “These are the kind of things you dream of. I was really hoping to take momentum from last weekend and I felt good for day one.”
Lenzerheide’s Bike Kingdom venue is renowned among athletes and fans for good reason, presenting a brutal obstacle even in near-perfect weather conditions.
Pierron, Vermette and eventual fourthplacer Jackson Goldstone (2:47.652) all needed Qualifier No. 2 to make the final, but Pierron’s blazing start on race day
good as soon as I came out of the gate and from there, I just had to focus on what I was doing and I can’t believe it.”
Meanwhile, Goldstone expressed a degree of satisfaction for his first top-five (and first top-10) outing of the campaign.
“Feels really good to be having this much fun on the bike again,” said the
“These are the kind of things you dream of. I was really hoping to take momentum from last weekend and I felt good from day one.”
- FINN ILES
landed him in the hot seat for a while.
Iles ultimately came through, however, dominating each split with calculated aggression and raw talent in equal measure.
“The boys have been working really hard all week and we knew we had a really fast bike,” he remarked. “[On Saturday] leading up to finals, I think I slept for three hours. I was like sleeping, sleeping, sleeping until I got to the warmup and it was game time. I knew I felt
Squamish athlete on Instagram. “Thanks crew for getting me back on track.”
‘I DIDN’T THINK I HAD IT IN ME’
Valentina Höll’s bid for a fourth straight win misfired and she wound up 10th (3:17.853), opening the door for Anna Newkirk to realize her maiden victory (3:12.917).
The Salt Lake City, Utah native is the first woman from her country in 23 years to win a World Cup downhill
event, leaving Swiss rider Lisa Baumann in second (3:13.508) and Italian Gloria Scarsi in third (3:14.321).
Gracey Hemstreet of Sechelt did not qualify for the final.
“I can’t believe it. I’m lost for words. I didn’t think I had it in me in that run,” Newkirk admitted in a release. “I thought I was going too slow but I’m so stoked. I was so nervous…I have never been this nervous before a race. [Saturday morning] I was riding so chaotic, I was flying, I was crashing. I was like: ‘what am I doing? Just chill’.
“Once I started warming up and got into my routine, I calmed down and focused. I really tried to focus on the process and not the result, and not predict anything. The team has been doing super good. I’m so stoked to be a part of it and there’s no team I’d rather be with.”
Höll had a bad day at the office by her sky-high standards, becoming unclipped in the track’s wooded section. Baumann came close to a fairy-tale win on home soil, ending up less than six-tenths of a second behind Newkirk’s time.
The American has made herself the overall runner-up as of now, but remains 223 points shy of Austria’s Höll. Visit ucimtbworldseries.com/ results/2026/lenzerheide-2026 for more results from Lenzerheide. n
FINN-TASTIC Finn Iles pumps his fist after winning his second straight World Cup downhill race of 2026 in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
Proposed Land UseObjectives Relating tothe Howe Sound/ Sea-to-Sky Areaof B.C.
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Red Bull Joyride officially rebranded as Rhapsody Slopestyle
SPORTS
BRIEFS: WMSC NAMES JEFF LACKIE AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
BY DAVID SONG
SLOPESTYLE MOUNTAIN biking is headed back to Crankworx Whistler this summer, but it will be presented under a new name.
Crankworx has rebranded its flagship slopestyle event as Rhapsody Slopestyle following Red Bull’s exit as a title sponsor. A press release explains that the new name “stands for the rare state achieved when preparation, creativity, risk, style and execution align perfectly. It cannot be forced. It cannot be repeated on demand. It can only be experienced.
“Crossing the finish line at the base of the Whistler Boneyard in front of a roaring crowd and thousands of fans watching from across the globe is something all slopestyle athletes aspire to, but only a few are ever able to truly achieve it. That moment of total alignment: that is Rhapsody. The name reflects what this event has always represented: not just competition, but the pursuit of something beyond it.”
This news marks the end of an era for Red Bull Joyride, which since 2011 had attracted crowds of more than 30,000 people to Whistler’s Boneyard each year. Emil Johansson, who is currently recovering from a major surgery in May, goes down in history as the last men’s Joyride champ while Alma Wiggberg was the only woman to strike gold at the event (she’s done it twice).
Rhapsody, meanwhile, functions as a finale for this year’s inaugural Slopestyle Super League (SSL) regular season. Afterwards, top-ranked riders will earn a bye to the SSL Finals in Mont-SainteAnne, Que. from Sept. 3 to 7 while others partake in an opening playoff round from Aug. 6 to 9 in Silver Star, B.C. Those unable to make the cut will see their campaigns end in Whistler.
Head to crankworx.com for more details about Rhapsody Slopestyle, which is scheduled for Aug. 2 as the last major competition of Crankworx Whistler 2026.
WMSC NAMES JEFF LACKIE AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) is bringing on a big name to fill its role of executive director.
