Podcasts about Squamish

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Curtis Woloschuk sits down with Canadian filmmaker Josephine Anderson to talk about her latest documentary Curl Power. Having premiered at VIFF 2024, Curl Power follows five teenage girls chasing curling glory while navigating the emotional terrain of adolescence. Anderson reflects on the challenges of long-term observational filmmaking, the power of trust between subject and filmmaker, and the unexpected mentorship of Olympic champion mothers. Plus, Josephine and Curtis discuss how experimenting with virtual reality can expand creativity and deepen the approach to storytelling.This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival. This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

There's been a real lack of positive action and response from the arts community to these existential questions that confront us. And I really wonder whether that's not because they're simply bewildered by what's been going on. They're terrified, most of them. A lot of the conversation that goes on that I'm aware of has to do with the precariousness of existence for the artist. There is no there's no solid ground for them to work on when there's no money. So they're afraid to rock the boat, one thing. But they do tend to talk in circles without ever coming to a point of conclusion that allows them to take action.My conversation with writer, dance historian and arts policy consultant Max Wyman who I knew when he was on the board of the Canada Council in the early 2000s. I met with Max on March 18, 2025 at his home in Lions Bay, British Columbia which sits on the unceded traditional territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. Max is the author of numerous books, including The Compassionate Imagination: How the Arts Are Central to a Functioning Democracy, which he will talk about in this episode. He'll also talk about quite a provocative article, published on February 21, 2025 in The Tyee called To Save the Arts, Blow Up the Old Ways, which caught my attention, in part because it reminded of my letter to the arts community about the ecological crisis from October 2024. Both of our postings ask what I think are fair but hard questions – in difficult times - about the future of the arts sector, and of Canadian culture writ large, so it's all very timely. I asked Max to stick his neck out and elaborate upon his vision and actions, which he did with finesse and gusto.Action pointsArtists need to be bolder than they are and take actionThe cultural community in Canada should get behind the notion of a Canadian identity that can be brandished in the face of the attacks that are being leveled at itHelp create and participate in national displays of art at every levelThank about what you have to offer to the publicHelp position arts and culture as central to who we are as a nation, who we are as people, who we are as individuals with a sense of belonging, of being understood and giving a voice.Episode notes generated by Whisper Transcribe AIStory PreviewWhat if Canadian artists held the key to unlocking a stronger national identity and a more compassionate society? Max Wyman challenges the arts community to rise above despair and take bold action, envisioning a vibrant cultural landscape that celebrates unity and shared values.Chapter Summary00:00 The Crisis in the Arts Community01:12 Introducing Max Wyman02:30 The Call for Bold Action04:16 Celebrating Canadian Identity06:02 Reimagining Canadian Culture08:31 The Power of Arts and Empathy10:15 Integrating Arts with Policy Making12:34 Addressing Environmental and Social JusticeFeatured QuotesWe've talked long enough and we need to take action.The arts are a place where you can come together and see things in their complexity and share them without threat.I think the arts and culture are central to who we are as a nation, who we are as people, who we are as individuals.Behind the StoryMax Wyman, a seasoned writer and arts advocate, draws on his extensive experience to address the existential questions facing the Canadian arts community. His conversation highlights the importance of reimagining the sector's role in fostering national pride, social understanding, and a compassionate approach to arts and cultural policymaking in an increasingly polarized world. *END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODESHey conscient listeners, I've been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020 on un-ceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory (Ottawa). It's my way to give back.In parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and its francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. Your feedback is always welcome at claude@conscient.ca and/or on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Threads or BlueSky.I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible. Claude SchryerLatest update on March 26, 2025

On this episode of the VIFF podcast, programmer Alan Franey sits down with Mark Levinson to talk about his film, The Universe in a Grain of Sand. Levinson, who is a former theoretical particle physicist as well as a producer on films such as Mystic Pizza and Teen Wolf, details why he transitioned from physicist to filmmaker—influenced by his findings at Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive.The Universe in a Grain of Sand premiered at the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival and explores the potential of quantum computing to solve complex problems, honing in on Levinson's view of AI as an extension of human creativity that could also bridge the gap between technology and our understanding of the universe.This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival. This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

On this episode of the VIFF podcast, director Liz Cairns joins VIFF programmer Curtis Woloschuck to talk about her feature film debut, Inedia. The film, which premiered at VIFF 2024, follows a young woman with mysterious food allergies who joins a remote island community practicing alternative healing methods. Curtis and Liz discuss the director's deep attachment to the writing of Inedia, casting and directing, and how to maintain intuition on a larger production.This episode was recorded during the the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival. This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

Across Canada, more and more First Nations are turning to real estate and housing development as money makers, shaping the future of Canadian cities. This is especially visible in Vancouver with projects like Sen̓áḵw, a development by the Squamish Nation that is set to become one of Canada's densest neighbourhoods. It's a project that carries a lot of promise, specifically as a symbol of Indigenous urban development and reconciliation in action. But Sen̓áḵw also comes with its share of controversy, as a development that isn't subject to Vancouver zoning laws because it's on Squamish land. In this episode, we look at how developments like Sen̓áḵw are forcing municipalities across the country to face some tough questions, like how to square Indigenous sovereignty with city planning and what reconciliation looks like at the local level.

In this episode, we sit down with Alex Cairns, a former Paralympian sit-skier who's now carving his own path in adaptive mountain biking. From technical climbs to Squamish's iconic slabs, Alex shares how his approach to sport is rooted in calculation and control rather than reckless abandon. We explore his journey from ski racing to MTB, the nuances of adaptive trail design, and how mindset plays a critical role in both performance and progression. This one's packed with insight, grit, and a good dose of trail talk.------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tyler Greenwood is a Technologies Teacher at his local high school: Howe Sound Secondary in Squamish, BC. This year he’s offering a new program for students that’s focused on bike maintenance. Tyler shares how the program began and how others could start something similar at their school.   https://podcasts-2.feedpress.com/16677/Ep%2096%20-%20FINAL%20MIX.mp3 Show Notes & Links https://hivepass.app/ https://www.instagram.com/hss_bikes/ … Continue reading "Ep 96 – High School Bike Maintenance Program with Teacher: Tyler Greenwood"

You're invited— I'm teaming up with Chereen to build an incredible community retreat this August 2025 in Squamish, BC!   Chereen Leong Schwarz (she/her) is the founder and chief-everything-officer behind Smeeny Made Wild. Chereen taught herself to knit with a pair of thrifted knitting needles and YouTube videos, and what started as a hobby quickly became a passion.   Today, Smeeny Made Wild is more than a brand; it's a community of adventurous creatives, artists, and small business owners who are rewilding life and business by slowing down and reconnecting with nature, creativity, and what truly matters.   We talk about: How Chereen shifted from being a chef to a self-taught knitter and business owner The growth and impact of Smeeny Made Wild The challenges of building a maker based business Honoring our core values within our businesses Supporting sustainability and ethical business practices A 2025 retreat rooted in our love of community and intentional gathering   Connect with Chereen: smeenymadewild.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@smeenymadewild Discord: https://smeenymadewild.myflodesk.com/e3k82ll1h3 Instagram: https://instagram.com/smeenymadewild   Join Chereen and Justine in British Columbia this August 17-22!   This 6-day adventure with fellow creatives will help you reconnect with yourself and your big business dreams, and leave reenergized and inspired with the map to build it!   Part girls trip, part outdoorsy adventure, and part creative biz mastermind, we'll escape to the sea and sky of British Columbia for an unforgettable experience tailored specifically for adventurous creatives, small business owners, and makers.   As values-led creatives, we're craving community more than ever and nothing compares to connecting through shared experiences with other people who get it. We'll talk business, creativity, and you'll get to participate in workshops all about finding alignment and purpose in your creative life and business on this magical week.   Sign up here now: https://trovatrip.com/trip/north-america/canada/canada-with-chereen-leong-schwarz-aug-2025

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Year Round Programmer Tom Charity sits down with iconic Canadian filmmaker and (sometimes) opera director Atom Egoyan to discuss his latest film, Seven Veils, starring Amanda Seyfried. The film premiered during VIFF 2023 and was inspired by his remount of the opera Salome. Touching on trauma, abuse, and the artistic interpretation thereof, Adam talks about his experience directing opera and the controversies surrounding the original production.This episode was recorded during the 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival. This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

Katie chats with owner of The Valley, Taylor Hobbs about her journey to opening a home and lifestyle goods shop in Squamish. They dive into what mat leave looks like as an entrepreneur, and how Taylor is balancing motherhood with the day-to-day operations of running her own business.Very Important Episode Links:The Valley Living Website The Valley Instagram Taylor's InstagramKeep Up With Your Girls:Katie on InstagramKatie on TiktokKokomo's WebsiteLiz on InstagramLiz's Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Vancouver filmmaker Devan Scott speaks with VIFF Year-Round Programmer Tom Charity about his experimental feature Preface to a History, co-directed with Willa Ross. The film explores mental health struggles through the characters Vlad and Sophie—Vlad immerses himself in audiobooks, while Sophie grapples with career dissatisfaction.Scott shares how his experience listening to a 105-hour audiobook about the Third Reich while on a ski trip inspired the film and discusses the importance of sound design in shaping its unconventional storytelling. He also reflects on the challenges of shooting with a minimal crew in Vancouver and Pender Island, the influence of filmmakers like Chantal Akerman and Jacques Tati, and the evolving collaboration between him and Ross.This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival.This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

Federal staff layoffs, spending freezes and other executive orders by the Donald Trump administration jeopardize food pathways for tribes and federal grants and loans for Native farmers. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is helping conservation of an endangered fish called the Sicklefin Redhorse. It has a long and traditional relationship with the tribe in the southeast. The first children's book by Squamish ethnobotanist Leigh Joseph teaches young about Indigenous plant knowledge and harvesting. This Land Knows Me: A Nature Walk Exploring Indigenous Wisdom is an engaging lesson on the plants around us and the cultural stories that go along with them. That's all on The Menu, our regular special feature on Indigenous food hosted and produced by Andi Murphy. GUESTS Carly Griffith Hotvedt (Cherokee Nation), executive director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Styawat / Leigh Joseph (Skwxwú7mesh). ethnobotanist, knowledge keeper, professor at Simon Fraser University, and owner of Sḵwálwen Botanicals Dr. Caleb Hickman (Cherokee Nation), supervisor fisheries and wildlife biologist for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Federal staff layoffs, spending freezes and other executive orders by the Donald Trump administration jeopardize food pathways for tribes and federal grants and loans for Native farmers. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is helping conservation of an endangered fish called the Sicklefin Redhorse. It has a long and traditional relationship with the tribe in the southeast. The first children's book by Squamish ethnobotanist Leigh Joseph teaches young about Indigenous plant knowledge and harvesting. This Land Knows Me: A Nature Walk Exploring Indigenous Wisdom is an engaging lesson on the plants around us and the cultural stories that go along with them. That's all on The Menu, our regular special feature on Indigenous food hosted and produced by Andi Murphy.

Dans cet épisode, nous parlerons du processus nécessaire pour ouvrir un secteur complet avec l'application Kaya. Nous recevons Denis Langlois, qui a déménagé en Colombie-Britannique il y a plusieurs années pour se rapprocher de la nature et de l'escalade. Dans l'ombre de Squamish, la vallée Fraser reste un secteur impressionnant avec plus de 1 000 blocs. C'est aussi une région où vivait le célèbre Marc-André Leclerc, et qui mérite bien plus d'attention qu'on ne le pense… Au programme : -L'ouverture de blocs en extérieur avec Kaya -Ce qu'il faut faire pour ouvrir et entretenir un site -Les défis liés à l'ouverture de blocs en Colombie-Britannique -Et plus encore ! Denis prépare également un film sur l'ouverture de la vallée fraser, en voici le lien sur trailer: https://youtu.be/QG17oKMwZSwProfitez de 10 % de rabais sur la boutique en ligne Délire : https://boutique.delirescalade.com/?t... code: LVDG10 Notre sponsor Chalk factory qui nous permet de rendre le podcast possible! https://movementholds.com/ pour nous aider ! Le podcast est destiné à rassembler, inspirer & éduquer la communauté des grimpeurs francophones. Pour nous encourager, laissez un commentaire, partager le podcast & suivez-nous sur nos plateformes!

In this episode of the podcast, we welcome Alex Ackerley, an accomplished strength and conditioning coach based in Squamish, BC, Canada. Alex shares his journey from high-performance rugby to coaching elite mountain athletes, including World-Cup level mountain bikers, Tour Divide gravel riders, and ultra-marathon runners. With 15 years of experience in the Vancouver fitness industry, Alex offers deep insights into training, programming, and the unique demands of mountain sports. Topics Covered: Rugby Background & Athletic Foundations: Alex's experience playing high-level rugby and how it shaped his approach to strength and conditioning. Training Mountain Bikers: Insights into the unique physical demands of downhill, enduro, and cross-country mountain biking. Strength Programming: Alex's go-to lifts for building power and resilience, including front squats, deadlifts, and power cleans. Metabolic Conditioning: How Alex designs high-intensity circuits to build capacity for 3–5 minute downhill efforts. Upper Body Training & Injury Prevention: The importance of upper body strength for downhill riders and strategies for building grip strength. Plyometric Progressions: Building impact resilience through progressive plyometric training. Screening and Assessments: Alex's approach to movement screening and individualized programming. Off-Season Training: The role of hypertrophy blocks and aerobic conditioning during the off-season. Training Philosophy: Balancing strength and endurance while maintaining athlete engagement. Lessons Learned: Alex shares personal and professional lessons from his experience training athletes and competing himself. Lightning Round Questions: Best Total Body Lift? Landmine Clean and Press (one-handed) Best Lower Body Press? Front Squat Best Lower Body Pull? Deadlift Best Upper Body Press? Incline Dumbbell Bench Press Best Upper Body Pull? Pronated Pull-Up (strict) Favorite Grip Training? Carries and Hanging Most Overrated Exercise? Box Jump Most Underrated Exercise? Bench Press Overrated Equipment? Kettlebells Check out Alex's Gym: nxft.ca Alex's Instagram: @coachackerley Mountain Tactical Institute Home Check out the MTI Athlete Team Apply to be a Paid MTI Athlete MTI's Daily Programming Streams  

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Director of Programming Curtis Woloschuk speaks with filmmaker Karen Chapman about her narrative feature Village Keeper, which explores themes of trauma, grief, and economic disparity through the story of a Toronto single mother.Chapman shares her desire to capture "lived-in" moments on screen, and how location plays a vital role in shaping character and story, highlighting the impact of class and economic realities on filmmaking.Chapman reflects on the challenges of directing while eight-and-a-half months pregnant, the need for better industry support for mothers and underrepresented filmmakers, and the value of mentorship programs like the Canadian Film Centre and TIFF Talent Lab (which helped shape her career).This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival. This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

