Whistler "World Class" Destination

Listen Dollz, we know it, all of us locals - whatz all this "world class" BS?

Whistler is and always has been "world class" - just because VANOC received a budget of $6billion, suddenly, Whistler must be turned into some fake "Disneyland" of Canada - we don't think so.

Since the highway between Vancouver and Whistler was navigable, Whistler was an elite destination for the international jet-set who became tired of skiing in Lausanne or the Dolomites. For the locals, Whistler was a hidden paradise in the mountains - and escape from the frenetic city, a jewel to be cherished.

Those of us who live, work and play here are not interested in becoming a fake destination so that we can fit into the superficial perceptions of some city folk with budgets that are larger than their egos....we support sustainable growth, green growth and economic growth that compliments and provides for the families who sustain Whistler...these include families and individuals in Squamish and Pemberton.

We love this place, we all moved here for a reason and it had something to do with the majesty, beauty and clean air...we aren't going to welcome anyone who'll mess that up for us.

So, let's keep it real, folks. This can all work out for all of us, if we reject superficial cliches and foreign interference. Hopefully, the new CEO of Intrawest and the Dudes from VANOC will appreciate our sentiments.

Poverty Olympics Hosted in Vancouver, British Columbia

"WELCOME TO THE VANCOUVER OLYMPICS: BE CAREFUL NOT TO TRIP OVER THE POOR STREET PEOPLE BECAUSE $6 BILLION WAS NOT ENOUGH TO PROVIDE HOUSING FOR THEM AS WELL AS HOST THE 2010 WINTER GAMES."

Jean Swanson and her gang deserve an award for trying to get Campbell's government and VANOC, The Vancouver Olympic Committee, to do something serious about the poverty in Vancouver's downtown Eastside community.

VANCOUVER POVERTY OLYMPICS
Some of the highlights were:Poverty-Line High Jump; Long Jump (over a bedbug infested mattress); Welfare Hurdles.

Poverty Olympic Mascots were:Itchy the Bedbug, Chewy the Rat and Creepy the Cockroach.

It isn't meant to be funny.

January 24, 2008 email print
Carnegie Theatre to stage Poverty Olympics
By Matthew Burrows

"Long-time antipoverty activist Jean Swanson told the Straight she “never really had any confidence or faith” in the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics.

So she is one of the organizers behind an Olympics-style event with a twist: the Poverty Olympics. Spectators can come to Carnegie Theatre (401 Main Street) and check out the poverty-line high jump, the welfare hurdles, and a “broad jump across a bedbug-infested mattress”. Swanson is a coordinator with the Carnegie Community Action Project, a sponsor of the event next Sunday (February 3), from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and she is also involved with the Raise the Rates Coalition.

“We want to be able to put some pressure on the government to do something about welfare, housing, and minimum wage,” Swanson said by phone. “It has been hard lately, not so much with housing, but there has not been much interest with the other things. So we thought we would do this.” Swanson promised to e-mail international media to “show the world coming to the Olympics what the real poverty situation in Vancouver is”.

CCAP community organizer Wendy Pedersen handed out Poverty Olympics posters at the Coal Harbour Community Centre on January 13, where she told the Straight that other organizations behind the event include the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, Streams of Justice, and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.

Pedersen mentioned the Poverty Olympics when former Vancouver city planner Kris Olds lectured at SFU’s Harbour Centre campus on January 21 on housing rights.

Swanson quipped: “The Olympics are going to have mascots, so we are going to have mascots. They are not going to be made in China, and they are not going to be contortions of aboriginal stuff. We have Itchy, and you’ll have to come to find out the other two. Itchy is a bedbug.”

Swanson also had three quick requests for Premier Gordon Campbell: “Build thousands of units of housing, raise welfare rates, and end barriers to getting on welfare.”