Jeff Lackie spent seven seasons managing speed and dryland training for all-time World Cup wins leader Mikaela Shiffrin. During that time, Shiffrin soared to 52 World Cup victories, 12 World Championship podiums, seven Crystal Globes and two Olympic medals.
Lackie’s 20 years of experience across the realm of alpine skiing also encompasses senior coaching and program leadership roles with Aspen Valley Ski Club, the United States National Team and Alpine Canada. Earlier in his career, he actively contributed to a variety
of
club and provincial programming.
“I am honoured to join Whistler Mountain Ski Club and to lead a program with such a strong foundation and powerful legacy in Canadian ski racing,” said Lackie in a press release. “Whistler Mountain Ski Club has a track record of producing athletes who compete at the highest levels of this sport. Everything we do in training today has to be designed for that window, not the one in front of us. I look forward to working with the coaches, athletes, and families at WMSC to build a program worthy of that standard.
“Great ski clubs are built through culture, clarity, and shared commitment, and I look forward to helping WMSC continue to develop athletes who carry the values of this sport far beyond the starting gate.”
As executive director, Lackie will report to the WMSC Board of Directors as he helms club programming and operations. His mandate will include strengthening the athlete pathway, supporting and aligning the coaching team, advancing member experience and communication, enhancing operational discipline and long-term sustainability.
“Great ski clubs are built through culture, clarity, and shared commitment...”
- JEFF LACKIE
“Jeff’s appointment represents an important step in the next phase of Whistler Mountain Ski Club,” said WMSC board chair Duncan Reid in a release. “As a club, we are committed to building a high-performance organization around our mission to develop champions in life and sport. Jeff brings a rare combination of World Cup experience, club leadership, and elite athlete development expertise. He understands what excellence requires at the highest level, and he also understands that a strong performance culture is developed over time with people, values, systems and trust.
“Jeff will bring exactly the kind of leadership WMSC needs from an executive director as we look ahead to an even stronger and more successful club in the future.”
Reid also acknowledged outgoing executive director Sandy Nattress, lauding him for his dedication and community contributions.
Over the coming months, the WMSC also plans to unveil a number of strategic initiatives focused on upgrading its quality of coaching, training and available facilities. n
It is with heavy hearts, but with immense gratitude foralife beautifullylived, that we announce the passing of William(Bill) James Barratt on May10,2026, at the age of 73.
Bill will be long remembered forhiswarmth, his easysmile,his gift for stor ytelling, and hislifelong passion for hockey. He hasfinally hung up his skates, taken off his gear, andleft behind his many cherished teammates. For Bill, it wasn’t just about thegame; he truly loved the camaraderie andconnectionitbroughtinto hislife.
Adevoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, loyal friend, andcommunity leader, Bill cherishedhis family andlovedhislife to the fullest. He leaves behind a legacy of generosity, naturalleadership, and an unwavering commitment to the Whistlercommunity and its people.
He will be fiercelymissed andleavesalifetime of wonderful memories forhis wife, Karen;his children Deanna (Adam), John(Katie), andEmily (Justin); andhis five granddaughters, Aver y, Hazel, Wren, Sylvie, and Summer. He is also survived by hissiblings Robert (Linda), Tom, Andrea (Andrew), and Leigh-Anne, as well as his many nieces, nephews, and extended family In a heartbreaking twist of grief, Bill was unitedin peace with hissibling, Chris, who passed shortly afterhim on June 9,2026.
Bill’s legacy of kindness, service, andfiercededication to others is woveninto thefabric of who we are. Though he is deeply missed, thewarmth of his spirit will remain with us always.
Please join usas we gather to honor and celebrate Bill’s remarkablelife:
Date: Saturday, August 29,2026
Time:3:00PM
Location:The Macdonald Room, Fairmont Château Whistler
Sing it, all for one and one for all: Ohhh Canada!
CANADIAN CLASSICS—EVEN WITH A TWIST—CAN CONNECT US IN ALL KINDS OF WAYS
IT HAPPENED partway through the second half of the best FIFA World Cup match ever—The Big One, where Canada schmucked Qatar 6-0 in front of 52,000plus screaming-to-the-rafters fans at BC Place, winning its first such game. A wee ad popped up on CTV for three grocery items with a distinctly Canadian vibe. It wasn’t the usual U.S. corporate advertising from the likes of McDonald’s, Coca-Cola or Lay’s.
BY GLENDA BARTOSH
Must have been during one of those controversial “hydration” breaks that started during this World Cup series, regardless of temperature or humidity. They’ve sure created an uproar, with folks saying they’re nothing but a FIFA cash grab, breaking the usual two-period beautiful game into a four-period event, often changing game momentum and annoying fans across the spectrum as they slot in more TV ads—like 10 hours more! One pundit put the ad revenue increase at around US$250 million. No surprise there.
But what did surprise me was seeing three President’s Choice products—maybe Loblaws’ best-known house brand—which could have been aimed at any number of Canada Day traditions: Pancake breakfast. Barbecue. Family picnic, you name it. Plus
they would nicely accommodate your “Buy Canada” strategy.