After the Canadian Screen Awards qualification theatrical run in Toronto last October, "Rez Comedy," the first all Indigenous stand-up comedy feature documentary world premieres on SVOD on AAM.tv and TVOD on Amazon Prime on Friday February 14, 2025.  Hear all about REZ COMEDY on this episode of Big Blend Radio with Keith Nahanee, rising Squamish nation comic and filmmaker, and Comedy Invasion creator Quentin Lee, a 2024 Canadian Screen Award winner. Visit https://rezcomedy.com/ 

On Episode 301 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a posh hotel in Squamish, BC, with alpinist Quentin Roberts. We met up at the Arc'teryx Academy in August 2024 on a rainy day to talk about Quentin's life as a climber. Quentin grew up attending boarding schools in several countries and despite not fitting … Continue reading "Enormocast 301: Quentin Roberts – Listening to The Mountain"

Send us a textJoin us for an exhilarating journey with Jessie McAuley, a dynamic ski mountaineer and mountain runner hailing from the adventurous hub of Squamish, British Columbia. Transitioning from a competitive downhill mountain biker to a trail running and ski mountaineering powerhouse, Jessie shares the remarkable milestones of his athletic career, including a top ten finish at the Meet the Minotaur Sky Race and a podium at the Mount Marathon race. Through his infectious enthusiasm for outdoor pursuits, Jessie offers a glimpse into the unique lifestyle and rigorous training environment of Squamish, a breeding ground for elite athletes and outdoor enthusiasts alike.In our conversation, Jessie unveils the thrilling world of ski mountaineering, spotlighting the famous Pyramenta stage race. He reflects on his personal journey into the sport, emphasizing the challenges and the vibrant atmosphere that define these races. We explore the Canadian ski mountaineering scene, discussing the limited support compared to the international stage and the potential growth following its Olympic inclusion. Jessie's insights reveal the strategic and logistical nuances of participating in remote mountain races, from navigating the vast Canadian geography to the intricacies of race calendars and the burgeoning popularity of trail running in the Sea to Sky corridor.Beyond the adrenaline-fueled races, Jessie shares his passion for photography and the role of sponsorships in his journey. Photography serves as a creative outlet, while the camaraderie within the Arc'teryx running team provides a supportive community that enhances his athletic pursuits. Jessie's reflections on mentorship, competition, and personal growth offer valuable lessons and inspiration. As we wrap up, Jessie discusses his aspirations, including iconic races like Sierre-Zinal and exciting new opportunities in the global trail running community. Tune in to experience the adventurous spirit and community-centric ethos of an athlete who embodies the essence of the great outdoors.The support of this episode comes from Ultimate Direction USA - check out https://ultimatedirection.com/ for all your hydration solution needsJessie McAuley IG - https://www.instagram.com/jessie.mcauley/

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Director of Programming Curtis Woloschuk interviews filmmaker Yuqi Kang about her documentary 7 Beats Per Minute, which explores the world of free diving and the connection between humanity and nature.Kang shares how a YouTube clip sparked her own free diving journey and led her to meet Jessea Lu, a prominent Chinese free diver who became the subject of her film. She reflects on the challenges of underwater cinematography, from unpredictable weather to capturing authentic moments beneath the surface, and the importance of adapting to nature's elements.Kang also discusses her transition from documentary to narrative filmmaking and how Vancouver's cultural and creative environment has influenced her work.This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival.This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

Jeremy Valeriote has been named interim leader of the B.C. Green Party following Sonia Furstenau's resignation. A first-time MLA representing West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, Valeriote is a geological engineer and former Town of Gibsons councillor. He also worked as an executive co-ordinator in the District of Squamish's mayor's office from 2021 to 2023. Guest: Jeremy Valeriote - Interim Leader of the BC Green Party Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miranda Miller is a downhill mountain bike World Champion and three time Canadian National downhill champion from Squamish, British Columbia. Her video series, Here, There, Everywhere regularly features inspiring riders and mountain bike destinations around the world as Miranda takes on new cycling challenges ranging from gravel biking to gravity racing. How did you get introduced to downhill mountain bike racing at such an early age? What was the biggest difference between racing DH and enduro for you? What are some favorite trails or mountain bike destinations you've ridden over the years? Do you do a lot of specific training or prep before big endurance rides like the 22-hour, 360km gravel ride and a 5-day bikepacking trip on the AZT you completed?  How involved are you in the creative side of the Here, There, Everywhere video series? Do you consider yourself a perfectionist? Does the search for perfection ever cause problems for you? What do you make of the state of professional enduro racing today?  What's next for you, and for your video series? You can follow Miranda on Instagram @mirandamillermtb and catch up on Here, There, Everywhere on the @DVRGNTminds and SRAM YouTube channels. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. MidPack Musings SubStack https://troymeadows.substack.com/?r=2gjcgs&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist You can now support the MidPacker Pod on ⁠Patreon⁠. https://www.patreon.com/TheMidPackerPod Check Out MPP Merch https://runtraillife.com/collections/midpacker-pod-merch Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Looking for 1:1 Ultra Running Coaching? Check out Troy's Coaching Page https://runtraillife.com/pages/rtl-coaching-services “Trail running is about more than just running—it's about connection, exploration, and growth.” “Take the leap, even when it feels scary.” In this episode of the MidPacker Pod, Troy Meadows chats with Adam Lee, trail running enthusiast, founder of Community Trail Running, and host of the Trail Running Film Festival in Alberta, Canada. Adam's journey is a testament to embracing new challenges, nurturing community, and finding joy in the trails. About Adam Lee Background: Adam's story begins in Ontario, where mountain biking introduced him to trails. After moving west to Vancouver, he transitioned into trail running during a half-marathon event sponsored by his employer. The shift from city life to the scenic Canadian Rockies has transformed his relationship with nature and running. Community Builder: As the founder of Community Trail Running, Adam shares stories and insights from the trail-running world. His passion extends beyond running to connecting others through shared outdoor adventures. Event Organizer: Adam is also instrumental in the Trail Running Film Festival's expansion in Canada, hosting events across Alberta, including Edmonton, Calgary, Jasper, and more. Episode Highlights The Power of Place: Adam talks about his recent move to the Rockies, settling in Crowsnest Pass, and how being closer to trails has enriched his running and lifestyle. Trail Running Beginnings: From mountain biking as a teen to his first trail race, Adam's journey reflects the transformative power of trails and their community. Film Festival Fun: Hear about the Trail Running Film Festival's impact in Alberta and Adam's favorite moments from hosting events that celebrate the trail running spirit. Creative Pursuits: Learn how Adam's podcast and writing reflect his love for storytelling and his dedication to amplifying trail running's vibrant culture. Adam's Links: IG: communitytrailrunning Community Trail Running Podcast: Listen and subscribe Things we talked about in the episode: Trail Running Film Festival Community Trail Running Podcast Meet the Minotaur Race  Five Peaks Trail Running Series Sinister 7 Ultra Divide 200 Sponsor Links:  ⁠Run Trail Life⁠ - https://runtraillife.com/ Use code: midpackerpod to double the donation from your purchase.  Visit RunTrailLife.com to check out our line of Hats and Organic cotton T's. ⁠Freetrail⁠ - https://freetrail.com/ Visit Freetrail.com to sign up today. MidPacker Pod Links: Instagram⁠ | ⁠Patreon⁠ | SubStack Troy Meadows Links: Instagram⁠ | Twitter⁠ | ⁠Website⁠ | ⁠Strava⁠  Freetrail Links:⁠ Freetrail Pro⁠ | ⁠Patreon⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Website⁠ | ⁠YouTube Adam Lee, MidPacker Pod, Community Trail Running, Crowsnest Pass, Trail Running Film Festival, Alberta, Canadian Rockies, Trail Running Community, Vancouver, Squamish 5050, Trail Access, Meet the Minotaur, Sinister 7, Divide 200, Five Peaks Trail Running Series, SkyRunning, Ultra Running, Trail Running Stories, Matthias Eichler, Beast of Big Creek, Rock Gear Distribution, Trail Exploration, Trail Running Film Festival Events, Local Trail Races, Trail Community Engagement.

We sat down with Jackson Goldstone to get to know him better. Jackson is a 20 year old Squamish local, UCI Downhill World Cup racer on the Santa Cruz Syndicate team, Red Bull athlete,  Hardline and World Cup winner, but what's his biggest fear? His favourite trail? His most embarrassing moment? And who is he outside of bikes? Find all that out and more in our latest podcast episode.Thank you for listening Get in touch with us via Steed Cycles or via our Instagram Hosted by Ash Kelly Produced by Sam James Listen to other episodes here.

Up-and-coming Vancouver trans author Harman Burns joins NBN host Hollay Ghadery to talk about Burns' novella, Yellow Barks Spider (Radiant Press, 2024). Yellow Barks Spider takes place in the Canadian prairies, but it seeks to explore this landscape through the intimate lens of a ten-year-old trans kid. Set against the backdrop of the placid countryside, dusty summers and barren winters, it is both a queer coming-of-age novella as well as a deeply psychological character study, reflecting on the nature of memory, trauma, and self-discovery. More about Yellow Barks Spider: In the threadbare prairie town where Kid grew up, life moves slowly. For a troubled ten-year-old, the vast landscape of open skies and barren winters is a place of elemental magic and buried secrets. As the summers pass by, Kid explores a world of weed-choked yards, murky lakes, and a traveling carnival. But when Kid finds himself increasingly haunted by strange spider-infested visions of his next door neighbor's shed, he falls deeper and deeper into his haunted inner world, eventually turning to mind-altering substances to combat his growing torment. Confronted by this psychic pressure, the book itself begins to crumble, splintering into disparate narrative voices as the workings of Kid's imagination become animate, tactile—and language self-destructs. Emerging from this crucible, Kid surfaces into adulthood as she moves through love, sex, and self-discovery as a trans woman. But when she returns to her hometown following the death of a family member, she is forced to reckon with all the fears she once left behind. Yellow Barks Spider is an unforgettable portrait of trauma, isolation, and self-compassion. At its heart, it is a deeply-felt exhumation of memory, love, and the human spirit. About Harman Burns: Harman Burns is a Saskatchewan-born trans woman, filmmaker, sound artist and writer. Her practice is informed by folklore, nature, the occult and bodily transfiguration. Her writing has been published in Untethered Magazine and Metatron Press, and was shortlisted for The Malahat Review's Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction. Burns currently resides on the unceded ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (Vancouver). About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children's book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is the host of the 105.5 FM Bookclub, as well as a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League's BIPOC committee, as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at her website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Up-and-coming Vancouver trans author Harman Burns joins NBN host Hollay Ghadery to talk about Burns' novella, Yellow Barks Spider (Radiant Press, 2024). Yellow Barks Spider takes place in the Canadian prairies, but it seeks to explore this landscape through the intimate lens of a ten-year-old trans kid. Set against the backdrop of the placid countryside, dusty summers and barren winters, it is both a queer coming-of-age novella as well as a deeply psychological character study, reflecting on the nature of memory, trauma, and self-discovery. More about Yellow Barks Spider: In the threadbare prairie town where Kid grew up, life moves slowly. For a troubled ten-year-old, the vast landscape of open skies and barren winters is a place of elemental magic and buried secrets. As the summers pass by, Kid explores a world of weed-choked yards, murky lakes, and a traveling carnival. But when Kid finds himself increasingly haunted by strange spider-infested visions of his next door neighbor's shed, he falls deeper and deeper into his haunted inner world, eventually turning to mind-altering substances to combat his growing torment. Confronted by this psychic pressure, the book itself begins to crumble, splintering into disparate narrative voices as the workings of Kid's imagination become animate, tactile—and language self-destructs. Emerging from this crucible, Kid surfaces into adulthood as she moves through love, sex, and self-discovery as a trans woman. But when she returns to her hometown following the death of a family member, she is forced to reckon with all the fears she once left behind. Yellow Barks Spider is an unforgettable portrait of trauma, isolation, and self-compassion. At its heart, it is a deeply-felt exhumation of memory, love, and the human spirit. About Harman Burns: Harman Burns is a Saskatchewan-born trans woman, filmmaker, sound artist and writer. Her practice is informed by folklore, nature, the occult and bodily transfiguration. Her writing has been published in Untethered Magazine and Metatron Press, and was shortlisted for The Malahat Review's Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction. Burns currently resides on the unceded ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (Vancouver). About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children's book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is the host of the 105.5 FM Bookclub, as well as a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League's BIPOC committee, as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at her website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

On Episode 299 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a fine hotel suite with the elegant Nina Caprez. We met up at the Arc'teryx Academy in Squamish, and after a Co-MC gig on the main stage the previous night, Nina and I reviewed our performance and then got down to business reviewing the 9 … Continue reading "Enormocast 299: Nina Caprez – Two Roads Just as Fair"

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, feature film coordinator Natalie Murao interviews filmmaker Jerome Yoo about his debut feature film Mongrels, which follows a Korean immigrant family in rural Canada dealing with grief amid trying to belong in their new home country.Yoo shares about how he found talent in Korea, his casting process, and the challenges of working with 14 dogs while shooting the film. Plus, they discuss the importance of natural emotions and incorporating traditional Korean instruments into the film's score.This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival.This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

