Squamish can be a very vibrant town, but it requires that everyone realize what we have and what we need. To state that Squamish is “Hardwired for Adventure” is not only arrogant, but simply put, not true. We manage to think that having people visit for day trips to bike the trails, climb the Stawamus Chief and attend some small events brings money into our town, but it’s not real. I would imagine that most of the visitors who use our facilities live out of their backpacks and bring little, if any, money to spend in our town. Perhaps it’s time to charge a fee for all out-of-town users of our facilities. We have shipping, forestry management industry, motor vehicle dealers, the Sea to Sky Gondola, the Chief and soon hopefully other attractions, such as Garibaldi at Squamish. We will add other attractions to the music festival and loggers weekend as well. By doing so, we will grow and prosper
Anti-Woodfibre LNG and pipeline people are vocal but basically uninformed, as in all of life there is more than one side to all situations. The same people that are anti-everything drive cars or trucks and have natural gas in their homes, but I would guess that they think all of that just comes out of a pipe and does not need to be produced and shipped to their car/truck or home?
The revitalization of Howe Sound is of great concern to everyone in Squamish, and so it should be. The sound was almost destroyed by the chemicals by the mine at Britannia Beach as well as the old Woodfibre plant on the new site for LNG. Following the recent fire at Squamish Terminals, we will have the removal of the 2,000-plus creosote piles and the installation of a modern docking pier. The installation of the LNG plant, properly managed and with oversight from the local and provincial governments will add value to Squamish in the short term as well as in the long term. Council and the public need to hear all sides of the situation and then, and only then, make an informed decision that demonstrates the vision of all of us for the long term and not just a knee-jerk reaction without investigating all sides of the discussion. If Squamish stands in the way of progress, we will become insignificant, nothing but a bedroom community for Vancouver.
Regarding garbage around town: We should be ashamed of the amount of garbage that is on all of our roads and trails. I walk the trails almost every day and a day never goes by without me picking up pop cans, beer cans, beer and wine bottles as well as all of the fast food containers and plastic bags. Let’s talk about plastic bags; it takes hundreds of years for plastic bags to decompose in the landfill. Council needs to implement a plastic bag fee of 10 cents per bag and a paper bag rule – or bring your own bags. This has been done in Oregon and 27 other states. We are claiming to be environmentally aware, but many use the streets, trails and bushes of Squamish as a garbage dump.
It is now time for all of us to think outside of the “Squamish box” and think about how vibrant we can become by thinking into the future, without forgetting to remember this is where we all live.
Bill Cavanagh
Squamish