One was the all-time Canadian classic—maple syrup, which was made by Indigenous people long before any colonizers arrived. In this case, it was branded the usual PC way with that little red logo sporting the white reverse “PC” in cursive script—in Dave Nichol’s own handwriting. He’s the fellow Galen Weston Sr. brought in to help with Loblaws in 1972 and who, due to his famous tastebuds, eventually developed a bunch of popular products in the many executive roles he held for 20-plus years.
Now there’s an offbeat Canadiana tale, including Nichol’s eventual falling out with Weston, that you can read all about in The Edible Man: Dave Nichol, President’s Choice & the Making of Popular Taste.
A good conversation starter any Canada Day, it’s available at Vancouver Public Library or via an interlibrary loan.
The other two products were processed-food interpretations of allCanadian classics. The poutine-flavoured potato chips grabbed my attention: I wondered how well those sell in Quebec versus the rest of Canada. But logic says they must have broad appeal because a few companies make them, including Lay’s—which is American-owned, but their chips sold in Canada are made from Canadian potatoes in Canadian plants.
Plus when a Pique reader poll a while back asked, “What’s the ultimate Canadian comfort food?” the winner, with over one third of the more than 6,000 votes cast, was poutine—the perfect Québécois comfort food of cheese curds and gravy over fries that popped up in central Quebec in the 1950s, and Canadians have subsequently adopted, including here at Whistler.
The third item was a box of something
NANAIMO BARS STRAIGHT FROM NANAIMO
BOTTOM LAYER:
1/2 cup unsalted butter (Europeanstyle, cultured)
1/4 cup sugar
5 tbsp. cocoa
1 egg beaten
1 3/4 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup coconut
Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut, and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8” x 8” pan.
SECOND LAYER:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp. and 2 tsp. cream
2 tbsp. vanilla custard powder
2 cups icing sugar
Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.
THIRD LAYER:
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each)
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer and chill in refrigerator. n
called Loads of Nanaimo Bar. But you couldn’t tell from the packaging, at least on a TV screen, if they were a kind of ice cream treat, cookies, or a combo of both. (Loblaw’s marketing team, take note.) Turns out, both. They’re a custardy ice
cream bar with graham cracker, toasted coconut and chocolate highlights. But zero almonds like the classic recipe, pictured to the left, from the City of Nanaimo, where many claim the famous bars originated.
While their true origin remains a bit mysterious, since they may have evolved years earlier in slightly different forms, this recipe from the 1952 Nanaimo Hospital Cookbook was the first one printed. Try it! It’s a cool dessert in all regards since you don’t need to turn your oven on to bake it. It will also help you circumvent processed foods like those PC ice cream bars, for one, which probably taste fine, but they use palm oil. Ouch! Come on, Mr. Weston—can’t you figure out a way to use good old-fashioned, more sustainable canola oil from our Canadian prairies instead?
But hey, it’s Canada Day coming up, and I was just so glad to see the name of my favourite Vancouver Island city and such an all-Canadian company make the grade—and, no doubt, the terrifically high advertising bill—during such a huge, international event. (Terry “Under the Influence “ O’Reilly, correct me if I’m wrong.)
Sure, there are still tons of challenging, even nasty things going on in this big wide world, and neither the spangly World Cup here in Canada for the first time ever, and our first win ever—nor Canada Day, even with maple syrup, poutine or Nanaimo bars aplenty—can unite us all, as FIFA’s president likes to claim.
But I’ll settle for even a few happy moments—especially when we feel really connected to each other—one nibble at a time, any day.
Bet you will, too.
Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning journalist who never gets tired of homemade Nanaimo bars. n
SWEET ESCAPE Canada’s famous Nanaimo bars originated in, you guessed it, Nanaimo, B.C. PHOTO BY LAURIPATTERSON / E+ / GETTY IMAGES
MEADOW PARK SPORTS CENTRE
SWEAT
*some exceptions apply
Ozomatli brings the soundtrack of L.A. to Whistler on July 2
THE SIX-PIECE GENRE-BLENDING BAND HAS WON THREE GRAMMY AWARDS TO DATE
BY DAVID SONG
HOT ON THE HEELS of the Steven Page Trio’s Canada Day act in Whistler comes a group with a decidedly different flavour: Ozomatli.
Founded in 1995, Ozomatli is a six-piece band that proudly describes itself as the soundtrack of Los Angeles. Each of its members: Ulises Bella (saxophone, vocals), Asdru Sierra (vocals, trumpet), Justin Poree (vocals, percussion), Raul Pacheco (vocals, guitars), Wil-Dog Abers (bass) and Jiro Yamaguchi (percussion) originates from a different musical background, and their diversity is a microcosm of their city’s cultural fabric.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Ozomatil throws a myriad of genres in a blender: Latin, salsa, hip-hop, cumbia, funk, merengue, dancehall, New Orleans second line, Jamaican ragga and Indian raga—merely to name a few.