Hello Interactors,Happy winter solstice!Today, the northern hemisphere experiences its shortest day and longest night, a celestial event rooted in the planet's axial tilt. This seemingly simple astronomical fact has profound implications for economic geography. It influences everything from agricultural productivity to social traditions of sharing and reciprocity.SOLSTICE AND SHARINGI recently visited the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre at Whistler. These two tribes are part of the Squamish River watershed that flows into Howe Sound, a fjord located just around the corner from Vancouver, British Columbia. This watershed is central to their traditional territories and plays a vital role in their culture and economy.From an economic geography perspective, the tilt of the earth underpins the seasons and, by extension, patterns of production and scarcity that shape human economies. In regions where winter brought agricultural dormancy, societies had to develop systems to store, preserve, and share resources to survive until the next growing season.The winter solstice symbolizes the end of this scarcity. It promises returning light, a pivotal moment in the annual cycle for societies historically reliant on natural rhythms. For the Squamish and Lil'wat peoples, this period was a time of reflection, gratitude, and redistribution. Ceremonial gatherings and potlatches reinforced community bonds by ensuring that the resources harvested in times of plenty were shared equitably during the lean winter months.I saw evidence of these community bonds at the cultural center. The five visitors from West Virginia and myself, were the only white folks in the place. I was happy to see and hear a group of teen Squamish or Lil'wat boys gathered, talking, and giggling. There was a table of older Indigenous women sharing tea and treats. I asked one of our guides if she was doing anything special for the upcoming holiday. She said, “Well, I have presents for my mom's side, but not my dad's. And I have presents for half my siblings, but not the other half! So, it looks like that's what I'll be doing!”Practices of reinforced social cohesion and mitigating disparities can be seen in both Indigenous and early European traditions. These lessons of reciprocity and redistribution remain vital amidst the gulf between extreme wealth and pervasive poverty. That too became apparent during my visit.As I was browsing the gift shop, I overheard an Indigenous employee ask a friend, “How has work been?” Her friend responded, “It's ok. This time of year comes with a lot of Christmas clean ups, people getting their Whistler places ready…it's hard work, but good money.”As we mark the winter solstice and conclude this fall series on economic geography, it is worth considering how the natural cycles dictated by the earth's tilt continue to influence modern economies. Even in an age of surplus for some, the rhythms of scarcity and abundance persist, challenging us to find equitable ways to share resources.The traditions of the Squamish, Lil'wat, and countless other cultures remind us that sustainability and justice are not just matters of economic policy but also of values deeply connected to the natural world. This solstice invites us to honor those lessons, seeking balance and light amid the darkest days.The widespread, worldwide post-harvest behavior — like the Squamish and Lil'wat spiritual renewal through prayer and ceremonies; the community bonding with feasts, potlaches, and storytelling; the observance or celestial cycles and gratitude for earth's gifts; and the artistic creations for ceremonial dances and rituals — has been happening for millennia.SATURN AND THE GREEK SAINTI thought I'd reshare a relevant excerpt from a post I did a few years ago that explores the roots of Christmas. It started with a communal approach to abundance with celestial-triggered ancient traditions like Saturnalia in Rome. Saturn, the god of agriculture, inspired events where feasts, gift-giving, and the symbolic inversion of roles served to address the inherent inequalities of agrarian economies.“It was so baked into the fabric of society that even the church began painting it with Christian imagery and metaphor. Because the celebrations occurred on or around the end of November and into December there were many elements of Christianity to which they could attach the events.During Roman times, December 17th marked the day of the Saturnalia – a festival honoring the god of agriculture, Saturn. All work halted for a week as people decorated their homes with wreaths. They shed their togas to dawn festive clothes, and they drank, gambled, sang, played music, socialized and exchanged gifts. It was a celebration of their agrarian bounty and the return of light at Winter solstice. It was also a time to invite their slaves to dinner where their masters would serve them food.One Christian Saint affiliated with early December – and the one most honored today in the form of a plump jolly man wearing a red velvet suit – is Saint Nicholas. December 6th is St. Nicholas Day. For many European countries this marked the official end of the harvest season. And even today it's recognized in some countries as a kind of warm-up act to the more official and accepted Christmas day, December 25th.Nicholas of Bari was a Greek Christian bishop from modern day Turkey. Also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker, he earned a reputation during the Roman Empire for many miracles; all of which, were written centuries after his death and thus prone to exaggeration. But he was most famous for his generosity, charity, and kindness to children, the poor, and the disadvantaged. He was said to have sold his own belongings to get gold coins that he'd then put in the shoes outside people's homes. This is the origin of the tradition of putting shoes or stockings out on Christmas Eve.They say he also saved the lives of three innocent men from execution. He chastised the corrupted judge for accepting a bribe to execute them. And he certainly would have been watching over the peasant farmers and slaves to insure they were treated fairly. He seemed to always have an eye out for inequities and justice for common people. Maybe that's what made him a saint. Or maybe he was just born that way. After all, Nicholas in Greek means “people's victory.”The Puritans obviously lost at their attempts to ban Christmas. Lacking any evidence from the Bible, the Christian powers that be eventually settled on the 25th of December as the day Jesus was born. They most likely picked the 25th because that was the day winter solstice landed on the Roman calendar.”Happy solstice, everyone. Whether from St. Nick or the Squamish ways,let's remember through these darkest days: sustainability and justice aren't just decree, they're rooted in values that connect you and me. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit interplace.io

In this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Damla Tamer, a visual artist and sessional lecturer at UBC whose work explores the affective conditions of labour under late capitalism, and the evolution of forms of civil protest within the contemporary political history of Turkey. Damla is also a founding member of the Art Mamas artist collective, which aims to create support networks for artist caregivers, while critically exploring the place of motherhood and care work within the dominant culture of art production. Am and Damla discusses her recent exhibition at Access gallery, which explored the aftermath of the Gezi protests in Turkey through textile works, her work with housing co-ops in False Creek South, and why she thinks it's ok for students to express love for a work of art. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/258-damla-tamer.html Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/258-damla-tamer.html Resources: Art Mamas CBC Article: https://www.cbc.ca/arts/exhibitionists/art-mamas-meet-the-vancouver-collective-that-creates-community-for-mothers-in-the-arts-1.5129578 Art Mamas | Access Gallery: https://accessgallery.ca/programming/artmamas art/mamas: Intermedial Conversations on Art, Motherhood and Caregiving https://criticalmediartstudio.iat.sfu.ca/artmamas/?page_id=291&fbclid=PAAaYDby0LbG_w1ZkyIsEjU61ZIV3FfuBCa25TBFHLHuMn9XUUmJqpUro5pPU UBC Profile: https://ahva.ubc.ca/profile/damla-tamer/ Bio: Damla Tamer (born in Istanbul, Turkey) is a visual artist and educator living on the unceded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territories. Her practice engages with the intersections of textile crafts and contemporary studio practices, with a special focus on weaving. Her work is heavily invested in searching for a new ethics of temporality through the relationships between aesthetics and politics. Her most recent work focuses on tracing the rise of neoliberal authoritarianism in Turkey and its relation to global movements, the evolution of forms of civil protest and resistance, and the capacities and limits of language and representation in locating oneself in a world that is rife with shifts. She does social-collaborative work as part of various artist collectives and co-operatives. She is a founding member of the artist mothers collective A.M. (Art Mamas) and has organized extensive public programming and co-published a book on motherhood, caregiving and social reproduction in relation to art and labour at large. She teaches at The University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and Emily Carr University of Art+Design. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “Art Mamas — with Damla Tamer.” Below the Radar, SFU's Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, December 17, 2024. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/258-damla-tamer.html. Tags: SFU, SFU's Vancity Office of Community Engagement, Simon Fraser University, Am Johal, Below the Radar, Damla Tamer, Art Mamas, Gezi, Vancouver Podcast

In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Short Forum programmer Casey Wei interviews filmmaker Deborah Devyn Chaung about her short film Strawberry Shortcake, a genre-defying Freudian fantasy that explores a teenage girl's relationship with her mother. Chuang shares the deeply personal inspirations behind the film and the challenges of directing intimate scenes. Plus, they discuss the film's intricate set design, the symbolism of “strawberry shortcake” as both innocent and provocative, and Chuang's aspirations to develop the short into a feature.This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival.This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

