BCBusiness

14 BCBusiness FEBRUARY 2016 Squamish. But Garibaldi's path to completion is far from certain. In addition to the unknown outcome of the BCEAO review, business and commu- nity leaders in Whistler and elsewhere have been lining up against the project, saying the resort will siphon business away from other operators when skier visits are žat. They also argue that its southwest-facing location and proximity to the warming inžuence of›Howe Sound make it vulnerable to climate change. "British Columbia is known for great skiing, but new resorts need to be additive," says David Brownlie, president and CEO of Whistler Blackcomb. "Ninety percent of [Garibaldi's] visitors will be cannibalized from other opera- tors. The›development is not viable in terms of terrain and snow, and there's too much real estate." Whistler mayor Nancy Wilhelm- Morden, meanwhile, calls the scheme a "real estate grab" for cheap provincial crown land. That criticism has dogged similar plans for decades—as far back as the 1960s, when the idea for a ski resort on Brohm Ridge was „rst žoated. In 1991, the NDP government of Mike Harcourt rejected an early incarnation of Richter's proposal, judging it "not viable due to inadequate ski terrain, a lack of features neces- sary to support a four-season resort and›too much real estate in relation to mountain skier capacity." The current proposal— arguably the most advanced yet—has also raised serious questions from those who have closely examined the num- bers. A consultant hired by the province recommended cutting Garibaldi's estimate of 730,000 annual skier visits in half and called the summer estimates "overly optimistic." Even those who might be expected to be proponent allies are raising red žags. In a written statement to the BCEAO, David Lynn, president and CEO of H ave you put aside pressing work to scribble in your gratitude journal? Or omm-ed your way through a meditation-and-yoga class to channel your inner Deepak Chopra before a marathon board meeting? Thanks perhaps to the proliferation of TED talks on happiness, B.C. is seeing a surge in mental well-being percolate through the workplace along- side the longer-touted bene„ts of physical „tness. These range from employee-wide programs such as Paci„c Blue Cross's workplace meditation classes (a program the Burnaby- headquartered insurance giant ran this year at the City of Vancouver) to today's new wave of C-suite executives who feel mental and emotional health is critical to eŽective leadership. After all, business may be rammed with long commutes and demanding decision-mak- ing—ampli„ed by a culture that sleeps with its smartphones— but no one wants to become a "sick fat CEO," says Natalie Michael, managing partner at the Karmichael Group, an executive coaching and succes- sion management consulting „rm based in West Vancouver. Looking after yourself „rst, she explains, is as essential as mastering any leadership skills. "There's a growing con- sciousness around well-being at the top levels, so that stereotype of the overweight, stressed-out executive of a decade ago is no longer the norm in B.C.," says Michael, who works with a roster of more than 50 CEOs Canada West Ski Areas Association (CWSAA), expressed concern "that approval of this project could have a detrimental impact on the ski industry of British Columbia," not- ing that the proposal comes at a time when skier visits in B.C. have remained stagnant, at 6.1 million annual visitors, and between 26 and 43 per cent of ski areas are reporting „nancial losses. Jim Chu, former Vancouver Police Department chief and now VP of special projects and part- nerships for the Aquilini Group, says he understands why people in Whistler advocate strongly for their community but says that his group has no interest in waging war with its neighbours. The Aquilini Group's involve- ment in Garibaldi dates back two decades, and Chu believes strongly that their proposal will add to and not detract from B.C.'s resort tourism oŽerings—creating a sort of "cluster eŽect," similar to Utah or Colorado, which will draw many more tourists. ›"People forget that our focus is not just on skiing. We're going to be an all-season playground for bikers, hikers and other active people that's aŽordable and accessible," Chu says, adding that the project's 20-year build-out will generate 2,500 jobs in tour- ism and $50 million in annual tax revenue for the B.C. government. He stands by visitor estimates and says the resort aims to capi- talize on the Asian market and on local visible minorities, leverag- ing the fact that Garibaldi would be closer than Whistler to the Lower Mainland market. In Squamish, few seem to be taking the Garibaldi project too seriously. Suzanne McCrimmon, executive director of the Squamish Chamber of Commerce, hosted a presentation last June by Aquilini Group executive David Negrin that didn't result in a single question from the audience. "I haven't heard a lot of people talking about it around town," McCrimmon says. The DownwarD Slope? Leading Well To a new breed of CEOs, mental and emotional health is as important as physical fitness by Lucy Hyslop M a n a g e m e n t B.C. currently has 12 destina- tion ski resorts, a designation used by Destination BC to identify oper- ations that serve more than local and regional markets B.C. accounts for nearly 1/3 of Canada's 18.7 million annual skier visits Canada is 7th in the world when it comes to skier visits. However, according to the 2014 International Report on Snow and Mountain Tourism, it's also a mature market facing "serious concerns about an aging clientele and the ability to renew the customer base"

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