“Another way that I use to describe [our sound] is: when you’re cruising down Sunset Boulevard and you hear
all the different kinds of music that’s coming out of people’s cars … our sound is the composition of that cacophony, all those ingredients in a gumbo,” Bella says.
What unifies all of these disparate musical styles? Bella addresses that question by raising one of his own: does it make people dance? He feels that
and a testament to our dedication to the band,” remarks Bella. “Things like the Grammys mean nothing to certain people, but then it means a lot to certain people. We can’t always rely on all the things that we’ve achieved, like ‘we’re Grammy Award winners’ and just rest on our laurels. Everything that we’ve ever
“[W]hen you’re cruising down Sunset Boulevard and you hear all the different kinds of music ... our sound is the composition of that cacophony...”
- ULISES BELLA
there’s something “really primordial and primitive” about groups of human beings flowing to the same rhythm, and his band strives to emulate that vibe in each of their shows.
It’s celebratory, it’s jubilant, it makes you want to move, and it’s an approach that has stood time’s test. Ozomatil has raked in a trio of Grammy awards while earning appearances on top-flight platforms like the Hollywood Bowl, The Today Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Austin City Limits and a TED Talk.
“They’re just a testament to our work
done has validated our music.”
‘WE
BASICALLY GREW UP TOGETHER’
Three decades is a long time to keep a professional partnership afloat, especially when differing creative impulses might be at stake. Yet Bella and his mates have always found a way to make things click— in large part because they don’t feel Ozomatli as strictly professional.
“We basically grew up together,” he explains. “I mean, I had quit college to join this band so it defined pretty much my
whole adult life in a lot of ways. We consider ourselves family and we have made an effort to practice and learn the skills to be able to get past conflicts with each other… just like any other family, you’re going to argue with your brothers and sisters. Through the years, we’ve been able to maintain a certain healthy communication and relationship with each other to be able to maintain this band.”
Ozomatli’s travels have taken them to many places, including Whistler: the 2010 Olympic Games to be exact. They recall it being an outstanding show with a pumped-up audience and look forward to returning—and they even see parallels between the Sea to Sky and Los Angeles.
“The funny thing is that a band like Ozomatli could start in any multicultural city like Montreal, Vancouver, New York, London, Chicago [or even Whistler],” Bella opines. “The ingredients of what [defines Ozomatli] is very unique to L.A., so that’s why it stands out for what it is, but a band of our type could start in any of these cities because it’s mixing whatever the local population is [and the sound they gravitate towards].”
Come July 2, DJ Vinyl Ritchie will get the Olympic Plaza audience going at 6:30 p.m. before Ozomatli delivers a taste of Southern California culture an hour later.
Visit whistler.com/events/concerts for more details. n
CITY MUSIC Los Angeles-based three-time Grammy Award winners Ozomatli.
PHOTO BY LISA JOHNSON
‘Good things really do come in small packages’
TEENY TINY SHOW CALL FOR ARTISTS OPEN UNTIL JULY 3, EXHIBIT LAUNCHES JULY 31
BY DAVID SONG
AFTER A ONE-YEAR hiatus, the Teeny Tiny Art Show is back by popular demand.
The premise is simple. All submissions must fit on a three-by-three-inch piece of canvas, which is the exact size of a standard Post-It note. Beyond that, there aren’t many hard-and-fast rules and people are welcome to hand in all sorts of different work: including even collages and multimedia elements. For instance: on at least one occasion, an artist incorporated small pieces of physical memorabilia from her daughter’s early childhood.
Arts Whistler executive director Maureen Douglas feels this exhibit is a microcosm of the idea that “good things really do come in small packages.”
“I think there’s a lot of newcomers who see that space and think, ‘OK, I can wrap my head around filling this three-by-threeinch space with an image,’ and it might be a simpler image,” she says. “There’s been social commentary. There’s been the occasional political commentary. There’s three-dimensional elements coming right out of even the canvas … a lot of different ways to approach what you’re going to do. Sometimes simple is super powerful and it’s going to jump right out at you off the wall.
“But then on the other side, I’ve seen some watercolourists and other experienced acrylic painters do astonishing landscapes on these. When you take a look, you can’t stop staring because you cannot believe the level of detail they’ve achieved. I think that level of work inspires some of the folks who might have done something simpler—but simple does not mean ineffective or unappealing.”
‘PEOPLE
ARE JUST SO INTRIGUED BY THESE TINY PIECES’
The Teeny Tiny Show also serves as an approachable gateway for people who want to try their hand at art, or to put their stuff on display for the first time. Many go in feeling rather intimidated, but quickly build momentum as they get started or interact with their friends. After all, there’s no need to lug around a giant canvas: just bring your bag, some art equipment and you’re all set to begin creating at a picnic bench or around somebody’s dining room table.
Meanwhile, consumers get to enjoy a range of artwork that’s not only diverse, but affordable for Whistlerites hustling to make ends meet. Teeny Tiny Show pieces start at $15 each.