Nate and Carolyn Whitzman talk about her recent book Home Truths, Canada's housing needs, and different historical and international approaches that should inform how we build market, non-market, and supportive housing. Carolyn is a housing and social policy researcher, an expert advisor to UBC's Housing Assessment Resource Tools, and a senior housing researcher at U of T's School of Cities. She is also the author of Home Truths, Fixing Canada's Housing Crisis.How many homes do we need to build? How should we go about building them? And who should we be serving?Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Housing Crisis in Canada01:52 Understanding Housing Needs Assessments05:14 Historical Context of Housing in Canada09:09 Long-Term Solutions for Housing16:10 Market vs. Non-Market Housing22:24 Addressing NIMBYism and Zoning Reform27:39 International Examples of Non-Market Housing34:53 Financing Non-Market Housing39:56 Protecting Renters and Tenant Rights41:21 Addressing Homelessness with Compassion46:39 Conclusion and Future DirectionsTranscript:Nate:Welcome to Uncommons. I'm Nate Erskine-Smith. For those of you who are tuning in more recently, I'm the Member of Parliament for Beaches-East York. And this Uncommons podcast is a series of interviews with experts in their respective fields with colleagues of mine in parliament really focused on Canadian politics and policy in relation to that politics.And today I'm joined by Carolyn Whitzman. She is an expert in housing policy, one of the most important issues at all levels of government that need to be addressed in a comprehensive, serious way. You'll hear all politicians sort of trip over themselves with different housing plans.And the question for Carolyn is, how many homes do we need to build? How should we go about building them? And who should we be serving? And how are we going to get out of this housing crisis that this country faces and that all regions face in their own respective ways?Now, Carolyn is a housing and social policy researcher. She's an expert advisor to UBC's housing assessment resource tools. She's a senior housing researcher at U of T's School of Cities. And most importantly, having just read her book, she is the author of Home Truths, Fixing Canada's Housing Crisis.Nate:Carolyn, thanks for joining me.Caroyln:Great to join you, Nate.Nate:So you came highly recommended to me by virtue of Mark Richardson, who's a constituent and an advocate on housing and someone I, you know, anything he says on housing is to be believed.And he's, you know, he highly recommended your book, Home Truths, but he also suggested you as a podcast guest. So I really, really appreciate the time. And much of your work, you know, your main work, other than being an expert in all things housing, but a core expertise that you have is really on the needs assessment in terms of what the housing market in Canada needs in particular in different regions. And there are different needs.There are market needs, there are non-market needs, there's deeply affordable needs for people who are experiencing homelessness.And so how would you break down, you know, if you've got Sean Fraser coming to you and saying, what are the needs assessments? How would you break down the needs assessments on housing in this country?Caroyln:Well, funny you should say that because Sean's office and housing and infrastructure has come to me. So I did some work with a project called the Housing Assessment Resource Tools Project based at UBC that was funded by the CMHC that did what the CMHC used to do and unfortunately no longer does, which is look at housing need by income categories.Canada has been doing that since 1944 during World War II when a report by a relatively conservative economist named Curtis said that for low-income people, probably some form of public housing was going to be necessary to meet their needs.For middle-income people, there needed to be a lot more purpose-built rental housing, he said that in 1944. And he also said in 1944 that there needed to be some way to control rent increases and he suggested cooperative housing. And then for higher-income people, definitely scale up while located home ownership.To some extent the Canadian government listened. Between 1944 and 1960, there were about a million homes enabled through government land financing design replication that were for moderate-income starter households.In those days it was mostly one-earner households, like a man at home and a woman, sorry, a woman at home and a man at work. And the homes were two to three bedrooms between $7,000 and $8,000. So pretty remarkably that's like $80,000 to $90,000 in today's terms.Nate:That would be nice.Carolyn:Yeah, wouldn't it be nice? Once they were sold, they lost our affordability.So since then, and certainly in the 1970s and 1980s when the federal government was building, well again enabling, about one in five homes to be built by public housing, cooperative housing, other non-profit housing, that housing was affordable to what they called low- and moderate-income households, so the lowest two quintiles of household income. Home ownership was easily affordable to moderate in most places and middle-income households.So there's always been some housing needs, but there wasn't widespread homelessness. There wasn't the kinds of craziness that you see today where new rental housing isn't affordable to middle-income earners, where new homeowners are limited to the highest quintile, like the highest 20% of population.So we simply use the same kinds of categories, also the kinds of categories that are used in the U.S. and other countries. Low income, moderate income, median income, and then higher income.Unfortunately with provincial social assistance rates being what they are, we have to add a very low income, which is like 20% of median income, and really isn't enough to afford a room let alone an apartment. But yeah, that's the way we look at housing need.Nate:But then, so let's be maybe, that's at a high level for how we look, how we analyze it,and then when we look at the Canadian context today, so you talk about the Curtis Reportpost-war and on my reading of, I found your historical examples very interesting, internationalexamples interesting too, which we'll get to, but this was one of the most interestingones because here you have the Curtis Report proposing annual targets that you say is effectively the equivalent of 4 million homes over 10 years. But then they break this down into a particular categories.Then you've got, you know, two years ago, two and a bit of years ago, you had CMHC issued a report to say we effectively need 5.8 million homes by 2030. So 2.3 million in business as usual. And then you've got this 3.5 million additional homes required. And that's impossible for us to achieve based upon the current trajectory at all levels of government, frankly, but especially at the provincial level.And so when you look at the needs assessment today, so Curtis Report has 4 million over10 years, what do we need today? Is CMHC right?It's 5.8 million, although they don't break it down into these different categories, or should we be more specific to say, as you do, it's 200,000 new or renovated deeply affordable supportive homes over 10 years, and then you've got different categories for market and non-market.Carolyn:Well, I think it's important to prioritize people whose lives are literally being shortened because of lack of housing. So I think that ending homelessness should be a priority. And there's no doubt that we can't end homelessness without a new generation of low-cost housing.So I wouldn't disagree that we need 6,000 new homes. I did a report last year for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate that argued that we need 3 million new and acquired homes for low-income people alone at rents of about $1,000 a month or less, certainly less if you're on social assistance.So the deed is pretty large. We have to recognize the fact that it's taken 30 to 50 years of inaction, particularly federal inaction, but also the Fed's downloaded to provinces, and as you say, provinces have done an extremely poor job to get there.And I think that what we see from countries that work, like France and Finland, Austria, is that they think in terms of like 30-year infrastructure categories, just like any other infrastructure. If we were to have a really viable public transit system, we'd need to start thinking in terms of what are we going to do over the next 30 years.Similarly, I think we need to look at a kind of 30-year time span when it comes to housing, and I think we need to look once again at that rule of thirds, which is a rule that's used in a lot of, in Germany and again in France and Finland, Denmark, about a third of it needs to be pretty deeply affordable low-income housing, about a third of it needs to be moderate-income rental, but with renter rights to ensure that the rents don't go up precipitously, and about a third of it needs to be for home ownership.Nate:You mentioned a 30-year window a few times there, and it strikes me that we need more honesty in our politics in that there's no quick solution to most of these challenges. That it's, you know, in your telling of the story, which I think is exactly right, this is decades in the making, and it will be decades in undoing this challenge and in addressing this as fulsome as we should.Now, that's not to say, you're right, we should prioritize people whose lives are being shortened by a lack of housing. There's some things we can do immediately to get more rapid housing built and really drive at that in a shorter window of time.But when you look at non-market housing, when you look at the market housing we need to build, no politician should stand at the microphone and say, we're going to build the homes we need without really overhauling how we do things and understanding that these homes are not going to get built tomorrow, that this is putting down track, policy track, to make sure homes get built in the next five years, in the next 10 years and beyond.Carolyn:Absolutely. And I think it's really important to start off with some aspirational goals. Like, forinstance, it was 1987 when Finland said, we're going to end homelessness, and this is how we're going to do it. France in 2000 said 20% of all housing should be non-market, in other words, public cooperative, non-profit.And in both Finland and France, there's been federal government changes as well as changes at the municipal level, etc. And those goals have remained the same through right wing and left wing governments.It does worry me, Nate, when politicians, I won't name any names, use sort of three word slogans, and that's going to somehow change things in the term of the government.Nate:I will will homes into existence by rhyming.Carolyn:So, you know, it takes building up systems, including good information systems to monitor and track how well we're doing and course correct. And that's something kind of basic that's been missing from federal policy as well.There's one report that says there's 655,000 non-market homes. Another report two years later says that there's 980,000 non-market homes and those weren't built in two years. So, you know, what is our current housing stock? How are our policies working to create certain kinds of housing, housing for people with disabilities or housing for seniors?Student housing need wasn't even included in the last few censuses. So, we don't really know how many students need housing at what cost and where. These are all examples of things that would be in a real national housing strategy.Nate:That seems to me like the basics, right? Like you measure why I want to start theconversation with a needs assessment, because if you don't start with that, then you're not working in a serious direction to any end goal.But I was also struck by your book just and you mentioned a couple of international examples and I'll say again, I want to get there, but I want to start the historical examples because part of us we live in this Overton window and we've had the federal government, not this federal government, but previous federal governments walk away from their responsibilities on housing.As you say, the story is a story of downloading responsibilities. There's been some uploading of responsibilities back through the last two national housing strategies as far as it goes, but we could talk about whether there ought to be more of that even and I think there probably should be more fiscal firepower when I look at the international examples and what's spent in France and Germany and other countries.But I was also struck by the historical ability to build in this country. And this is one thing that jumped out, but I'd also be curious what when you were writing this book, like what really jumped out is you as, so we're building fewer homes now than we were in the mid 1970s when the population was half what it is now. I found that absolutely shocking.I also found it shocking if new home construction had stayed at 1970s levels, we'd have an additional 6 to 7 million homes, meaning we'd be where we should be.Carolyn:Yeah, yeah. So what happened? And I think a couple of things happened. One is, and this happened in a couple of countries. It happened in Sweden too.Sweden said, we'll build a million homes in a country of 8 million, which is pretty impressive. And they did. And then they had a slight surplus of homes. They had some vacancies.And instead of going, yay, vacancies, tenants have a choice. They went, oh my God, vacancies,what are we doing? There was also a change of government, of course. So they course corrected.Part of it is that a good housing system includes about 4 to 8% vacancies, just because people move,there's vacancies in between people moving. You want people to have a choice. We know that vacancies help bring rents down in sort of...Nate:And standards up, right?Carolyn:And standards up using classic supply and demand. So we want to see some vacancies. We don't want to have a zero vacancy system. That's number one.Number two is just this increasing belief in the late 1970s and early 1980s. And it came from both the right and the left to distrust government.I think Robert Moses, the chief planner of New York City for decades has a lot to answer for because people started looking at this big, heavy-handed planning and said, we don't want anything of it.And so activists in central cities said, we don't want our heritage knocked down, which I completely understand, but then created such restrictive zoning that only very rich households can live in the majority of well-located neighborhoods in Toronto, for instance.But from the right as well, there was this belief that the market can solve all problems, including the problem of housing for low-income people. And there's never been any proof that that particular contention is true. Whereas there's plenty of evidence that the needs of low-cost, low-income people can only be met through a kind of social perspective.Just like if you said, hey, you have to pay the real costs of healthcare. Well, 20% of you won't be able to, and that's too bad for you. Or everyone needs to pay the real cost of primary education. Well, sorry, many of you will have to remain illiterate.So housing is a basic need, a basic social determinant of health, just as education and healthcare is. And although housing is unlike healthcare and education in that the majority of it is provided by the private sector, just like food, there does need to be some consideration for the fact that everybody needs housing, just like they need healthcare and education and food.Nate:There's a lot there. And really, I think I was on the road a lot last year for an ultimately unsuccessful bid on the provincial leadership side. But I talked about housing a lot because it was, I think it's got to be the overriding focus for all levels of government, but especially provincial governments as it relates to zoning reform.And the line I would use, and I believe in this, I think this is how to articulate it at a high level that governments need to get out of the way on the market side so homes can be built and governments have to get back in the game in a serious way on getting social housing built and public housing built. And at a high level, those are the two objectives.Now, let's start with, there's a lot in what you said on both fronts, but let's start with market housing.You've got a tragic situation where you've got a doubling of home prices, but wages have only increased by 7% over the last five, six years. You've set out a target on this front in your own analysis to say we need 2 million homes with affordable monthly rents.So that's our goal. And to get there, part of this is ending exclusionary zoning. And then every level of government has role to play.The federal government has the Housing Accelerator Fund, which is one of the programs I quite like, although I know it's subject to maybe getting cut under the next government.Carolyn:I do too. I just wish that there was the same kind of conditional funding with provinces. I mean, it seems like the federal government has gone, yeah, let's bully some municipalities and I have no problem with that, or let's provide targets to municipalities.Nate:I'm okay with the firm sort of like carrots and sticks. And in this case, yeah, it's a combination of the two.Carolyn:It is.Nate:And we should be firm with municipalities that don't do their jobs on any restrictive zoning. But when a province can end it with the stroke of a pen across the board, surely we should be even more forceful with provincial governments.Carolyn:Well, let me give the example of supportive housing. So the federal government announcedthe Rapid Housing Initiative, which in many ways has been the most successful national housing strategy program, although it came along as a COVID era additional.Nate:It's the only program I really like talking about, other than the half, the Housing Accelerator Fund, because I can see real results. I can see Toronto, for example, working to change their zoning rules and other municipalities across the province and country, frankly.The Rapid Housing is the only other piece. And there was a housing accelerator or a housing innovation fund, affordable housing innovation fund that was sort of a precursor to it. That's the only program I really point to to show like that's results oriented. There are real outcomes I can point to of homes that have been built where there are people that have moved out of the shelter system that are living in these homes. And, you know, people can debate it, but I see it as a broad success.Carolyn:I'm in furious agreement. It met and exceeded targets. The only problem was that in many cases it was supportive housing or housing with supports. And those supports can't be provided by the federal government.Nate:I know.Carolyn:It's worth of the provincial responsibility. And I think there was a little bit of wishful thinking that the provinces would come along, but in many cases, and Ontario is one of them, they just didn't come along.So what would it be like if the federal government said, okay, as part of our health transfer dollars, we're going to transfer money directly into the health and social support services that we know are necessary in order to keep people with mental and physical health needs housed and we'll just claw it out of the health transfer payment.I think that would be fair. It's still going to the people who need it the most through municipalities, but it would have the impact of showing that these targets are serious and also hopefully pointing provinces towards genuine plans to end homelessness. And the province has so many levers that could help prevent and end homelessness.It has landlord-tenant relations and eviction protection. It has health and social services, which are an essential part of housing for people with disabilities, older people, et cetera. So the province can't wash its hands of the kind of housing policy that the federal government and municipalities are talking about.They are the laggard in terms of the three levels of government, as far as I'm concerned.Nate:Do you think, so I have an example locally of 60 units built modular housing. It was through the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, that's how I even know it exists, but the precursor to sort of rapid housing.And I think of it as a success. It was some local opposition. It was challenging to get through some of those conversations. There's probably a bit more legwork that could have been done to make sure that it's all single units and it could have been probably, there are demographics to serve that drive this and I do understand that, but I do think in some of these cases, some of the literature I've read suggests that having some mix of single and family units can be helpful in the longer term.I've read some stuff from John Sewell and others. So I don't know, maybe some of that could have been part of the mix in a way to respond to local concerns, but overall it's been a success.And yet the city puts up the parking lot, the feds bring in the capital dollars, it gets built and the missing partner of the table on the wraparound ongoing supports is the province of Ontario.So we fill this locally with a particular project, but it happens everywhere. And you're right. I do think we need to be more forceful on the provincial side. So then what does that look to you?You did in your book suggest a couple of different things. You have a different idea that you propose there, but one piece is around requiring infrastructure dollars. So you have more, you're pushing provinces to add more density in transit oriented areas and you tie federal infrastructure dollars.The half is obviously an example of using some federal dollars to try and change dynamics. We've got now a version of this where there's billions of dollars in loans available to provinces that opt into sort of the BC model, BC bills and doing things in a better way.If you're advising the housing minister on this front, how much more forceful can we be at the federal level around addressing NIMBYism, do you think?Caroyln:Well, I think the big cure to NIMBYism is a lot more front-end work when it comes to community planning.There's some really good work that's been done by a group called Renovate the Public Hearing, NBC. It's a black-clad group out of Simon Fraser and they use citizen juries, for instance, which are randomly chosen individuals in a community. Actually, Mark was part of one many years ago in Toronto out by Jennifer Keesmaat and they make kind of high-level decisions around planning.Usually people, just everyday people off the street, given all the facts and all the evidence, will make pretty good decisions. But I don't think that residents should be asked to make decisions about every single development. I think there needs to be a lot more enabling environment quite radically, I suppose.I think that four stories as of right with unlimited units would allow a whole new generation of small apartment buildings.Nate:That seems the minimum, by the way, so this is something that, you know, the half pushes and other changes have been proposed by other municipal leaders are on four stories as of right. Sorry, four units.Carolyn:It's not four units, it's four stories.Nate:Okay, so four stories would be more radical, but it's certainly less radical though than, the example I love from your book was Japan, which has incredibly permissive zoning rules that is rightly focused their zoning permissions on nuisances and real nuisances that affect quality of life, and not just they keep certain people out of this community and keep my property values up.Carolyn:And that's about mix as well. That's about having small grocery stores next to homes, next to trial care centers, next to high schools or whatever.So I think a lot of the land use zoning is infamously two-dimensional. Like it says, this is what the land use will bein this particular area. And that's really problematic in terms of the kind of walkable communities that many of us are talking about as well as transit-oriented communities.Of course,the minimum heights would need to be greater near transit stations and even bus stops, I'd argue, but certainly that sort of baseline that would allow, they'd allow multiplexes, they'd allow people to build granny flats and give the main house to one of their kids or two of their kids if the kids subdivided or whatever.I think that that's sort of the retail change that needs to happen. There's sort of the wholesale change, which are big new developments on government land or near transit stations, et cetera.But the sort of retail change is really important. A lot of neighborhoods in Toronto, and I know you live in Toronto, have lower densities than they did 30 years ago. They have smaller households, more single-person households, et cetera. So the built form needs to, you know, we need to have a lot more flexible housing to make a long story short.And even if in the best case scenario, non-market housing was 20% of all housing, 80% would still be provided by the private sector. It's really hard for homeowners to say, hey, I'm going to subdivide into three units.The municipal government makes it difficult through approvals and development taxes. Finance providers say, what's your experience as a developer? You know, so I think we need a far more enabling environment to make the kind of changes we need.Nate:Well, my last comment I would say on the market side is, and density, and in general, and encouraging density. It does strike me, one other tool that the feds could potentially use is when we, one thing is, you know, okay, tying infrastructure dollars to density around transit. That seems like no brainer stuff.But there's also when the mayor of Norfolk County comes to me and says, we need real investments in wastewater. Well, great. Federal investments on the infrastructure side tied to some action on density. And I think different municipalities will have different needs.And similarly, some municipalities may balk to go, well, if we add so much density, well, how do we manage the healthcare capacity in these areas, the school capacity in these areas, the childcare capacity in these areas.And so there are infrastructure related needs to adding density and the feds and the province are in a much better position to write those large checks to make that happen.Anyway, so I think there's, you know, maybe housing accelerator fund, but just pushed to, you know, the next level even. So it's not just dollars related housing, but it's dollars related infrastructure more broadly.Okay, but on the, you mentioned non-market and I do want to spend a good amount of time on that, because I actually think that is the missing piece. We can talk about market housing forever, but you rightly know in your book that, you know, market housing is not going to get us out of the crisis that we're in, especially for so many people who can never imagine owning a home right now, given where home prices are at and how much they've run away from wages.And I want you to talk a little bit about, for those who maybe don't get through, who don't get to your book, the examples, you mentioned France, you mentioned, there's a range of different examples in your book though, focus on non-market housing. We used to do this in Canada in a more serious way.What are some of the things we should be doing that other countries do in this space? What would be your top three, four or five hit lists of, you know, France does this and Denmark does this, and if Canada really wanted to re-energize, writing big checks is one of it, but if Canada really wanted to re-energize the space, what's your hit list?Carolyn:Well, one of them is something I'm working on today, actually, in response to a request from the federal government, which is, what's the capacity of developers across Canada to create large-scale developments on government land? So, there are some really exciting large-scale developments.In Vancouver alone, there's SINOC, which is a Squamish-led development that's going to produce 6,000 apartments, very well located next to Burrard Bridge, as well as Jericho Lands, which again is Canada Lands Company plus three First Nations. Those are the kinds of large-scale development that can really show a way forward.And if you look at St. Lawrence neighborhood, people used to come from all over the world to look at St. Lawrence neighborhood. What an amazing development that was, 50 years old now, and 4,000 homes, a third each, public housing, cooperative housing, condos, again the rule of thirds.It was considered such a radical idea to have schools at the bottom and grocery stores at the bottom and a church and a pub and a restaurant and everything at the bottom, but it really works knit along that linear park. It's still a really lovely neighborhood, and it was a game-changer.At that time, talking about families living in eight-story buildings was considered, you know, crazy radical stuff, but it worked. So, we need about 100 more St. Lawrence neighborhoods, and then we need a lot of small-scale enablers such as, as I say, four-story buildings that I was recently on the housing industry task force, and there's so many innovative prefabricated housing producers, and they said all we need is a certain level of guaranteed demand.We'll build the factories, we'll hire the people, and of course you get a much more diverse labor force working for factories than you might in construction industries.The construction industry right now is an aging population with a high level of retirements expected, so we need prefab housing.Prefab housing can be awesome. What would it be like if the federal government did a guaranteed order of, I don't know, 200,000 homes a year, most ambitiously. Okay, let's call it 50,000, be a little bit less ambitious.We know already that modular student housing works in Quebec. UTILE builds affordable student homes really cheaply using modular. We know that the Rapid Housing Initiative was on the back of a kind of four-story special with the ground floor being community services and the social workers, and three stories of housing above it.So, we have those kinds of models that will work nationally, and if you did that sort of a pre-order, you could really build up Canada's prefab industry in a really exciting way. It's really important for the north where construction seasons are slow.You know, it ticks so many boxes.Nate:Yeah, it really does. I like that idea a lot.Well, and one thing that struck me, I mentioned Denmark. One thing that struck me was, but before we get to Denmark, actually the stat from France struck me, and people should know, so France produces 110,000 non-market homes a year, more in one year than the total number of non-market homes created in Canada over the last 24 years.Like, that blew my brain. Like, I just like, what are we even doing here? If France is doing that and we're doing this, like, whoa, what are we even doing here?Carolyn:It's really important to emphasize how beautiful many of those homes are. I mean, I don't know whether you've been to Paris recently, but I was in Paris.Nate:Not recently, no. Paris. I got kids. It's hard to travel these days.Carolyn:Oh, but you know, you can just offer them a chocolate croissant.Anyhow, so Cazane de Relay, which is on a former military barracks, and it is, it's got student housing, it's got family housing, but it's knitted around in the former, like, Chondemar, the former military parade ground, this beautiful park that has cafes in it.And it's in a very ritzy part of Paris near a subway line, and people love it, because it's an adaptive reuse of space with a beautiful park in the middle of it. Again, you can make beautiful, socially inclined, environmentally sound architecture, and it's nothing to be ashamed of.Nate:Yeah, of course, yeah.Carolyn:For a long time, I mean, people think of the original version of Regent Park, and they think about these very dire projects.But, you know, think about St. Lawrence neighborhood. Think about in Ottawa, Beaver Barracks, which again, has this beautiful set of community gardens in the middle of it, and district heating, and all kinds of cool stuff. We can make beautiful things.Nate:I mentioned France just because it's such a frustrating comparison that they are building so much more. But Denmark, I found an interesting example because it's a practical sort of solution-oriented example.It's not just, this, France is doing way more than Canada, sorry, Canada. But Denmark's National Building Fund provides 45-year mortgages, 30 years to pay off the building costs, and then 15 years to fund the next new project.Other countries have just, if you compare CMHC financing for non-market versus what these other countries are doing, I mean, other countries are just way lower cost and longer-term financing. And that seems like, I don't know, it seems like low-hanging fruit to me. I don't know how much pushback there is from CMHC, but if we can't do that, then we're not going to solve this problem at all.Carolyn:Well, that's the secret sauce. That was the secret sauce in the 1970s and 1980s when up to 20% of new homes were non-market. It was 40-year mortgages at 2% at the time, when crime was 6%.So it is a challenge, or let's put it this way, it's not CMHC as much as it is the finance ministers who tend not to love that.But you can get to the point, it's not just Denmark, it's Austria and France as well, where you have a revolving loan fund and it refreshes itself.And that goes back to our earlier conversation of the need for thinking long-term. Infrastructure financing is always long-term and the payback from infrastructure financing is always long-term.Nate:I want to get to a conversation, sort of conclude with addressing homelessness, but before we get there, just on the protecting renters. We've promised a bill of rights for tenants and that's obviously in some ways tough because the federal jurisdiction is going to require, again, sort of a carrot-stick approach, although interesting again to note the historical example of national rent control, I think it was in the 1940s, but regardless.Carolyn:1940s and 1941 and 1975.Okay, so even more recent than that. You know Pierre, said in 1975, thou shalt have rent control and all the provinces said, okay.Nate:Interesting. And even where we have some rent control, obviously Ontario is a classic example where you've got rent control while the unit is lived in and then there's such a massive disincentive to keep the unit up or to respond to tenant concerns because, oh, if the tenant leaves, shrug my shoulders, I actually make more money because I can now, the rent control disappears.Carolyn:It's a huge incentive for evictions and it was brought in, that exemption vacancy control was brought in by conservative government.Nate:Does not surprise me on that front. So on the protecting renters front, there's a window here at least with the tenants bill of rights, although maybe a short life left in this parliament, but there is a window there.I think there's probably a window to collaborate with the NDP on something like that or the Bloc on something like that to really get something done. So there's at least some space to maybe fulfill on the implementation side.Beyond that space or maybe even in that space, what would you want to see in Canada on renter protections?Carolyn:I'm doing some work right now with an investor group called SHARE, S-H-A-R-E, that is on ESG guidelines for investors in housing. And I think it's really important, we now have environmental guidelines for investment in housing, but we don't yet have social guidelines on investment.And I sometimes think that soft-suasion is as important as we've been talking about the bully function of federal government. I think it is really that I've seen ESG guidelines have a huge impact on investors.I think that unions, to give one specific example, are uncomfortable with the fact that several of their pension funds invest in and actually have entirely owned REITs who evict current and former union members. I think that's an uncomfortable place to be.So I think that investor guidelines are really important and they would be a world first if they were developed in Canada. So that's kind of exciting.What else is needed in terms of tenant rights? Look, countries in Europe, including countries that are majority renter and richer than Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, they tend to have longer leases and tend to have far harder roads towards eviction.So it's partly, absolutely rent, some level of rent negotiation. What Denmark does, one of the things I love about Denmark, is it has, it funds tenant unions and the tenant unions negotiate sort of the landlord.Nate:Better bargaining power.Carolyn:It's a bargaining situation and there is an emphasis on fair cost-based rent increases each year, which seems like a fair and transparent process, but also longer leases is part of the trick. I think that you want to create a situation where you can live for a long time as a renter, invest in other forms of requirement savings other than homes.But right now, definitely being a renter is a second class situation and that leads a lot of people to get into really, really scary debt in order to become homeowners. And that's not necessarily a good situation as well, or living very far away from your work or having to move away from where your family is.Nate:Well, it speaks to, and maybe we should have started here instead of finishing here, but it speaks to what are the twin goals in some ways, like what is a home and to deliver for someone that sense of home and shelter and safety.You have a rundown of different things that have to be considered here. But I think what I would want from a policy lens is at a minimum, you want sure there's some semblance of affordability, and you want to make sure that there's security of tenure, that you want to make sure that people, whether they're a tenant, tenants shouldn't be at such a disadvantage here that they don't have security of tenure, that there isn't that stability in their lives and they can't invest in their property in the same way. They can't know that they're going to be near this school and near this workplace, as you say. That is such an essential part of a home that goes, I think, under discussed in our politics in a really big way.I also, just to finish with on a rent supplement side, you don't have to comment on it because I don't want to get to homelessness in the sort of three minutes you got left, but this stuck out to me too.So France, Germany, and Denmark all spend 0.7% of their GDP on just rent supplements. Canada spends less on all housing related expenditures combined. Anyway, your book broke my brain in a number of different ways.Okay, so to finish with homelessness and addressing homelessness, because you've talked about rapid housing, you've talked about industrial, if the government of Canada committed to 50,000 modular units a year or something like that, we know where we could direct them at a minimum, which is to replace encampments with homes.And we now have Premier in Ontario, at least, who's talking about, he hasn't done it yet, but talking about, you know, send me a letter of mayors calling for the use of the notwithstanding clause as if you should replace encampments using the notwithstanding clause instead of just building homes.It's like in support of housing. And so on the homelessness front, this is a problem that needs to be resolved in a compassionate, evidence-based way. And that is the hope. And I hope it doesn't get, it's being weaponized in our politics in a big way. And I hope we can push back against that.And so to do that, but to do that successfully, are we looking at just a broad expansion of the rapid housing program, committing to that industrial building, the modular units, and then hopefully really aggressively pushing the provinces, as you say, on the supportive housing front, knowing that, you know, a housing first approach is the answer?Carolyn:That would help a lot. I mean, Canada, under the Harper government, funded the largest international experiment in housing first, which is simply providing homeless people with a permanent home with the supports that they need. And it worked.You know, it was 3000 people. The rates of people losing their homes was very low. The rates of people staying home and having better health and economic outcomes was huge.But you can't have housing first without having the housing comma first. That's what the films say. So that's what we need. We need a whole new generation of low-cost housing and many cases with supports that people need because such a high number of people who are homeless have various forms of disability.And if they don't have severe physical and mental health issues before they become homeless, they sure get them very quickly once they become homeless. So what we need to do, it's so self-evident when it comes to housing, when it comes to homelessness.And it doesn't just make moral sense. It makes economic sense.Nate:That's the part that bothers me, by the way. It's so frustrating in our politics.I speak to people like the, you know, small business owners who go, this is affecting my ability to earn an income. People are not coming to downtown London in Ontario as much as they were before because we have a homelessness challenge.You've got parks that parents go, that park is supposed to be so my kid can play in that green space, not for an encampment. And you kind of pull your hair out and go, why can't we just build supportive homes?Carolyn:Hospital emergency rooms aren't made to, you know, it's not of efficient use of hospital emergency rooms to get 200 visits a year.Nate:Exactly.Carolyn:You know, so it makes so much sense. I don't understand why at some basic level, why every province doesn't have a plan to end homelessness. It's a shame and it's also dumb.I mean, it's dumb on so many levels. So yeah, I mean, you know, I agree with you. I was reading Jane Philpott's book on Health For All, and I was going, yeah, the answers are pretty darn simple when it comes to health. Why don't we just do it?You know, and to me, the answers are pretty simple when it comes to housing. Why don't we just do it? You know, so I guess this book's Home Truths is intended to say to people, I know it looks really complex and it is, but the answers aren't that hard to figure out. It's not rocket science.Nate:Yeah. My takeaway was very much that, and this is the last data point that I throw at listeners from your book, but this one really stuck out. You talk about housing first approach in Finland and how the Finnish consider it.Over a period from 1985 to 2016, they went from over 2,100 shelter beds to 52. And then how do they do that?Well, they're cutting emergency shelter beds.How? Because they're increasing supportive housing from 127 to over 1,300. And they're replacing what is a reactive emergency response, which is a more expensive response, frankly.They're replacing that with a long-term housing first approach through supportive housing and non-market housing. And again, it seems obvious.The challenge, of course, is we should have started doing this a decade ago, two decades ago yesterday. And I'm not dismissive of the rapid housing program. I'm not dismissive of the housing accelerator fund. I'm not dismissive of the loans and the grants that are going towards and the new co-op fund. I don't want to be dismissive of all that. We're going in the right direction.It does seem, though, that the scale of the direction we're heading in the right direction, the scale is just not where it needs to be to get us to where we need to get in 30 years.Carolyn:Yep. We've done some really good pilot programs, and now it's time to scale it up and have some real targets. And it's been a pleasure talking policy wonk stuff with you, Nate.Nate:Well, that's what this is for. And I do appreciate the book. I'm glad Mark suggested that you'd be a guest because it prompted me to read your book. And I'm a much better advocate on housing for having done so.Carolyn:Well, thank you, Mark.Nate:I say that regularly on the housing file. Anyway, thanks, Carolyn, for your time.Carolyn:Thank you, Nate. Take care. Bye-bye.Nate:Thanks for joining me on this episode of Uncommons. I hope you found, yes, it was adeeper dive in policy, but I hope you found some of those stats interesting. They were eye-popping to me, frankly.I do think we have a certain Overton window in our politics sometimes, including on housing, and understanding historical examples, understanding what happens in other countries can be incredibly informative in helping to shift that window and delivering greater ambition, especially on such an important file.With that, if you have suggestions for guests or future topics, you can reach me at info at beynate.ca. You can reach me online, of course, on an increasingly variety of platforms. I'm on Bluesky now, but you can reach me at beynate on all those channels. And otherwise, otherwise, until next time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca

