CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER
For more than 30 years, Vancouver Aquarium and other groups have been researching the fiord that extends from West Vancouver to Squamish. It has been home to pulp mills, a copper mine, been the gathering site for log booms and the output of sawmills.
In 1956, B.C. Rail completed its line to Squamish, making it more accessible to industry and the people who lived and worked for major employers extracting resources from the land bordering Howe Sound. By 1959, the Sea to Sky Highway had been completed and with it commerce grew, residential housing expanded and Whistler boomed. Each new development put pressure on the ecosystems that feed into the Sound.
Salmon, the southern resident killer whale population and myriad organisms all came under pressure. With the closing of the Woodfibre Pulp Mill and Britannia Mine, the impact from heavy industry was eased while at the same time urban expansion presents new challenges.
Andrew Day, past executive director of the Coastal Ocean Research Institute, joins us on Conversations That Matter to discuss what we know, where are the gaps in our understanding and what the well-being of the sound means. Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.
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