“We’ve got locals who come and who’ve been collecting the Teeny Tinies over the last several years. We’ve got visitors who come in and buy some pieces and love
PHOTO BY OISIN MCHUGH
the fact that it is easy to put a three-bythree in a suitcase,” Douglas remarks.
“They’re taking home a little bit of unique and original Whistler art, so it’s a really accessible buying opportunity. It’s also an accessible way to start trying your creative hand. We love shows that do that, that bring both those things together.”
She goes on: “Other people are starting to think, ‘oh, it would be fun to have someone actually pick up and buy my piece so I can say that I’m an artist who has sold a piece.’ That is such a confidence builder … every artist will have three or four friends with them supporting their endeavour, so that’s bringing even more people from the community in. There’s a sort of a domino impact. [Teeny Tiny] is a very highly attended show through its entire run because people are just so intrigued by these tiny pieces. It takes a while to explore them all.”
Douglas and her colleagues feel strongly about fostering local arts in a way that accommodates everyone. They’ve pursued that goal with various intentional shows over the last few years: partnering with the Whistler Multicultural Society in 2024 and also with the Sea to Sky area’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community for the Out/side Exhibition that closes July 18. Going forward, the Teeny Tiny Show will be held every other year to maintain its momentum while also carving out space in the schedule for other kinds of exhibits.
The deadline for artist submissions is July 3, and the Teeny Tiny Show will be open for public viewing between July 31 and Oct. 2 at the Maury Young Arts Centre. Participating artists must be at least 16 years old and reside in the Sea to Sky from Lions Bay to Mount Currie. Visit artswhistler.com/teenytiny for more details. n
SMALL WORLD Get your fill of tiny art this summer at the Maury Young Arts Centre.
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Fishing (with) questions
BY BRONWYN PREECE
LAST WEEK , I was standing on a rock on the edge of Garibaldi Lake, staring into the clear turquoise waters. All of a sudden, a school of fish—rainbow trout—some big, some small, with purple backs and black specks swam by and kept circling. I was entranced.
Two young anglers also shared the same shore with me, casting their lines into the glacial pool. My friend asked if I knew if the lake had been stocked. My initial response was “unlikely.” I mean, up here? A nine-plus-kilometre hike up from the trailhead, with no road and just under 1,000 metres of elevation gain… how would they? By helicopter?
There certainly wasn’t anyone hiking fish or fry up this trail… at least not now… and yet, I had caught myself in my not-knowing, and my curiosity was hooked.
Making my way back to Whistler, I would pass through a valley speckled with bodies of freshwater: from the volcanic potholed divots around Brandywine to the highway-skirting of Alpha, Nita, Alta and Green lakes. Lakes with fish. Lakes with stories. Lakes holding the lures of different fishing histories.
Whistler was first a fishing destination. Rainbow Lodge was the first “resort” to open in the valley in 1915. For $6 you could have a weekend “fisherman’s excursion”—a package which included travel on the Pacific Great Eastern Railway from Vancouver to Alta Lake and back, and accommodation at the Lodge. The lake was said to be teeming with fish, likely cutthroat trout. Other lodges and accommodation geared towards fishermen subsequently sprung up around Alta Lake, which was first stocked with fish in 1923.
According to the BC Ministry of
the Environment’s Fisheries Inventory Data Queries database, 30,000 rainbow trout at the “eyed-egg” stage were released into the lake that year. The introduction of these non-native fish subsequently altered the ecosystems of local lakes. Despite that, rainbow trout continued to be stocked in local waters until 2000, while kokanee salmon were first introduced to Alta Lake in 1939. As the decades passed, fishing remained an important sport and pastime. An announcement in the 1959 Alta Lake Community Club newsletter proclaimed that the Fish Derby prize would be $10 for the largest rainbow trout caught in Alta Lake “by any legal method.” In 1988, in the Whistler Summer Guide (a supplement to the Whistler Question), the paper reported: “When Whistler Mountain was known as London Mountain … the fishing was fantastic … Generally the fish were not that big, averaging about 30 cm, but they were plentiful. They’re just as plentiful today.”
Since 2000, Alta Lake has been stocked most years with coastal cutthroat trout. Consistently, for the past 10 years, Alta Lake has been stocked with 350 yearling cutthroats and is operated strictly by a catch-and-release mandate. Multiple varieties of fish are caught in its waters. The lake was stocked 52 times between 1923 and 2026.
But what about Garibaldi Lake? In 1928—a year following the formal establishment of Garibaldi Provincial Park (a 195,000-hectare protected area)—5,000 “eyed-egg” rainbows were released into the lake. The subsequent year, 12,500 eggs were released. The eggs were transported by horseback up to the large lake, which encompasses an area of almost 10 square kilometres at 1,467 metres of elevation.
Next week, we’ll dive deeper into Garibaldi Lake’s intriguing fish-related history and some statistical records with regards to Whistler’s other lakes. n
GO FISH Whistler pioneers Alex and Myrtle Philip show off their catch in 1941.
