Canadian politics have been a bit of a whirlwind this year, from mutiny amongst members of the Liberal Party against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to fear over bilateral trade relations with the incoming U.S. president, Donald Trump. On a local level, housing, climate-related disasters, and struggling businesses were at the forefront of constituents’ concerns.
Pique spoke to Whistler’s federal representative on Dec. 17 by phone for a year-end round-up of local and Canadian politics. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Pique: What are some of the biggest actions you’ve taken this year for residents in Whistler and Pemberton?
Patrick Weiler: There was some major progress made on tackling maybe the biggest challenge in the region, which is on housing. I’ve worked very closely with [Whistler] Mayor [Jack] Crompton, [Pemberton] Mayor [Mike] Richman and the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District on advancing some solutions, and over the course of last year, a lot of those ended up bearing fruits. I was in Whistler to announce the opening of the Hemlocks building, which is below-market units for over 100 Whistlerites, which is going to make a big difference. There was the announcement of the Housing Accelerator Fund for Pemberton, which is going to modernize the way that Pemberton does their permitting processes and help unlock almost an additional 2,000 units over the next 10 years, which is literally going to be able to double the size of Pemberton.
The other thing that I’m quite humbled to be involved in is just a lot of the work on reconciliation in the last year, and particularly with the Lil’wat Nation, but also with the Squamish Nation. There was National Indigenous People’s Day at the [Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre], the Nuk’w7ántwal’ Regional Gathering … That was such a strong opportunity to really build that relationship with the [Lil’wat] Nation. That’s fundamental and it’s always a little bit fraught from the federal government point of view, because you’re coming at this from a perspective of being a representative to an institution that has caused so much trauma, but building those relationships with the Nations is so important.
In Pemberton and just north of Pemberton, there was a major investment in water infrastructure, both in drinking-water infrastructure, as well as on improvements to protect the floodplain. This year we really saw the effects of climate change, both at the beginning and at the end of the year. In January, there was major flooding that happened in Pemberton. In December, there was a landslide just north of Lions Bay, which unfortunately was fatal, and my heart just goes out to the families.
For climate change-related disasters, what is your party doing to prevent them?
We do have a national adaptation strategy which sets out different targets and goals of what we want to do. We’re working with all different orders of government and private sector and the non-profit sector to advance solutions. And there’s a number of different funding programs we have for infrastructure to do that. The most important thing, I believe, is focusing on the mitigation, reducing our emissions.
Canada has made a lot of progress, because the last time emissions were this low in Canada was 1996. That was a time where our population was 30 million and not 40 million, and the economy was three-and-a-half times smaller. That goes to show the progress that’s been made in reducing our emissions. We still have a very long ways to go but we do have a comprehensive plan that will reduce our emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2030 and our target for 2035 which is at least 45 per cent below 2005 levels.
Those are targets that are ambitious but also achievable and sets us on a pathway to get to net-zero by 2050.
Our plan is comprehensive. It’s everything from finding ways of reducing emissions and transportation through supporting more transit to having more zero-emissions vehicles sold and incentives to help people with the additional costs. It’s things like reducing emissions from our largest source, which is the oil and gas sector, where we’re just finalizing a cap on emissions for that sector. Our key focus is finding ways of reducing emissions and supporting Canadians to adopt those solutions that will actually save people money and shrink their carbon footprint.
There’s huge opportunities in Canada on the flip side of that, on growing the green economy, and there’s already more jobs in clean tech in Canada now than there is in the oil and gas sector.
In the Sea to Sky region, companies like Carbon Engineering are a world leader in carbon capture, Quantum Tech is using hydrogen for renewable energy, there’s run-of-the-river hydro. The region is very well-placed to lead, and it matters because too much warming threatens Whistler. It’s fundamental to people’s livelihoods that work in those sectors, as well as the pastime for so many people.
Speaking of livelihoods, the economy isn’t doing stellar. The cost of goods is high for consumers and businesses. What are you doing to support small businesses?
A lot of businesses came out of the pandemic carrying a lot of debt, and that’s been a big challenge. I know the last year was a slow year for many businesses because of the conditions on the mountain. The federal government really did step up during COVID-19 with things like access to $60,000 no-interest loans, the wage subsidies so people could stay connected to their job, as well as supporting people when they lost their job. So that was really key to allow a lot of businesses, particularly tourism-related businesses and Whistler to get through it.
Coming out of it, a big challenge that many have had is with higher interest rates, and inflation really put a squeeze on many businesses, and the federal government has been walking the balance of supporting businesses as much as possible so that they can be our engine of growth, particularly small businesses, but doing that within a fiscal framework where we’re not going to perpetuate high interest rates. Interest rates have been coming down very quickly.
For labour, I’m always trying to find different ways of working with businesses to find people locally to work there, but if not, to help find people from around the world, whether that’s on a holiday working visa or otherwise, to come be part of our community.
How will the incoming U.S. presidency impact B.C. business?
There are a couple factors here right now. The Canadian dollar being undervalued compared to the U.S. dollar actually can be a huge opportunity for the Sea to Sky and particularly Whistler if it’s relatively cheaper for Americans to come travel here. That’s an opportunity, provided that the borders are not slowed down significantly. That is a concern I have with the president-elect.
The threat of a 25-per-cent tariff is something the federal government is focused on ensuring we do everything we can to avoid because it would be devastating for Canada, but it would also be devastating for Americans. You bring in a 25-per-cent tariff on things like lumber, or oil and gas, that’s going to cause significant inflation for Americans.
Part of the fall economic statement this year [was] to address one of the areas that Donald Trump has identified, which is the purported claims on the border–migration and the trade of fentanyl, which is completely overblown. In any event, we’re making some investments to improve and strengthen our border, and so if that is something that will help alleviate 25-per-cent tariffs, then I’d say that’s money well spent, though I think it’s a red herring.
Speaking of the fall economic statement, you recently called once again for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign after finance minister Chrystia Freeland resigned. What are your thoughts on the situation?
I was very saddened and shocked to wake up to that news that Chrystia had resigned as not only Minister of Finance, but as deputy prime minister, because she’s somebody I have the utmost respect for. She has served our country in multiple different capacities and navigating Trump 1.0 as the Foreign Affairs Minister, through the pandemic as finance minister and ensuring that we were able to support people when their businesses literally had to be shut down.
I was very, very saddened to see that news and just the way that Chrystia was treated, to be notified a few days before she was to table the fall economic statement and then to be shuffled out right afterwards, I just did not think it was befitting of someone that has been such a leader for our country for so long, and had been incredibly loyal and effective in her roles.
What it highlights to me, is not only does the prime minister not have the support of a significant amount of his caucus, but he also doesn’t have the support of the deputy prime minister. I think without that support, then he’s not fit to be the leader of the party and the prime minister, therefore he should resign to initiate a leadership process.
We need somebody who can put us in the best position going into the next election, and I don’t think that’s him. Given some of the challenges that we’ve talked about with the incoming administration in the United States, and just the global context that we’re living in right now, I don’t think he’s the right person for the job. That’s also something I’ve heard consistently from speaking with people in our region.
