Editor’s note: Les McDonald is the owner of the Copper Coil Still & Grill downtown.
Now that I’m a father, everything is different. If you have a family you know what I mean. Being a dad and a husband are the two greatest things I have ever been called or called myself. So it goes without saying, family is so important.
Recently, through my restaurant I was serving up smoked pork sliders on the 16th hole at the Dr. Kindree Memorial Golf Tournament. Events like this fundraiser remind me why we decided to call Squamish our home. So many long-time businesses and residents, and many new faces were out having a great time doing something good for the community.
However, a troubling conversation repeated itself. I say this is troubling because behind the amazing scenery and adventure of Squamish, there’s a constant, saddening undertone that is growing into a large hum.
The cost of real estate here came up over and over again. While many of the people I spoke to had invested here when it was still affordable, they weren’t necessarily happy. One woman told me, “My kids were born and raised here and they will never be able to afford a home here.” Another man told me, “Our kids moved to the Interior after they started a family. They can’t afford to buy here.”
As I looked around at all of these great locals, some of them legends in our community, I wondered, what about family? Squamish has been built on community and it was built by the hard work of many people who lived here before it was the “cool” place to be or the “great real estate Investment with amazing R.O.I.”
Back in the good old days when people here bought a house and called it a home, not just an investment. These people didn’t talk about it, or perhaps weren’t even aware of it but they were just part of a real, healthy and functional community that put family first. I think that when there are generations of family living in the same town, the general well being of that community is greatly improved.
My son is turning six soon. He spent most of his life here. We’ve decided to move our family to Ontario to be in a home we can afford, and to also be closer to family. (The restaurant is NOT closing) In a way, the fact that we can’t afford to buy a home here, even though I own a successful business, has been a blessing. I’m looking forward to being closer to family.
I don’t know what the solution is, nor do I feel I have much of a right to say what that solution is. But for those of you who have grown up here, invested your lives here, I hope you can work with council and the District and make some important and lasting changes that will put families before real estate developers and corporations. After all, change is coming and I hope it can be community led rather than outside-investor led.