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PIQUE’S GUIDE TO LOCAL EVENTS & NIGHTLIFE
Here’s a quick look at some events happening in Whistler this week and beyond. FIND MORE LOCAL EVENT LISTINGS (and submit your own for free!) at piquenewsmagazine.com/local-events
CANADA DAY IN WHISTLER
MOUNTAIN TOP SUMMER FEAST
Head up to the Roundhouse Lodge on Whistler Mountain for an incredible, mountain top dining experience with live music. Enjoy mouthwatering mains, fresh salads and delicious desserts at 1,800 metres (6,000 ft) high in the mountaintops with the whole family.
» June 26 to 28, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
» Roundhouse Lodge
FAIRMONT FRIDAYS AT MALLARD LOUNGE
Start your weekend on a high note with Whistler’s favourite Friday tradition. Set against the backdrop of the mountains, Fairmont Fridays bring together handcrafted cocktails, live music and a feature food menu designed for sharing and celebrating the start of the weekend. Each week discover a new signature cocktail alongside specially curated culinary offerings, creating an elevated après experience filled with flavour, atmosphere and a little extra magic.
» June 26, 5 to 7 p.m.
» Mallard Lounge
MOUNTAIN TOP MOVEMENT
Engage in outdoor yoga and Pilates sessions against a breathtaking mountain backdrop every Friday this summer. Classes are led by different instructors, so no two are the same. Whether you’re here to stretch, sweat, or take in the scenery, you’ll be among others who value movement and the mountains. Complimentary Celsius will be on hand to keep you fuelled, and mats will be provided. Open to all levels.
» June 26, 10 to 11 a.m.
» Roundhouse Lodge
WHISTLER WELLNESS DAY
A full day of immersive wellness activities, with the option to attend a morning session, an afternoon session, or both. The morning experience focuses on relaxation and restoration through breathwork, yoga, and music therapy, helping participants reduce stress and reconnect with their mind and body. The afternoon session combines yoga, cold plunges and sound healing to promote resilience, recovery and deep relaxation through movement, cold exposure and immersive therapeutic sound.
» June 27, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
» Nita Lake Lodge, Train Station Room
WHISTLER FARMERS’ MARKET
A feast for your senses, the Whistler Farmers’ Market features local produce, tasty food, local artisans, live entertainment and family activities. Markets happen every Sunday until Thanksgiving on Oct. 11, with the addition of select Saturday markets.
» June 28, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
» Upper Village Stroll
CANADA DAY LONG WEEKEND IN WHISTLER
Canada Day is a time to reflect on all of Canada’s history, including past and present truths about our relationship with Indigenous peoples. Celebrate Canada Day by developing a deeper understanding of our first peoples through cultural experiences including live performances and storytelling. More events include free yoga, a Community Parade, a pancake breakfast, face painting and much more. In the evening head to Whistler Olympic Plaza for an outdoor concert from the Steven Page Trio! Find more info at whistler.ca/canadaday.
» July 1 to July 5
» Various locations
SUMMER KIDS’ DROPIN ART CLASSES
The Summer Kids Drop-In Art Classes with Debra Hillary offer a fun, flexible way for young artists to get creative during the summer holidays. Designed for all skill levels, these drop-in sessions invite children to explore a variety of materials and techniques in a relaxed, supportive environment. Registration is required at audainartmuseum.com/events/summerkids-drop-in-art-classes-k-2.
» July 2, 11 a.m. to noon (Grades K-2), 2 to 3:30 p.m. (Grades 3-6)
» Audain Art Museum
WORCA TOONIE RIDE
Come for the ride, stay for the après. The Whistler Off Road Cycling Association’s (WORCA) Thursday Toonie Rides are a great place to mix and mingle with Whistler’s vibrant mountain biking community. Ride hard for the challenge or ride with friends for the fun of it. When the ride is over, meet up at après to share tall tales with friends old and new. However you ride, it’s guaranteed to be a good time. More info at worca.com.
» July 2, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
» Various locations
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE RESORT MUNICIPALITY OF WHISTLER
ASTROLOGY
Free Will Astrology
WEEK OF JUNE 26 BY ROB
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The interesting struggles you’ll wage in the coming weeks will require your vulnerability: showing up exactly as you are when you might rather fight or escape. Your warrior nature probably prefers a clear enemy or a definable problem you can confront, but the truer conquest will come from laying down your weaponry. I suggest you meet aggression with curiosity and engage chaos with receptive stillness. At least for now, your greatest strength will be to remain undominated by your own reactive impulses. Think of it as an advanced martial art.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to be inspired by this wisdom from artist Pablo Picasso: “I am always doing that which I cannot do in order that I may learn how to do it.” He’s proposing that we treat a lack of expertise not as an embarrassment, but as a doorway. Instead of waiting until we feel ready, trained, and confident, he suggests we head into territory where we fumble, guess, and feel awkward. Our discomfort may lead to gratifying growth. So I dare you to ask yourself whether there’s a capacity or skill you’d love to add to your repertoire but are too shy or timid to try. Then take small, imperfect steps toward it, trusting that each move will teach you how to do what once felt impossible.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Hummingbirds keep track of every flower they visit and know how long it will take each one to replenish its nectar. They maintain mental maps of many feeding sites and visit them on precise schedules. To ensure their survival, they can’t waste energy on flowers that aren’t ready yet. Your mind could work like this if you want it to, Gemini. Which people, places, and projects need time to refill before you visit them again? Who have you been approaching too frequently, seeking their nectar before it has had time to regenerate? In the coming weeks, practice strategic patience with your resources. In your secret conversations with yourself, call yourself “Hummingbird.”
