“It is extremely unfortunate that no one from either the Chamber or the Ski Society chose to contact us, or to check the facts, before circulating this letter,” said Dave Butler, director of sustainability for CMH, in a statement made last week.
Butler says specific comments about the degree the proposed project would affect CMH operations are inaccurate.
“The truth is that this proposed project does overlap with our long-standing legal and business rights in the area,” said Butler.
Butler believes that if the VGD project would proceed as proposed, it would have a dramatic affect on heli-ski operations at both the Cariboo and Valemount lodges, in contrast to what was suggested in the letter, which stated “while CMH will lose some ski terrain to this development, it is a very minimal amount of their total tenure.”
“I’m sure you would not want others speaking on behalf of your business, and we don’t either,” said Butler. “In reality, this project creates a significant dilemma for us as a company.”
He noted CMH wants to see the economy of Valemount grow and flourish, while also noting their “decades-long” track record of supporting the community. As examples, Butler offered their involvement in land use and tourism planning, providing annual scholarships to high school students and supporting VARDA (Valemount and Area Recreational Development Association) and it’s objectives.
“We also have staff, which live and raise families in the community,” said Butler.
Butler hopes the resort project, if it goes ahead, will contribute to the strength and diversity of the local economy, however, as currently proposed, the project will have a dramatic affect on CMH’s business. Butler believes this includes the loss of important ski terrain that would affect the viability of their lodges, which have “tens of millions of dollars” invested.
“It would make little sense for us to openly support a project with such a dramatic impact on us as a company,” said Butler. “We expect you would be very concerned about a project, which threatened your business to the same degree.”
Butler explained that even after two years of process the government has not required the ski resort proponent to address or resolve the overlaps with CMH’s existing business and legal rights. Although he feels there may be opportunities to sort out overlaps, it is difficult, in the absence of such a process, for CMH to know what the future might look like.
“To be very clear, we are neither opposing nor supporting the project,” said Butler. “What we have asked government to do is to require the proponent to address and resolve the overlap issues with our business before the project proceeds any further.”
Butler feels this is a fair request, which addresses CMH’s interests in their business and the collective interest in seeing the Valemount area succeed with an economy that is strong and diverse.
Speaking for VGD, Tommaso Oberti of Pheidias Project Management Corp., noted that the project has not yet received an interim agreement from the Province of British Columbia, which would allow it to proceed to the master plan stage.
“While the Formal Proposal identifies existing stakeholder conflicts, detailed planning, including proposed mitigation of potential impacts on stakeholders, normally takes place during the master plan process,” said Oberti.
Oberti is pleased that CMH has now stated that they are not necessarily opposed to the project and he looks forward to finding avenues of co-operation and mutual benefit when the project enters the master plan process.
“We strongly believe the project can open up new business opportunities for CMH and expand their clientele, as has occurred in other similar situations in British Columbia,” said Oberti.
Oberti feels the project’s new recreational and leisure facilities will be in synergy with CMH’s offerings and can provide an augmented visitor experience to its clients. He suggested, as an example, family members who wish to accompany heli-skiers on holiday, but are unable to heli-ski.
“At the same time, the new resort will welcome many passionate skiers and snowboarders from around the world, some of whom will be tempted to heli-ski, cat-ski, or try other activities during their visits, as proven by past experience at many other resorts in British Columbia,” said Oberti.