Welcome back for another episode of the Gotta Run Podcast. We were thrilled to collaborate with Adam Lee, the dynamic host of the Community Trail Running Podcast, for a 2 for 1 episode! We chat with Adam about his journey from Ontario to the BC Coast and his recent relocation to Canada's hot spot for trail running; Crowsnest Pass. He details his passion for running and how it led to his podcasting endeavours. We delve into his personal experiences with notable races such as the Finlayson Arm ultra and the Squamish 50-50 and his ambitious plans for future ultra challenges like the Moab Run the Rocks stage race. Join us for this engaging chat where we also discuss the unique community spirit of trail running, and Adam's insights on managing a successful podcast (we compare notes)! We were also guests on Adam's podcast where we revealed our foray into the worlds of trail running, Race Directing and podcasting! Be sure to check it out via his Instagram page below. Here is Adam... You can follow Adam and his podcast on Instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/communitytrailrunning/   Save 5% on Kinesys Sunscreen by using this link https://www.kinesysactive.ca/?ref=gottarun Save 20% on Caffeine Bullet by using coupon code GOTTARUN https://caffeinebullet.com/GOTTARUN Save 10% on Air Relax by using our coupon code GOTTARUN https://www.airrelax.ca/?ref=GOTTARUN   If you enjoyed our show please leave a rating and review.  We would really appreciate it. Check out the Gotta Run Racing website here and use promo code GRRPODCAST for discounts - gottarunracing.com Check out our YouTube Channel here - https://youtube.com/@GottaRunRacing Check out GRR Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/gottarunracing/ Check out GRR Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/gottarunracing/ Support us on Patreon here : https://www.patreon.com/gottarunracing

On this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Laura Arboleda sits down with filmmaker Thea Loo, director of the documentary Inay (Mama).Thea shares the creative process behind the film, which explores the mental health impact of migration from the Philippines to Canada on the children of caregivers. Hear about the film's evolution from a five-minute concept to a feature-length documentary, the challenges of blending personal storytelling with archival research, and collaboration with her husband, Jeremiah.This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival.This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

Daniel Buitrago, Brandon Fifield & Jack Lau hook-up on a remote podcast with special guest & wildlife photographer Jillian Brown of Jillian Brown Photographer   Bitcoin on the rise, planet money podcast, being stocked up on ammo, re-loading and do you have the time, shout out to the patron, On-Step Alaska Podcast, the shoulder season cabin life, Jacks transition after the farms, servicing outboard salt motors, Squamish, BC, (Don't go to Winnipeg!) seasonal, the old school cannon, getting a photo of Sasquatch, Capturing a Pika's, recon and photographing a new tropical area, The cross country paddling adventure, It's (Portage not Portage), (River Angle's), paddling the massive rivers, 150 days on the river, 130 in the field, resupplying, logistics and rest days, 12-days on the Colorado, the river flip ratting, finishing the Lewis & Clark journey, a gear junkie sesh, keeping it old school, paper maps, Floating the Noatak, Seeing the quiet, never stop shooting, river madness,       Visit our website - www.alaskawildproject.com Watch the show on YouTube - www.youtube.com/@alaskawildproject Follow us on Instagram - www.instagram.com/alaskawildproject $upport the show on Patreon - www.patreon.com/alaskawildproject