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Now is an auspicious time to declare a sweeping amnesty and observe a personal season of pardon. To the best of your ability, release your clenched feelings about people who have caused you pain. Banish blame! Purge any lingering resentment and regret that has curdled into self‑reproach. Celebrate atonement and absolution! Most vital of all, exonerate yourself. Shed the guilt you’ve carried for missteps and missed chances. And please offer yourself a sweet gift: a ritual of renewal.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If you happen to be swallowed whole by a dragon or whale sometime soon, don’t freak out. It’s far preferable to being chomped into bits first, which absolutely won’t happen. You may indeed spend a brief spell inside the creature’s dark belly, but I confidently predict you will ultimately be deposited on the outside in one intact piece, after which you will only need to find your meandering way back home. The whole episode may be confounding or humbling, but I bet it will also scrub you free of a load of old karma.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Bees perform what scientists call a “waggle dance” to communicate the location of flowers to their hive mates. But the directions are sometimes imprecise, and the apparent sloppiness actually helps the hive. It forces other bees to explore more broadly, discovering new food sources that the original bee missed. Perfect information would make them too efficient to be adaptable. Your precision is one of your gifts, Virgo, but right now I think you need strategic vagueness and fuzzy logic. Leave some directions unclear. Mistakes and misunderstandings might lead to discoveries that your perfect plans would have eliminated.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In ancient Greek thought, kairos referred to the opportune moment. It meant the right timing, when circumstances aligned for action to be most effective. The term chronos, on the other hand, was about sequential time, which blindly marched forward without
BREZSNY
any regard for special moments or auspiciousness. Most of us are more or less hypnotized by chronos‑consciousness. We measure our lives by calendar dates and external schedules. But in the coming weeks, Libra, I recommend you stay on high alert for kairos rich pivots. For now, suspend inquiries like “Am I on schedule?” and ask, “Are the circumstances ripe?”
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Ravens are strongly motivated to engage in elaborate play: aerial acrobatics, complex games, sliding down snowbanks, and sharing food with non relatives. These behaviours lack an immediate payoff, yet support learning, motor skill development, and social relationships. They seem to be both emotionally rewarding and indirectly advantageous for survival and success over the long term. Let’s apply this to you, Scorpio. Let’s conclude that delight isn’t wastefully frivolous and that pleasure doesn’t need to justify itself through productivity. In the coming weeks, you may face pressure to explain or defend your joy, as if to prove it’s worth it in some utilitarian way. Refuse. Like the ravens, engage in purposeless beauty and fun simply because it feels so good.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Glaciologists studying ice cores can read Earth’s climate history going back 800,000 years. Each layer contains trapped air bubbles. These are time capsules that preserve the atmospheric composition of each moment. The ice remembers everything. You accumulate similar records, Sagittarius. Each of your experiences leaves its trace. And in the coming weeks, you will have extra access to these archived layers of your own history. Memories and patterns you thought were lost will surface with intriguing clarity. I hope you study these revelations to glean insight about your long term patterns and cycles. It’s time to see the Big Picture.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Many people forget, but you know: Structure is the foundation for freedom, not a suppression of it. While others fantasize about escaping responsibility, you know that mastery is key to every emancipation. When properly practiced, your flair for discipline adds vigour as well as rigour. More than any other sign of the zodiac, you are adept at using limits to give unlimited possibilities their specific shape. I trust you will express all these Capricornian powers to the max in the coming weeks. People in your life need them even more than usual.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Horticulturists practice “deadheading.” They remove spent flowers from plants to encourage new vitality. Faded flowers drain energy that could go toward fresh growth. Plants that have been deadheaded produce more abundant blooms than those left to manage their own decay. I recommend a metaphorical version of this practice to you, Aquarius. You’ll be wise to deadhead your emotional garden. Certain attachments, once vibrant and nourishing, have expired. They’re not evil or wrong; they’re simply finished. It’s best not to keep directing precious energy toward maintaining their faded forms. With gratitude for the old beauty, clear the way for new beauty.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): For maximum safety, be as uninteresting as possible. Shun risks that might shake up your beliefs and avoid adventures that could expose you to people who aren’t similar to you. If you really want to be certain about preserving your security and stability, as I’m recommending, the surest method is to retreat to your power spot and do nothing at all. WAIT! STOP! Dear Pisces, everything I just said was pure misdirection! I was joking! In fact, the opposite is true. The true way to nurture genuine safety and security is to pursue what sparks your curiosity and lights up your zeal. And the coming days are likely to provide you with plenty of chances to do exactly that.
