Re: “Squamish transforming to a tourist town” (Dec. 10). We need to be better at presenting our local history. Squamish economic geography and contributions of our traditional industries, including tourism, could use some attention too. Historically, Squamish has been a railway town, with truck logging as top employer only during the 1960s. We have been diversifying ever since.
Certainly, access to the city is now more convenient than before. But Squamish wasn’t really “remote from the rest of civilization” before late 1950s connections built along Howe Sound. It had always been an important Interior-Coast railway-steamship hub. Our little town has exported scientists, pro athletes, actors, artists and entrepreneurs to the outside world.
The label of being “a pit stop en route to Whistler” – the development of which Squamish people have played major roles in – is fairly recent.
People want more, and that is fine. But tourism is not new here. Squamish had five tourist lodges and hotels by 1912. Several more were operating between here and Alta Lake by the 1920s.
The Diamond Head Chalet operation of the 1950s-60s probably contributed as least as much to the “brand” of Squamish (and to downtown businesses) as the Sea to Sky Gondola does today.
In reality, our inbound tourist economy continues to partner with and depend on our outbound export economy for infrastructure which tourism on its own cannot provide.
Resource industries pay for our mountain access. The Sea to Sky Highway improvements were largely paid for with natural gas export industry revenues to the province.
Annual payroll, taxes and mostly local purchasing that the regional timber harvesting sector accounts for $50 to 70 million.
The payroll from the potential 670 jobs at the proposed waterpark resort will be small in comparison to our industrial and transportation sectors, which employ several hundred at high wages and are quietly growing and still contributing substantially to community well being.
So, there may be a lot of continuity in our local economy we don’t clearly see. Together, we need to paint accurate pictures to inform plans and avoid neglected and lost opportunities.
The real transformation that should concern us is becoming a disconnected, mainly bedroom community, with about 16 per cent of children poor, according to the BC Child Poverty and Youth Advocacy Coalition’s 2015 report.
Squamish should instead aspire and plan to be the place where we can have it all.
Eric Andersen
Squamish
