A recently released investigative book equating the 2010 Games to a backroom real estate scandal has leveled a few blows at Squamish area developments. Callaghan Valley's Nordic venue, Quest University and Garibaldi At Squamish are each presented in Christopher A. Shaw's Five Ring Circus as examples of projects capitalizing on Olympic spirit. The University of British Columbia professor is lead spokesperson for No Games 2010 Coalition.While some respect Shaw's fight for transparency, others have questioned how knowledgeable he is on the issues he tackles."If there's stories to be told about this, what we've done, it would be best to talk to the authors and the negotiators of our deals. Nobody else has the abilities to look inside our files and our minds to tell our story," said Squamish Nation's Chief Gibby Jacob who took part in Callaghan Valley negotiations but has had no contact with Shaw.Callaghan scamThe Nordic venue is the local project hit hardest by criticism in the book. Chapters such as, "The Callaghan Valley or, How to get Crown Land for Free: Just Bring on the Games," claim the project will not only devastate old growth forests but also pave the way for large-scale development. According to Shaw, the venue is slated to "duplicate - if not exceed - Whistler.""Other, likely better suited venues, could have sufficed, but that wasn't the point of the exercise. The Callaghan was now firmly in the crosshairs of the developers who once again saw a way to get the land courtesy of the Games," Shaw writes when describing how the site was selected.The vision of an outdoor Mecca at Callaghan Valley has been alive for decades. As Shaw points out, in 1985 a mother-daughter team won a public request for proposals to build an alpine resort on the site. But two years later as final documents were being legalized, the Ministry of Forests and Lands dropped the proposal. The poorly explained decision lead to an RCMP Commercial Crime investigation, which was later halted. A year ago, reports in Business in Vancouver stated the RCMP was reviewing new evidence in the matter, but no action has been taken yet.First Nations negotiationsWhen Vancouver won the Olympic bid in 2003, it was the province leading the charge to develop Callaghan Valley. Negotiations began with First Nations groups to improve access to the land, which fell on shared territory between Squamish and Lil'Wat Nation.The land deal that emerged is one Shaw paints with greed.He describes how some First Nations members such as Rosalin Sam of St'At'Imc, a reserve associated with Lil'Wat Nation, objected to the development of Callaghan Valley but could not slow down plans."She wasconcerned that the Callaghan Valley, part of St'At'Imc traditional land, would be destroyed by the proposed Nordic events and gobbled up by developers," Shaw writes. "This widespread opposition had not saved the Callaghan from the jaws of Bid Corp, and Sam believed, as I did, that the money handed out to the band leaders had a lot to do with this outcome."According to Shaw, each band council was given $10 million to put the Games on their land along with a few other parcels of land in the Whistler area.But Jacob disputes these numbers. He said the province made a $6 million donation on behalf of each council to the newly constructed Squamish Lil'Wat Cultural Centre on top of the land grants.Far from stripping First Nation members of their land, he said the negotiations demonstrated landmark progress between Olympic planning groups and First Nations."It's the first time in the history of the Games that anyone has gone to the lengths they have to ensure there was fairness and equity brought to the table. Nowhere else has this happened. We pretty much have set the bar for colonized countries wanting to put forward a bid," Jacob said.Old growth destructionAs the land was developed into what is now Whistler Olympic Park, Shaw said swaths of old growth forests were destroyed. According to his calculations, the 23-kilometres of Olympic Nordic trails alone have produced 600 truckloads of old growth forest removal."This is bad enough, not only not the greenest games ever but likely the opposite," he writes.In response the claims the area would eventually be home to a mass resort in similar scale to Whistler, few involved with the area could deny the possibility.A draft Regional Growth Strategy by the Squamish Lillooet Regional District simply puts a dotted line around Callaghan Valley, labeling it a sub-regional planning area.Planning director Steve Olmstead said no plan has been crafted yet for the site, but noted that interest in creating commercial and tourist uses including hotels and a golf course have emerged."At the present time the focus is on the commercial operators and what kind of appropriate scale of development should happen in the Callaghan," he said.Current infrastructure makes development relatively easy, noted Callaghan Valley Local Organizing Committee managing director Denise Imbeau."The wastewater treatment plant that was installed to service the area suggests that future development is a certainly a consideration and perhaps even a probability," she said, adding that it is up to the public to act as stewards of the land.Despite inquiries from the Chief, VANOC has opted not to make any statements on the book. "VANOC hasn't commented on Shaw's book in the past and nobody is planning to at any point in the future," said VANOC spokesperson John French.Quest scrutinizedThe Callaghan Valley isn't the only local development targeted by Shaw's critique. The book also examines Quest University in terms the Olympics."Squamish has numerous developments, all capitalizing on the Games hype. One of the largest is that of former University of British Columbia president David Strangway and his project leader, Peter Ufford, in a housing development associated with the creation of a private university," Shaw states.He goes on to note that Ufford served on the Bid Corp board of directors, making him even more privy to the fact that the Games would create a real estate boom, which made the Quest University lands more valuable.No one at Quest University was available to comment on Shaw's statements.While it is mentioned in passing, Shaw also suggests that the proposed ski resort Garibaldi At Squamish (GAS) is feeding off the Olympic spirit."Ski resort developers throughout the province have also seen opportunities come knockingMany of these have drawn the ire of First Nations and may, blessedly, fail," he writes, listing Garibaldi at Squamish as an example but referring to it as a resort planned for "Broome Ridge above Squamish."No Olympic benefits, says GAS presidentGAS president Mike Esler said the proponents have not experienced any positive windfall from the Olympics, adding the project has been in the works for 20 years."The genesis of this project has nothing to do with the Olympics," he said. "What has it done for us? It's driven up construction costsif anything the Olympics have held us up."He said working with Squamish Nation has been a slower process since Olympics negotiations have been their priority. Although Shaw portrays the Games as a frightening ploy to enable hungry developers, even Olympic-enthusiasts such as Imbeau acknowledge there is a need for watchdogs to keep an eye on the planning process."The games do not have competition so the only opportunity to keep this massive project on tracks is to watch closely, and criticize when necessary," she said. "The reality is, there is massive support for the Olympics, both in terms of opinion and financial support, both will only grow moving forward. "They have the ability to pull on heartstrings, national pride and our love of sport-all very powerful. So most criticism, even really valid criticisms, might not receive the attention they deserve."