Show notes below:   Talking Shit With Tara Cheyenne is a Tara Cheyenne Performance Production www.taracheyenne.com Instagram: @TaraCheyenneTCP  /  FB: https://www.facebook.com/taracheyenneperformance Podcast produced, edited and music by Marc Stewart Music www.marcstewartmusic.com    © 2024 Tara Cheyenne Performance   Subscribe/follow share through Podbean and Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts and Spotify.   Donate! To keep this podcast ad-free please go to:  https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/13386   Links: https://vanessakwan.com/ About Vanessa: Vanessa Kwan is an artist, producer, and curator with a focus on collaborative, site-specific and cross-disciplinary practices. They are currently Director + Curator, Gallery and Exhibitions at Emily Carr University on unceded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territories (Vancouver, Canada). They have worked in artistic leadership roles since 2003, contributing to organizations such as grunt gallery, the Vancouver Art Gallery, Other Sights for Artists' Projects, Access Gallery, Powell Street Festival and Out On Screen. They regularly write, speak and publish on art and culture, and since 2017 have been producing residency projects across the Pacific Rim (Vancouver, Seoul, Melbourne and Sydney) exploring artist-led creative exchange. In addition they have produced significant public art works including Geyser for Hillcrest Park (with Erica Stocking), Speaker A, a permanent sound installation co-created with Theatre Replacement (Maiko Yamamoto and James Long) and Curtains, an upcoming collaborative performance work.   About Tara:   Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, is an award winning creator, performer, choreographer, director, writer, and artistic director of Tara Cheyenne Performance, working across disciplines in film, dance, theatre, and experimental performance. She is renowned as a trailblazer in interdisciplinary performance and as a mighty performer "who defies categorization on any level". Along with her own creations Tara has collaborated with many theatre companies and artists including; Zee Zee Theatre, Bard on the Beach, ItsaZoo Theatre, The Arts Club, Boca De Lupo, Ruby Slippers, The Firehall Arts Centre, Vertigo Theatre (Calgary).  With a string of celebrated solo shows to her credit (including bANGER, Goggles, Porno Death Cult, I can't remember the word for I can't remember, Body Parts, Pants), multidisciplinary collaborations, commissions and boundary bending ensemble creations Tara's work is celebrated both nationally and internationally.  Tara is known for her unique and dynamic hybrid of dance, comedy and theatre. She is sought after for creating innovative movement for theatre and has performed her full length solos and ensemble works around the world (highlights: DanceBase/Edinburgh, South Bank Centre/London, On the Boards/Seattle USA, High Performance Rodeo/Calgary etc.). Recent works include a collaboration with Italian dance/performance artist Silvia Gribaudi, empty.swimming.pool, (Castiglioncello, Bassano, Victoria and Vancouver), ensemble creation, how to be,  which premiered at The Cultch, and her solo I can't remember the word for I can't remember, toured widely, and her newest solo Body Parts has been made into a stunning film which is currently touring virtually. Tara lives on the unceded Coast Salish territories with her partner composer Marc Stewart and their child.

Danielle Searancke is an Indigenous spiritual medium, mentor, end-of-life doula, and Founder of Spirit School – the International School of Spiritual Studies. Serving Spirit and the Squamish community from her kitchen table since 2013, Danielle has since expanded her practice to include mentorship through her online platform, Spirit School, and her first physical location on the Squamish waterfront. Each year, she supports thousands of clients worldwide through programs, retreats, and her membership community, The Spirit School Collective. Danielle is known as an uplifting and refreshing mentor, using humour and storytelling to communicate spirituality while honouring our shared humanity. Learn more about Danielle at www.squamishmedium.com or follow her on instagram at www.instagram.com/squamishmedium and check out her podcast, The Spirit School Podcast! Connect with Jessica: Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration and behind-the-scenes content: @jessicadumas.ca Explore ways to work with me, including 1-on-1 mindset coaching and joining the Confidence Collective: Work with Jessica Sponsor Shoutouts: A special thank you to our sponsor, Johnston Group Inc., for their continued support. Learn more about them at Johnston Group Inc.. Use code "JESSICADUMAS" for 15% off your nixit purchase at this nixit.com site Don't forget to try my new fav skincare BBTallow! Use for 100% guarantee @bbtallowb on Instagram and www.bbtallow.ca for shopping! Use code Bbjessica15 for 15% off

We speak with theologian and philosopher Thomas Jay Oord about his church trial and his book Open and Relational Theology. Thomas, who was a minister for many years in the Church of the Nazarene, faced a trial for being inclusive on matters of LGBTQ+ and church participation and blessing. Thomas outlines a theological view that is about love more than it is about traditional concepts of power. This means that he calls for better understanding of what it means that God is all powerful or all knowing. The story of Thomas' trial and excommunication can sound almost medieval, but it reminds us that the struggle over proper belief is very much alive today. Individuals and churches are being excommunicated or disaffiliated. Some people are choosing themselves to part company with a church or denomination based on rigid belief or what they see as damaging theology. Thomas is a regular contributor to podcasts such as Tripp Fuller's Homebrewed Christianity and continues to write and to direct the Center for Open and Relational Theology.   Articles and Episodes Referenced: “Six Heretics Who Should Be Banned From Evangelicalism” – Relevant Magazine, September 13, 2022  “Church Fights: King vs. Liquorish” – Rector's Cupboard, Season 3    Tasting Notes: On today's episode we sampled the Iron Buddha Gin and the Black Tusk Smoked Vodka from Squamish's Raincity Distillery. 

On this episode of the VIFF Podcast, Director of Programming Curtis Woloschuck sits down with filmmaker Mads K. Baekkevold, director of The Chef & the Daruma. Mads shares his creative process and talks about the journey of capturing Chef Hidekazu Tojo's life and legacy. Tune in to hear about Mads' influences, from Tampopo to Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the serendipitous beginnings of the film, and the power of authentic voices.This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival.This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

In episode 278, we get curious about toothpaste for Ananda from California.  We learn why toothpaste is important, what is inside toothpaste, and how to use toothpaste properly.  Noah stops by to share five unbelievable facts you need to Noah about toothpaste.  Then, as an extra yummy treat, we learn how Pop Rocks work for listeners in Squamish, BC. Episode Topic Suggestion Form - https://forms.office.com/r/USsGWVfheH Visit the Curious Kid Podcast Website – http://www.curiouskidpodcast.com Send Us An E-mail – curiouskidpodcast@gmail.com Leave Us A Voicemail – 856-425-2324 Support Us On Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/Curiouskidpodcast Shop Curious Kid Podcast Merchandise – http://tee.pub/lic/fqXchg3wUVU Follow Us On Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/curiouskidpod/ Follow Us On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/curiouskidpodcast/ Follow Us On Twitter – https://twitter.com/CuriousKidPod Visit Us On YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5d6HaNz_UYOaS7YuYayVwg

Sahibzada Mayed is a creative alchemist who uses design and storytelling to cultivate joy and imagination as tools of liberation. Mayed serves as the Co-Lead for Strategy and Research at Pause and Effect, a liberation-focused imagination and design collective based on Coast Salish territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Beyond that, Mayed leads a small-scale startup, Naranji, that focuses on gender justice and decolonization in fashion. Today, we talk about decolonizing design and creative liberation. Listen to learn about: >> The impact of colonialism and power structures on design >> The need for critical social analysis in design >> Designing for Joy >> Decolonizing design >> The importance of locality and place in design >> Rethinking how we think about and experience systems Our Guest Sahibzada Mayed is a creative alchemist who uses design and storytelling to cultivate joy and imagination as tools of liberation. Mayed serves as the Co-Lead for Strategy and Research at Pause and Effect, a liberation-focused imagination and design collective based on Coast Salish territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Beyond that, Mayed leads a small-scale startup, Naranji, that focuses on gender justice and decolonization in fashion. Their work has been prominently featured during New York and Chicago Fashion Weeks and highlighted in several publications across the United States, Pakistan, Thailand, and Japan. Mayed's identity is shaped by their background as a Muslim immigrant of Persian, Afghan, Indian, and Pakistani heritage, as well as lived experiences of queerness, disability, and neurodivergence. Show Highlights [02:15] Mayed's unconventional journey into design, combining engineering and social sciences. [04:05] How this background has helped Mayed in their work. [06:01] Mayed's current work focus is on understanding the impact of colonialism in design. [07:36] The challenge of collaborating when existing power differentials have yet to be addressed. [09:28] What is power? [12:04] Mayed shares thoughts on designing when you're close to, or a part of, the community you're designing for, versus being outside that community. [13:53] Dawan talks about how perfection is the enemy of change. [15:57] The fear and discomfort of taking responsibility for causing harm. [16:28] Good intentions do not absolve responsibility. [17:30] Building accountability into what you design. [19:19] Ethics in design and looking for the potential of harm while designing. [22:45] There is an assumption of neutrality and objectivity around design. [24:47] Designing to prevent harm, and also designing for joy and compassion and care. [29:45] Decolonizing design. [35:12] Grounding design in the context of the place and space where it will live. [38:47] Shifting the way we think about design, to move beyond the human. [40:44] Rethinking how we think about and experience systems. [45:13] Last thoughts from Mayed about doing the work and the responsibility that comes with that. LinksMayed on LinkedInMayed on MediumMayed's websitepause + effect - 5-week intensive, Reimagining ResearchInterview: Fashion Designer Sahibzada MayedCultivating Design Ecologies of Care, Community, and CollaborationI Don't Want A Seat at Your Table w/ sahibzada mayedDecentralizing Power through Design with Sahibzada Mayed and Lauren Lin Book Recommendations Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, by Adrienne Maree Brown DT 101 EpisodesDesign Social Change with Lesley-Ann Noel — DT101 E128 Radical Participatory Design + Relationships in Complex Systems Inclusive Design with Victor Udoewa — DT101 E127 Design Ethics with George Aye — DT101 E136

Discount for Ketone-IQ! Save 30% off your first subscription order & receive a free six pack of Ketone-IQ with https://ketone.com/TRW Caitlin is an impressively fast runner who's just started to dabble in the trails. Without much experience she has already crushed the 50km distance and will be one to watch.  In 2023 she  got third place at the Squamish 50k trail race in August, which was the Canadian trail racing championships. Three weeks later, she won the Queen City full marathon in Regina, 17 seconds off her course record and qualified for Boston marathon. In November she won a World Series trail race in Puerto Vallarta Mexico which was another 50k trail race, called PuertoVallarta UTMB. This upcoming year she's excited to run Boston marathon in April and the world championships of trail running in Chamonix, France at UTMB Mont Blanc.  Find all things from the podcast here! @trailrunningwomenpod  Follow training for HURT100 with a baby: Patreon 

Canadian multi-sport athlete Jessie McAuley, repping Arc'teryx, joins the show to talk about his journey from competitive mountain bike racing in his youth to finding skimo racing for his winter adventures and trail racing for the summer. As if that's not enough Jessie still finds time to bike and climb and goes on long adventure runs in the coastal mountains in British Columbia. This seems to works for the Squamish resident who came in 3rd at this year's Mount Marathon in Seward Alaska and who's getting ready for another busy season of skimo races here in North America and over in Europe. LINKS Jessie McAuley's website: Ocean to Alpine Media Jessie McAuley on Instagram Beast of Big Creek Cover shot by Cayman Waughtel Connect with Singletrack on: Singletrack.fm Instagram Brought to you by Electric Cable Car - your trail and mountain news!

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Oct. 11. It dropped for free subscribers on Oct. 18. To receive future episodes as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. You can also subscribe to the free tier below:WhoAndy Cohen, General Manager of Fernie Alpine Resort, British ColumbiaRecorded onSeptember 3, 2024About FernieClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, which also owns:Located in: Fernie, British ColumbiaPass affiliations:* Epic Pass: 7 days, shared with Kicking Horse, Kimberley, Nakiska, Stoneham, and Mont-Sainte Anne* RCR Rockies Season Pass: unlimited access, along with Kicking Horse, Kimberley, and NakiskaClosest neighboring ski areas: Fairmont Hot Springs (1:15), Kimberley (1:27), Panorama (1:45) – travel times vary considerably given time of year and weather conditionsBase elevation: 3,450 feet/1,052 metersSummit elevation: 7,000 feet/2,134 metersVertical drop: 3,550 feet/1,082 metersSkiable Acres: 2,500+Average annual snowfall: 360 inches/914 Canadian inches (also called centimeters)Trail count: 145 named runs plus five alpine bowls and tree skiing (4% extreme, 21% expert, 32% advanced, 30% intermediate, 13% novice)Lift count: 10 (2 high-speed quads, 2 fixed-grip quads, 3 triples, 1 T-bar, 1 Poma, 1 conveyor - view Lift Blog's inventory of Fernie's lift fleet)Why I interviewed himOne of the most irritating dwellers of the #SkiInternet is Shoosh Emoji Bro. This Digital Daniel Boone, having boldly piloted his Subaru beyond the civilized bounds of Interstate 70, considers all outlying mountains to be his personal domain. So empowered, he patrols the digital sphere, dropping shoosh emojis on any poster that dares to mention Lost Trail or White Pass or Baker or Wolf Creek. Like an overzealous pamphleteer, he slings his brand haphazardly, toward any mountain kingdom he deems worthy of his forcefield. Shoosh Emoji Bro once Shoosh Emoji-ed me over a post about Alta.