Homework: Imagine what life would be like if you half dissolved a big fear. https://tinyurl.com/55zz55xx.
In addition to this column, Rob Brezsny creates
In-depth weekly forecasts designed to inspire and uplift you. To buy access, phone 1-888-499-4425. Once you’ve chosen the Block of Time you like, call 1-888-682-8777 to hear Rob’s forecasts. www.freewillastrology.com
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EARLIER THIS MONTH , Sports Illustrated ranked Vancouver as the best of the 16 cities hosting World Cup games across North America this summer. Citing Vancouver’s easy walkability, reliable transit, and mild weather, the venerable sports magazine’s excitement does not seem to be matched by locals.
In a recent Angus Reid survey, 72 per cent of Metro Vancouverites polled said hosting was not worth the gargantuan price tag, while 69 per cent said it would create too much disruption.
BY BRANDON BARRETT
The public’s aversion is understandable, to say the least. At a time when tens of thousands of British Columbians are having to tighten their purse strings, in a city ranked last year as the fourth most expensive in the world, Vancouver and B.C. will end up paying somewhere between $685 million and $729 million for the privilege of hosting a grand total of seven matches.
Is that worth the cost of doing business? By any semi-rational calculation, absolutely not. But by the province’s questionable accounting, it’s well worth the price of admission. Three years ago, Vancouver instituted
a 2.5-per-cent Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT)—the same hotel tax that is a pillar of Whistler’s tourism economy—to help recoup the cost of hosting large events like the World Cup. B.C. estimates the MRDT will generate about $250 million between 2023 and 2030, a fraction of the price tag of hosting the World Cup even before factoring in the cost of all the other events taking place in Vancouver in that span. Worse still is hotel bookings for the World Cup are pacing below the same period last year, with steep pricing for both rooms and match tickets seemingly keeping fans away.
In a forecast that has left academic experts scratching their heads, the B.C. government projects that, between now and 2031, the World Cup will result in
Lander, a sports economist at Montreal’s Concordia University, told CBC News.
A 2022 study found that, of the 14 World Cups held between 1966 and 2018, only one host—Russia in 2018—posted a profit. (There was insufficient data for England’s 1966 and Mexico’s 1986 World Cups.) With this year’s World Cup spread across three countries and 16 host cities, the prospect of Vancouver breaking even, let alone turning a profit, is highly unlikely.
Even the 2010 Vancouver and Whistler Winter Games—widely considered to be among the most successful Olympics in history—broke even and didn’t result in a meaningful uptick in tourism or visitor spending in the years that followed. At least those Games came with lasting legacies still being enjoyed
A 2022 study found that, of the 14 World Cups held between 1966 and 2018, only one host—Russia in 2018— posted a profit.
a million additional out-of-province visitors, $1 billion in GDP, and more than $200 million in “direct, indirect and other related provincial tax revenues.”
Even by the aspirational math of a beleaguered NDP government desperate to curry public favour, those numbers are borderline delusional.
“It’s kind of a closed case in academia. Like, there’s no one really arguing that these benefits are there,” Moshe
today: Highway 99 upgrades, affordable housing, enduring facilities such as the Whistler Sliding Centre, Whistler Olympic Park and Richmond Oval, along with significant political leverage for the host First Nations.
FIFA won’t be able to claim the same legacy. Astronomical ticket costs—this is the first time dynamic pricing has been implemented for the World Cup—have all but ensured matches are accessible
to only the deepest-pocketed among us. While that is perhaps unsurprising in the Year of our Lord 2026 when so many facets of society seem geared towards extracting every last penny from a weary public, what is distinct about FIFA is its callous indifference to even a modicum of ethical integrity. The World Cup has become the premier avenue for sportswashing amoral regimes, with FIFA’s awarding of its inaugural and hilariously named Peace Prize to America’s resident warmonger Donald Trump as the latest example. (See also: Qatar, 2022, and Russia, 2018.)
Soccer is undoubtedly the strongest unifying force we have in sports, a global language that defies geography, culture, religion and class. It’s tragic that FIFA seems intent on narrowing that scope for the sport’s grandest tournament to only the wealthiest and most power-obsessed among us.
For as long as I can remember, my dad has reminded me there are two events he needs to attend before his time on this green Earth is up: the Super Bowl and the World Cup.
“Maybe if I win the lottery,” he would say.
I’m sure the action on the pitch this World Cup will be nothing short of outstanding, as it usually is. I, for one, will be watching from the comfort of home. My dad, on the other hand, is holding out hope his lotto numbers will finally hit.
Brandon Barrett is a performer, producer and former Pique reporter who once started at right back on what might have been the worst high school soccer team of all time.
CUP HALF FULL? The prospect of Vancouver breaking even on the World Cup, let alone turning a profit, is highly unlikely.
