What a year, Squamish. Who would’ve thought, as we decked the halls Dec. 25, 2019, that a year later, we would be in the homestretch of a global pandemic, celebrating Christmas by Zoom?
Who could have predicted that a few months into 2020, the popular Shady Tree pub would become a drive-thru COVID-19 site; or that masks — not the kind for skiing — would be flying off store shelves?
No one could have.
This year has often felt like being adrift on Howe Sound in individual sailboats in the worst Squamish wind, trying to batten down the hatches and prepare for whatever wave would hit us next.
But, for all the turbulence, there has also been proof of our humanity and ability to prevail.
At its core, our society works, even in the most adverse of situations.
Not perfectly, but it works.
Take the topsy-turvy election in the Sea to Sky that had more twists and turns than Highway 99.
The results in favour of Jordan Sturdy were finally decided by the judicial recount in the Supreme Court of B.C. in mid-November.
The final report by Justice David A. Crerar is well worth the read. It’s full of fascinating tidbits (one ballot under dispute was marked for “Jordan Sturdy, Liberal Party of Canada,” when, of course, Sturdy represents the BC Liberal Party. The judge ruled it valid as it was clear the voter meant Sturdy, he said.]
In his conclusion, Crerar notes that the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky recount was underway just as outgoing president Donald Trump was “brandishing all-capitals tweets rather than evidence, falsely claimed that his electoral loss was due to unsubstantiated fraud.”
The class and decorum showed by all involved in the Sea to Sky recount stood in stark contrast to the attack on democracy and order down south, he said.
“It was a privilege to preside over the recount and witness the process under which every last ballot was methodically and carefully re-counted by Elections BC and scrutineers from both parties. To this judicial witness, the process confirmed the integrity and strength of our democratic process,” Crerar wrote.
“Soon after the recount result, Mr. [Jeremy] Valeriote publicly congratulated Mr. Sturdy via media release and tweet: a gesture not only gracious but also fortifying of our democratic norms. When the court read out the result, the entire room — Green Party and Liberal Party volunteers alike, some of whom had hand-counted ballots over two days — spontaneously erupted in applause. In our tribal age of political acrimony, exacerbated by social media echo chambers, the mood and process were inspiring, with volunteer scrutineers from the rival parties working long hours with apparent good humour, conviviality, and co-operation.”
This is how we would like to wrap up the year, with a focus on the order in the chaos. The good over the bad.
Though battered by the journey, we have hung on in the fiercest storm.
Here’s to smoother sailing from here.