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse welcomes Edzi'u, a Tahltan and Tlingit artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Edzi'u is an innovative songwriter and composer who paints stories of the past, present and future with textures, elders' stories, words, and their ethereal voice. Edzi'u is the gentlest balance of hard and soft, a non-binary 2-spirit Indigiqueer femme, their strength of identity resonates in their music to create a fullness of fierce spirit combined with an elegant grace. Their new music is full of thick synths, drums dripping with reverb and a mix of a modern take on 80s and 90s sounds that blends the nostalgic essence of Stevie Nicks, the raw emotional depth of Sharon Van Etten, and the atmospheric electronic textures of DRAMA. The result is a sonic river of pain and beauty that sweetly soars into a singular, healing journey. Tiokasin talks with Edzi'u about their new EP, “Tunnel Vision,” a poignant exploration of the cruelty of heartbreak, the painful truth of mistreatment, and the radiant journey of resurgence. With vulnerability and fortitude, each track lingers with the listener like a cherished memory. Edzi'u invites listeners into an auditory sanctuary where music serves as both refuge and revelation. In this sacred space, reclamation of self stands as the most powerful act of all. Edzi'u and their artistry is a beacon of auntie joy for queer and Indigenous communities and beyond, embodying resilience, grace, and unapologetic authenticity. Find out more about Edzi' at https://www.edziumusic.com/ Production Credits: Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Lakota), Host and Executive Producer Liz Hill (Red Lake Ojibwe), Producer Karen Martinez (Mayan), Studio Engineer, Radio Kingston Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Audio Editor Kevin Richardson, Podcast Editor Music Selections: 1. Song Title: Tahi Roots Mix (First Voices Radio Theme Song) Artist: Moana and the Moa Hunters Album: Tahi (1993) Label: Southside Records (Australia and New Zealand) 2. Song Title: Raven Clan Welcome Artist: Edzi'u Album: Potlatch in the Box (2023) Label: Ts'ats'ée Sounds 3. Song Title: Can You Introduce Yourself in the Language Artist: Edzi'u Album: Potlatch in the Box (2023) Label: Ts'ats'ée Sounds 4. Song Title: Not Enough Artist: Edzi'u Album: Tunnel Vision (2024) Label: Ts'ats'ée Sounds 5. Song Title: You Don't Wanna Know Me Artist: Edzi'u Album: Potlatch in the Box (2023) Label: Ts'ats'ée Sounds 6. Song Title: Ego Death Artist: Edzi'u Album: Tunnel Vision (2024) Label: Ts'ats'ée Sounds 7. Song Title: Warrior Song Artist: Edzi'u Album: Potlatch in the Box (2023) Label: Ts'ats'ée Sounds 8. Song Title: Fly With Us (feat. Ara Eden) Artist: Sarita Album: Earth Anthems (2024) Label: Ancient Future Productions AKANTU INTELLIGENCE Visit Akantu Intelligence, an institute that Tiokasin founded with a mission of contextualizing original wisdom for troubled times. Go to https://akantuintelligence.org to find out more and consider joining his Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/Ghosthorse

On Episode 292 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a hotel in Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh) during the Arc'teryx Academy with Olympian Hamish McArthur and British competition climber Holly Toothill. I arrived in Squamish with Hamish booked and asked Holly to join at the last minute as a friend, teammate, and observer of Hamish's performance in … Continue reading "Enormocast 292: Hamish McArthur and Holly Toothill – Showing Up"

One of the most common excuses I hear from folks who aren't completely vegan yet is, “It's way too difficult to travel as a vegan!” Well, here's the only B.S.-busting, info-packed episode you need if you're a vegan interested in travelling the world. Brighde Reed is one of the founders of World Vegan Travel, a company dedicated to creating luxurious, immersive group travel experiences for vegans and the vegan-curious. Based in Squamish, BC, Brighde lives with Seb, the co-owner of World Vegan Travel. Before embarking on her journey in the travel industry, Brighde was a dedicated teacher. Her love for exploration has taken her across the globe, having lived in Thailand, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and now Canada. Brighde and Seb started World Vegan Travel in 2017. World Vegan Travel offers enriching travel experiences to a variety of destinations, including Thailand, Italy, Rwanda, Vietnam, and Japan. Each trip combines cultural immersion and exceptional plant-based cuisine. When she's not planning trips, Brighde enjoys hiking and immersing herself in nature.

Future Ecologies presents "The Right to Feel," a two episode mini-series on the emotional realities of the climate crisis.The second and final episode, “Eulogies,” is based on fictional writing from the class. Students imagine and eulogize something that could be harmed by the climate emergency, and then imagine a speculative future in which action was taken to mitigate that harm.Over a two-year period, associate professor of climate justice and co-director of the UBC Centre for Climate Justice Naomi Klein taught a small graduate seminar designed to help young scholars put the emotions of the climate and extinction crises into words. The students came from a range of disciplines, ranging from zoology to political science, and they wrote eulogies for predators and pollinators, alongside love letters to paddling and destroyed docks. Across these diverse methods of scholarship, the students uncovered layers of emotion far too often left out of scholarly approaches to the climate emergency. They put these emotions into words, both personal reflections and fictional stories.“The Right to Feel” was produced on the unceded and asserted territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.Find a transcript, citations, credits, and more at www.futureecologies.net/listen/the-right-to-feel— — —Part 2: Eulogies02:15 – Clione by Annika Ord12:49 –The Abundance Will Be Forever by Judith Burr24:03 – A Eulogy for Wolves by Niki33:33 – Return of the Hidden Worlds by Sadie Rittman44:59 — Eulogy for the Bees by Rhonda Thygesen

Future Ecologies presents "The Right to Feel," a two episode mini-series on the emotional realities of the climate crisis.This first episode, “Climate Feelings,” is a collection of students' non-fiction essays and reflections on their personal realities of living with and researching the climate crisis. The first episode opens with an introductory conversation between Naomi Klein and series producer Judee Burr that contextualizes how this class was structured and the writings it evoked.Over a two-year period, associate professor of climate justice and co-director of the UBC Centre for Climate Justice Naomi Klein taught a small graduate seminar designed to help young scholars put the emotions of the climate and extinction crises into words. The students came from a range of disciplines, ranging from zoology to political science, and they wrote eulogies for predators and pollinators, alongside love letters to paddling and destroyed docks. Across these diverse methods of scholarship, the students uncovered layers of emotion far too often left out of scholarly approaches to the climate emergency. They put these emotions into words, both personal reflections and fictional stories.“The Right to Feel” was produced on the unceded and asserted territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.Find a transcript, citations, credits, and more at www.futureecologies.net/listen/the-right-to-feel— — —Part 1: Climate Feelings2:38 — Introduction by Judee Burr and Naomi Klein19:05 — Connection to Jericho Willows by Ali Tafreshi22:27 — Connection to the Water by Foster Salpeter27:06 — Connection to Family and Land by Sara Savino31:01 — Scientists and Feelings by Annika Ord36:00 — Biking away from the Smoke by Ruth Moore39:32 — Climate Sensitivity on the Bus by Nina Robertson43:13 — Grief and Climate Change Economics by Felix Giroux46:36 — The Age of Sanctuary by Melissa Plisic52:04 — Age of Tehom by Maggie O'Donnell

