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SLCC, Audain Art Museum set to reopen

Both institutions opening their doors on Friday, June 26

Two Whistler arts and cultural institutions have announced that they will be re-opening on Friday, June 26 with new COVID-19 protocols in place. The Audain Art Museum and the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC) will both be opening their doors after months of restrictions.…

Becoming the best Canadian female boulderer

Film documents Squamish ascent that made Allison Vest become the first Canadian woman to top V13

It was one of those climbs that turned into an obsession. After coming back from a disappointing performance at last year’s world championship competition, Allison Vest threw her frustration into ascending one of Squamish’s toughest boulders.…

Feds will go after ‘deliberate fraudsters’ of CERB, warns Trudeau

PM also defends lack of fiscal update amid pandemic

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau once again cautioned that the federal government would be going after those who “knowingly and wilfully” have made false claims for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). “We’re not looking at punishing people who just made honest mistakes,” the prime minister said during a Tuesday (June 9) media briefing.…

BC Parks funding up for grabs

Proposals due by June 26

Volunteers and community groups looking to improve provincial parks can apply for a funding boost. BC Parks is making a total of $240,000 available—$40,000 in each of its six regions—for volunteer- and community-led projects through its Park Enhancement Fund.…

Study shows 18% of retailers missed May rent

Commercial landlords say many tenants not paying rent: options are taking limited government aid or evictions, but not both

Commercial landlords say many tenants not paying rent: options are taking limited government aid or evictions, but not both Commercial real estate landlords in B.C., who are dealing with many retail tenants failing to pay rent for the second month in a row, are caught in a classic carrot-and-stick situation.…

Cautious Canadians increasingly wearing masks, fear second wave of COVID: Poll

Fear of a second wave of infection may be behind people’s increased caution

Canadians are increasingly wearing protective face masks as they emerge from months of isolating at home to curb the spread of COVID-19, a new poll suggests. And it suggests that fear of a second wave of infections as bad as or worse than the first wave may behind their increased caution.…

BC Ferries customers must bring a mask

The move meets directives from Transport Canada

Anyone using a British Columbia ferryon routes longer than 30 minutes will have to bring a face mask with them to protect against transmission of COVID-19. Starting June 15, BC Ferries said all passengers over the age of two will be asked to confirm they have a face covering and are willing to wear it if necessary.…

A virtual AGM: A first for the Whistler Museum

Next Thursday (June 11), the Whistler Museum & Archives Society will be hosting its 2020 Annual General Meeting online beginning at 5 p.m. using Zoom, one of the many online platforms that have become increasingly popular over the past few months. Though this will be the first time in more than 30 years of operations that we will not be able to welcome our members in person, we’re looking forward to connecting with all who attend using the means currently available.…

Squamish Nation family honours Dr. Bonnie Henry with blanket ceremony

Shawl features images of water, a heart and a house, representing calm, kindness and safety (or staying home), respectively

The woman leading B.C.’s fight to stop the spread of a pandemic may be feeling the love this week after a Squamish Nation family found a way to show their gratitude using both traditional and very modern methods. The Rivers family met with B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry online on June 4 to honour her with an EsŽmkwu, or blanketing ceremony.…

A look at actions the Liberal government has taken to counter racism

Prime minister points to anti-racism strategy as proof Liberals are working on issue

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising to do more to address issues of systemic racism in Canada in the wake of protests demanding immediate change. Trudeau has been pressed in the past about what his government has done to deal with the issue, including during the last federal election when he apologized for wearing brown- and blackface on several occasions.…

New moms told go work to get EI parental benefits after jobs lost to COVID-19

New mothers, and those still expecting, stare down losing out on federal parental benefits through no fault of their own

Alexis Adams is joyful about the arrival of her third daughter but she is also concerned about how to pay for another maternity leave that is, like her daughter, barely a week old. Adams lost her job in late March when COVID-19 shut down the television show she was working on.…

Watch this black bear chase a coyote around a Whistler golf course (VIDEO)

Apparently rabbits aren’t the only animal Whistler bears seem interested in following

Remember that time a Whistler black bear was caught on camera chasing a rabbit – and ultimately snatching itself some breakfast – alongside Highway 99? Well, it turns out rabbits aren’t the only animals local bears seem interested in chasing these days.…

VOP ponders service-area expansions

Special meeting slated to consider temporary changes

The Village of Pemberton (VOP) will consider allowing liquor-primary and manufacturing establishments to temporarily expand their service areas. As part of a provincial initiative, the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) is allowing these types of businesses to expand their service areas—in most cases, in the form of a larger outdoor patio—to allow establishments to serve a greater quantity of patrons as physical distancing requirements remain in effect.…

B.C.’s legal cannabis sales soar to record high in March

Number of legal retail licences issued in B.C. has jumped to 254 from 176 at the end of 2019

Cannabis sales in B.C. are soaring thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. They surged in March to a record monthly total of more than $23.5 million, according to Statistics Canada.…

Squamish’s Kelly Ann Woods honoured by Startup Canada

Gillespie’s Fine Spirits founder earns CANIE Woman Entrepreneur Award

Kelly Ann Woods is going to need to expand her trophy case soon. The Gillespie’s Fine Spirits founder took home her third major award in recent months when she was honoured with the CANIE Woman Entrepreneur Award for British Columbia, presented during a digital event by Startup Canada’s Innovators and Entrepreneurs Foundation on June 4.…