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on June 10. It dropped for free subscribers on June 17. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. You can also subscribe to the free tier below:WhoBelinda Trembath, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Whistler Blackcomb, British ColumbiaRecorded onJune 3, 2024About Whistler BlackcombClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Vail Resorts (majority owners; Nippon Cable owns a 25 percent stake in Whistler Blackcomb)Located in: Whistler, British ColumbiaYear founded: 1966Pass affiliations:* Epic Pass: unlimited* Epic Local Pass: 10 holiday-restricted days, shared with Vail Mountain and Beaver CreekClosest neighboring ski areas: Grouse Mountain (1:26), Cypress (1:30), Mt. Seymour (1:50) – travel times vary based upon weather conditions, time of day, and time of yearBase elevation: 2,214 feet (675 meters)Summit elevation: 7,497 feet (2,284 meters)Vertical drop: 5,283 feet (1,609 meters)Skiable Acres: 8,171Average annual snowfall: 408 inches (1,036 centimeters)Trail count: 276 (20% easiest, 50% more difficult, 30% most difficult)Lift count: A lot (1 28-passenger gondola, 3 10-passenger gondolas, 1 8-passenger gondola, 1 8-passenger pulse gondola, 8 high-speed quads, 4 six-packs, 1 eight-pack, 3 triples, 2 T-bars, 7 carpets – view Lift Blog's inventory of Whistler Blackcomb's lift fleet) – inventory includes upgrade of Jersey Cream Express from a quad to a six-pack for the 2024-25 ski season.Why I interviewed herHistorical records claim that when Lewis and Clark voyaged west in 1804, they were seeking “the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent, for the purposes of commerce.” But they were actually looking for Whistler Blackcomb.Or at least I think they were. What other reason is there to go west but to seek out these fabulous mountains, rising side by side and a mile* into the sky, where Pacific blow-off splinters into summit blizzards and packed humanity animates the village below?There is nothing else like Whistler in North America. It is our most complete, and our greatest, ski resort. Where else does one encounter this collision of terrain, vertical, panorama, variety, and walkable life, interconnected with audacious aerial lifts and charged by a pilgrim-like massing of skiers from every piece and part of the world? Europe and nowhere else. Except for here.Other North American ski resorts offer some of these things, and some of them offer better versions of them than Whistler. But none of them has all of them, and those that have versions of each fail to combine them all so fluidly. There is no better snow than Alta-Snowbird snow, but there is no substantive walkable village. There is no better lift than Jackson's tram, but the inbounds terrain lacks scale and the town is miles away. There is no better energy than Palisades Tahoe energy, but the Pony Express is still carrying news of its existence out of California.Once you've skied Whistler – or, more precisely, absorbed it and been absorbed by it – every other ski area becomes Not Whistler. The place lingers. You carry it around. Place it into every ski conversation. “Have you been to Whistler?” If not, you try to describe it. But it can't be done. “Just go,” you say, and that's as close as most of us can come to grabbing the raw power of the place.*Or 1.6 Canadian Miles (sometimes referred to as “kilometers”).What we talked aboutWhy skier visits dropped at Whistler-Blackcomb this past winter; the new Fitzsimmons eight-passenger express and what it took to modify a lift that had originally been intended for Park City; why skiers can often walk onto that lift with little to no wait; this summer's Jersey Cream lift upgrade; why Jersey Cream didn't require as many modifications as Fitzsimmons even though it was also meant for Park City; the complexity of installing a mid-mountain lift; why WB had to cancel 2024 summer skiing and what that means for future summer seasons; could we see a gondola serving the glacier instead?; Vail's Australian trio of Mt. Hotham, Perisher, and Falls Creek; Whistler's wild weather; the distinct identities of Blackcomb and Whistler; what WB means to Vail Resorts; WB's Olympic legacy; Whistler's surprisingly low base elevation and what that means for the visitor; WB's relationship with local First Nations; priorities for future lift upgrades and potential changes to the Whistler gondola, Seventh Heaven, Whistler T-bar, Franz's, Garbanzo; discussing proposed additional lifts in Symphony Bowl and elsewhere on Whistler; potential expansion into a fourth portal; potential new or upgraded lifts sketched out in Blackcomb Mountain's masterplan; why WB de-commissioned the Hortsman T-Bar; missing the Wizard-to-Solar-Coaster access that the Blackcomb Gondola replaced; WB's amazing self-managing lift mazes; My Epic App direct-to-lift access is coming to Whistler; employee housing; why Whistler's season pass costs more than an Epic Pass; and Edge cards.   Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewFour new major lifts in three years; the cancellation of summer skiing; “materially lower” skier visits at Whistler this past winter, as reported by Vail Resorts – all good topics, all enough to justify a check-in. Oh and the fact that Whistler Blackcomb is the largest ski area in the Western Hemisphere, the crown jewel in Vail's sprawling portfolio, the single most important ski area on the continent.And why is that? What makes this place so special? The answer lies only partly in its bigness. Whistler is vast. Whistler is thrilling. Whistler is everything you hope a ski area will be when you plan your winter vacation. But most important of all is that Whistler is proof.Proof that such a place can exist in North America. U.S. America is stuck in a development cycle that typically goes like this:* Ski area proposes a new expansion/base area development/chairlift/snowmaking upgrade.* A small group of locals picks up the pitchforks because Think of the Raccoons/this will gut the character of our bucolic community of car-dependent sprawl/this will disrupt one very specific thing that is part of my personal routine that heavens me I just can't give up.* Said group files a lawsuit/formal objection/some other bureaucratic obstacle, halting the project.* Resort justifies the project/adapts it to meet locals' concerns/makes additional concessions in the form of land swaps, operational adjustments, infrastructure placement, and the like.* Group insists upon maximalist stance of Do Nothing.* Resort makes additional adjustments.* Group is Still Mad* Cycle repeats for years* Either nothing ever gets done, or the project is built 10 to 15 years after its reveal and at considerable extra expense in the form of studies, legal fees, rising materials and labor costs, and expensive and elaborate modifications to accommodate one very specific thing, like you can't operate the lift from May 1 to April 20 because that would disrupt the seahorse migration between the North and South Poles.In BC, they do things differently. I've covered this extensively, in podcast conversations with the leaders of Sun Peaks, Red Mountain, and Panorama. The civic and bureaucratic structures are designed to promote and encourage targeted, smart development, leading to ever-expanding ski areas, human-scaled and walkable base area infrastructure, and plenty of slopeside or slope-adjacent accommodations.I won't exhaust that narrative again here. I bring it up only to say this: Whistler has done all of these things at a baffling scale. A large, vibrant, car-free pedestrian village where people live and work. A gargantuan lift across an unbridgeable valley. Constant infrastructure upgrades. Reliable mass transit. These things can be done. Whistler is proof.That BC sits directly atop Washington State, where ski areas have to spend 15 years proving that installing a stop sign won't undermine the 17-year cicada hatching cycle, is instructive. Whistler couldn't exist 80 miles south. Maybe the ski area, but never the village. And why not? Such communities, so concentrated, require a small footprint in comparison to the sprawl of a typical development of single-family homes. Whistler's pedestrian base village occupies an area around a half mile long and less than a quarter mile wide. And yet, because it is a walkable, mixed-use space, it cuts down reliance on driving, enlivens the ski area, and energizes the soul. It is proof that human-built spaces, properly conceived, can create something worthwhile in what, 50 years ago, was raw wilderness, even if they replace a small part of the natural world.A note from Whistler on First NationsTrembath and I discuss Whistler's relationship with First Nations extensively, but her team sent me some follow-up information to clarify their role in the mountain's development:Belinda didn't really have time to dive into a very important piece of the First Nations involvement in the operational side of things:* There was significant engagement with First Nations as a part of developing the masterplans.* Their involvement and support were critical to the approval of the masterplans and to ensuring that all parties and their respective communities will benefit from the next 60 years of operation.* This includes the economic prosperity of First Nations – both the Squamish and Líl̓wat Nations will participate in operational success as partners.* To ensure this, the Province of British Columbia, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Whistler Blackcomb and the Squamish and Líl̓wat Nations are engaged in agreements on how to work together in the future.* These agreements, known as the Umbrella Agreement, run concurrently with the Master Development Agreements and masterplans, providing a road map for our relationship with First Nations over the next 60 years of operations and development. * Key requirements include Revenue Sharing, Real Estate Development, Employment, Contracting & Recreational Opportunities, Marketing and Tourism and Employee Housing. There is an Implementation Committee, which oversees the execution of the agreement. * This is a landmark agreement and the only one of its kind within the mountain resort industry.What we got wrongI mentioned that “I'd never seen anything like” the lift mazes at Whistler, but that's not quite accurate. Vail Resorts deploys similar setups throughout its western portfolio. What I hadn't seen before is such choreographed and consistent navigation of these mazes by the skiers themselves. To watch a 500-person liftline squeeze itself into one loading ramp with no personnel direction or signage, and to watch nearly every chair lift off fully loaded, is to believe, at least for seven to nine minutes, in humanity as a worthwhile ongoing experiment.I said that Edge Cards were available for up to six days of skiing. They're actually available in two-, five-, or 10-day versions. If you're not familiar with Edge cards, it's because they're only available to residents of Canada and Washington State.Whistler officials clarified the mountain's spring skiing dates, which Trembath said started on May 14. The actual dates were April 15 to May 20.Why you should ski Whistler BlackcombYou know that thing you do where you step outside and you can breathe as though you didn't just remove your space helmet on the surface of Mars? You can do that at Whistler too. The village base elevation is 2,214 feet. For comparison's sake: Salt Lake City's airport sits at 4,227 feet; Denver's is at 5,434. It only goes up from there. The first chairlifts sit at 6,800 feet in Park City; 8,100 at Snowbird; 8,120 at Vail; 8,530 at Alta; 8,750 at Brighton; 9,000 at Winter Park; 9,280 at Keystone; 9,600 at Breckenridge; 9,712 at Copper Mountain; and an incredible 10,780 feet at Arapahoe Basin. Taos sits at 9,200 feet. Telluride at 8,750. Adaptation can be brutal when parachuting in from sea level, or some nominal inland elevation above it, as most of us do. At 8,500 feet, I get winded searching my hotel room for a power outlet, let alone skiing, until my body adjusts to the thinner air. That Whistler requires no such reconfiguration of your atomic structure to do things like blink and speak is one of the more underrated features of the place.Another underrated feature: Whistler Blackcomb is a fantastic family mountain. While Whistler is a flip-doodle factory of Stoke Brahs every bit the equal of Snowbird or Jackson Hole, it is not Snowbird or Jackson Hole. Which is to say, the place offers beginner runs that are more than across-the-fall line cat tracks and 300-vertical-foot beginner pods. While it's not promoted like the celebrated Peak-to-Creek route, a green trail (or sequence of them), runs nearly 5,000 uninterrupted vertical feet from Whistler's summit to the base village. In fact, with the exception of Blackcomb's Glacier Express, every one of the ski area's 16 chairlifts (even the fearsome Peak Express), and five gondolas offers a beginner route that you can ski all the way back to the base. Yes, some of them shuffle into narrow cat tracks for stretches, but mostly these are wide, approachable trails, endless and effortless, built, it seems, for ski-family safaris of the confidence-building sort.Those are maybe the things you're not thinking of. The skiing:Most skiers start with one of the three out-of-base village gondolas, but the new Fitz eight-seater rarely has a line. Start there:That's mostly a transit lift. At the top, head up the Garbanzo quad, where you can start to understand the scale of the thing:You're still not quite to the goods. But to get a sense of the mountain, ski down to Big Red:This will take you to Whistler's main upper-mountain portal, Roundhouse. From Whistler, you can see Blackcomb strafing the sky:From Roundhouse, it's a short ski down to the Peak Express:Depending upon your route down, you may end up back at Big Red. Ride back up to Roundhouse, then meander from Emerald to Harmony to Symphony lifts. For a moment on the way down Symphony, it feels like Euroski:Just about everyone sticks to the narrow groomers:But there are plenty of bumps and trees and wide-open bowls:Nice as this terrain is, the Peak 2 Peak Gondola summons you from all over the mountain:Whoosh. To Blackcomb in an instant, crossing the valley, 1,427 feet to the bottom, and out at Blackcomb's upper-mountain base, Rendezvous. Down to Glacier Express, and up a rolling fantasyland of infinite freeride terrain:And at the top it's like damn.From here, you can transfer to the Showcase T-bar if it's open. If not, climb Spanky's Ladder, and, Kaboom out on the other side:Ride Crystal Ridge or Excelerator back up, and run a lap through bowls and glades:Then ski back down to the village, ride Jersey Cream back to Rendezvous to connect to the spectacular 7th Heaven lift, or ride the gondy back over to Whistler to repeat the whole cycle. And that's just a sampling. I'm no Whistler expert - just go have fun and get lost in the whole thing.Podcast NotesOn the Lost Lifts of Park CityIt's slightly weird and enormously hilarious that the Fitzsimmons eight-seater that Whistler installed last summer and the Jersey Cream sixer that Blackcomb will drop on the mountain this year were originally intended for Park City. As I wrote in 2022:Last September, Vail Resorts announced what was likely the largest set of single-season lift upgrades in the history of the world: $315-plus million on 19 lifts (later increased to 21 lifts) across 14 ski areas. Two of those lifts would land in Park City: a D-line eight-pack would replace the Silverlode six, and a six-pack would replace the Eagle and Eaglet triples. Two more lifts in a town with 62 of them (Park City sits right next door to Deer Valley). Surely this would be another routine project for the world's largest ski area operator.It wasn't. In June, four local residents – Clive Bush, Angela Moschetta, Deborah Rentfrow, and Mark Stemler – successfully appealed the Park City Planning Commission's previous approval of the lift projects.“The upgrades were appealed on the basis that the proposed eight-place and six-place chairs were not consistent with the 1998 development agreement that governs the resort,” SAM wrote at the time. “The planning commission also cited the need for a more thorough review of the resort's comfortable carrying capacity calculations and parking mitigation plan, finding PCM's proposed paid parking plan at the Mountain Village insufficient.”So instead of rising on the mountain, the lifts spent the summer, in pieces, in the parking lot. Vail admitted defeat, at least temporarily. “We are considering our options and next steps based on today's disappointing decision—but one thing is clear—we will not be able to move forward with these two lift upgrades for the 22-23 winter season,” Park City Mountain Resort Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Deirdra Walsh said in response to the decision.One of the options Vail apparently considered was trucking the lifts to friendlier locales. Last Wednesday, as part of its year-end earnings release, Vail announced that the two lifts would be moved to Whistler and installed in time for the 2023-24 ski season. The eight-pack will replace the 1,129-vertical-foot Fitzsimmons high-speed quad on Whistler, giving the mountain 18 seats (!) out of the village (the lift runs alongside the 10-passenger Whistler Village Gondola). The six-pack will replace the Jersey Cream high-speed quad on Blackcomb, a midmountain lift with a 1,230-foot vertical rise.The whole episode is still one of the dumber things I'm aware of. There are like 80 lifts in Park City and two more (replacements, not all-new lines), apparently would have knocked the planet off its axis and sent us caterwauling into the sun. It's enough to make you un-see all the human goodness in Whistler's magical lift queues. More here.On Fitzsimmons 8's complex lineAmong the challenges of re-engineering the Fitzsimmons 8 for Whistler was the fact that the lift had to pass under the Whistler Village Gondola:Trembath and I talk a little about Fitz's download capability. Team Whistler sent over some additional information following our chat, indicating that the winter download capacity is four riders per chair (part of the original lift design, when it was meant for Park City). Summer download, for bike park operations, is limited to one passenger (a lower capacity than the original design).On Whistler's bike parkI'm not Bike Park Bro, though I could probably be talked into it fairly easily if I didn't already spend half the year wandering around the country in search of novel snowsportskiing operations. I do, however, ride my bike around NYC just about every day from May through October-ish, which in many ways resembles the giant jungle gyms that are downhill mountain bike parks, just with fewer jumps and a higher probability of decapitation by box truck.Anyway Whistler supposedly has the best bike park this side of Neptune, and we talk about it a bit, and so I'll include the trailmap even though I'd have a better chance of translating ancient Aramaic runes etched into a cave wall than I would of explaining exactly what's happening here:On Jersey Cream “not looking like much” on the trailmapBecause Whistler's online trailmap is shrunken to fit the same rectangular container that every ski map fills in the Webosphere, it fails to convey the scale of the operation (the paper version, which you can acquire if you slip a bag of gold bars and a map to the Lost City of Atlantis to a clerk at the guest services desk, is aptly called a “mountain atlas” and better captures the breadth of the place). The Jersey Cream lift and pod, for example, presents on the trailmap as an inconsequential connector lift between the Glacier Express and Rendezous station, where three other lifts convene. But this is a 1,230-vertical-foot, 4,647-foot-long machine that could, were you to hack it from the earth and transport it into the wilderness, be a fairly substantial ski area on its own. For context, 1,200 vertical feet is roughly the rise of Eldora or Monarch, or, for Easterners, Cranmore or Black Mountain.On the Whistler and Blackcomb masterplansUnlike the U.S. American Forest Service, which often fails to post ski area master development plans on their useless 1990s vintage websites, the British Columbia authorities have neatly organized all of their province's masterplans on one webpage. Whistler and Blackcomb mountains each file separate plans, last updated in 2013. That predates Vail Resorts' acquisition by three years, and Trembath and I discuss how closely (or not), these plans align with the company's current thinking around the resort.Whistler Mountain:Blackcomb Mountain:On Vail's Australian ski areasTrembath, at different points, oversaw all three of Vail Resorts' Australian ski areas. Though much of that tenure predated Vail's acquisitions (of Hotham and Falls Creek in 2019), she ran Perisher (purchased in 2015), for a year before leaping to the captain's chair at Whistler. Trembath provides a terrific breakdown of each of the three ski areas, and they look like a lot of fun:Perisher:Falls Creek:Hotham:On Sugar Bowl ParallelsTrembath's story follows a similar trajectory to that of Bridget Legnavsky, whose decades-long career in New Zealand included running a pair of that country's largest ski resorts. She then moved to North America to run a large ski area – in her case, Sugar Bowl near Lake Tahoe's North Shore. She appeared on the podcast in March.On Merlin EntertainmentI was unfamiliar with Merlin Entertainment, the former owner of Falls Creek and Hotham. The company is enormous, and owns Legoland Parks, Madame Tussauds, and dozens of other familiar brands.On Whistler and Blackcomb as formerly separate ski areasLike Park City (formerly Park City and Canyons) and Palisades Tahoe (formerly Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley), Whistler and Blackcomb were once separate ski areas. Here's the stoke version of the mountains' joint history (“You were either a Whistler skier, or you were a Blackcomb skier”):On First Nations' language on lifts and the Gondola Gallery projectAs Whistler builds new lifts, the resort tags the lift terminals with names in English and First Nations languages. From Pique Magazine at the opening of the Fitzsimmons eight-pack last December:Whistler Mountain has a brand-new chairlift ready to ferry keen skiers and snowboarders up to mid-mountain, with the rebuilt Fitzsimmons Express opening to guests early on Dec. 12. …“Importantly, this project could not have happened without the guidance and counsel of the First Nations partners,” said Trembath.“It's so important to us that their culture continues to be represented across these mountains in everything we do.”In keeping with those sentiments, the new Fitzsimmons Express is emblazoned with First Nations names alongside its English name: In the Squamish language, it is known as Sk_wexwnách, for Valley Creek, and in the Lil'wat language, it is known as Tsíqten, which means Fish Spear.New chairlifts are given First Nations names at Whistler Blackcomb as they are installed and opened.Here's Fitzsimmons:And Big Red, a sixer installed two years ago:Whistler also commissioned First Nations artists to wrap two cabins on the Peak 2 Peak Gondola. From Daily Hive:The Peak 2 Peak gondola, which connects Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, is showing off artwork created by First Nations artists, which can be seen by mountain-goers at BC's premiere ski resort.Vail Resorts commissioned local Indigenous artists to redesign two gondola cabins. Levi Nelson of Lil'wat Nation put his stamp on one with “Red,” while Chief Janice George and Buddy Joseph of Squamish Nation have created “Wings of Thunder.” …“Red is a sacred colour within Indigenous culture, representing the lifeblood of the people and our connection to the Earth,” said Nelson, an artist who excels at contemporary Indigenous art. “These shapes come from and are inspired by my ancestors. To be inside the gondola, looking out through an ovoid or through the Ancestral Eye, maybe you can imagine what it's like to experience my territory and see home through my eyes.”“It's more than just the techniques of weaving. It's about ways of being and seeing the world. Passing on information that's meaningful. We've done weavings on murals, buildings, reviving something that was put away all those decades ago now,” said Chief Janice George and Buddy Joseph.“The significance of the Thunderbird being on the gondola is that it brings the energy back on the mountain and watching over all of us.”A pic:On Native American issues in the U.S.I referenced conflicts between U.S. ski resorts and Native Americans, without providing specifics. The Forest Service cited objections from Native American communities, among other factors, in recommending a “no action” alternative to Lutsen Mountains' planned expansion last year. The Washoe tribe has attempted to “reclaim” land that Diamond Peak operates on. The most prominent dispute, however, has been a decades-long standoff between Arizona Snowbowl and indigenous tribes. Per The Guardian in 2022:The Arizona Snowbowl resort, which occupies 777 acres (314 hectares) on the mountain's slope, has attracted skiers during the winter and spring for nearly a century. But its popularity has boomed in recent years thanks to growing populations in Phoenix, a three hour's drive away, and neighbouring Flagstaff. During peak ski season, the resort draws upwards of 3,000 visitors a day.More than a dozen Indigenous nations who hold the mountain sacred have fought Snowbowl's existence since the 1930s. These include the Pueblo of Acoma, Fort McDowell Yavapai; Havasupai; Hopi; Hualapai; Navajo; San Carlos Apache; San Juan Southern Paiute; Tonto Apache; White Mountain Apache; Yavapai Apache, Yavapai Prescott, and Pueblo of Zuni. They say the resort's presence has disrupted the environment and their spiritual connection to the mountain, and that its use of treated sewage effluent to make snow is akin to baptizing a baby with wastewater.Now, a proposed $60m expansion of Snowbowl's facilities has brought simmering tensions to a boil.The US Forest Service, the agency that manages the national forest land on which Snowbowl is built, is weighing a 15-year expansion proposal that would bulk up operations, increase visitation and add new summer recreational facilities such as mountain biking trails, a zip line and outdoor concerts. A coalition of tribes, meanwhile, is resisting in unprecedented ways.The battle is emblematic of a vast cultural divide in the American west over public lands and how they should be managed. On one side are mostly financially well-off white people who recreate in national forests and parks; on the other are Indigenous Americans dispossessed from those lands who are struggling to protect their sacred sites.“Nuva'tukya'ovi is our Mount Sinai. Why can't the forest service understand that?,” asks Preston.On the tight load at the 7th Heaven liftYikes:Honestly it's pretty organized and the wait isn't that long, but this is very popular terrain and the trails could handle a higher-capacity lift (nearly everyone skis the Green Line trail or one of the blue groomers off this lift, leaving hundreds of acres of off-piste untouched; it's pretty glorious).On Wizard and Solar CoasterEvery local I spoke with in Whistler grumped about the Blackcomb Gondola, which replaced the Wizard and Solar Coaster high-speed quads in 2018. While the 10-passenger gondy substantively follows the same lines, it fails to provide the same mid-mountain fast-lap firepower that Solar Coaster once delivered. Both because removing your skis after each lap is a drag, and because many skiers ride the gondola up to Rendezvous, leaving fewer free mid-mountain seats than the empty quad chairs once provided. Here's a before-and-after:On Whistler's season passWhistler's season pass, which is good at Whistler Blackcomb and only Whistler Blackcomb, strangely costs more ($1,047 U.S.) than a full Epic Pass ($1,004 U.S.), which also provides unlimited access to Whistler and Vail's other 41 ski areas. It's weird. Trembath explains.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 42/100 in 2024, and number 542 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe