President's Message

CWSAA wishes to thank its many members for completing the numerous surveys in recent weeks.  Feedback on Spring Conference, trade show, member services, and investment forecast have recently been solicited… and all have been used immediately to better serve the industry.

Last week, the Board reviewed the member services survey.  Of the many areas it touched, perhaps the most valuable was the indication from members that its priorities were consistent with the strategic directions of the organization.  Put another way, it means the work of the Board accurately reflected the wishes and priorities of the membership.  It is expressed in the CWSAA Strategic Plan.  To any membership based association, this is critical and foundational to the organization’s success.  A report on the member services survey will be shared at the coming AGM on July 22.

The CWSAA strategic plan has increased focus on education opportunities and advocacy with government.  Lift operations boot camps, northern fall meetings, and operational best practice documents are all outcomes of this directive.  Similarly, advocacy work is reflected in the inclusion of mountain resorts in provincial economic strategy.  Alberta has made strong commitment to advancing tourism and mountain resort development through its All-Season legislation, new regulatory division, and most recent permit approvals.  In BC, mountain resort development is singularly identified in the Province’s Look West strategy, and the importance of MDA renewals and process has been a clear narrative of the CWSAA BC government relations committee when meeting with the Premier and Ministry officials.  Indeed, Tourism Minister Anne Kang was completely on top of this in conversation with CWSAA last week.

CWSAA works closely with the Tourism Industry Associations of Alberta and BC.  The latter is now lead by CEO Amber Papou, who recently took over the reigns from retiring Walt Judas.

Through the pandemic, the ski sector reminded itself, government, and public, of the importance of outdoor recreation to physical and mental health.  This remains true, however, the importance of the economic contribution and diversification created by mountain resort development for local community and regional economies has come to the fore.  The federal and provincial government response to global forces has advanced economic policy decisions as previously noted.  Federally, incentives for manufacturing have been implemented to stimulate investment.  CWSAA and its peers across the country have formally asked the federal government (view letter here) for investment incentives akin to manufacturing to unleash the investment seen in the US.

In concert, CWSAA, TIAA, and TIABC have partnered on a study to quantify the incremental investment of these incentives.  Initial results will be available in July.  The data will inform provincial and regional governments on the incremental opportunities for employment and tax revenues, at a time when many governments are looking for new income sources.

All of the above work circles back to the priorities of CWSAA members.  At its core, the ski sector serves communities and enables people to access the outdoors.  It supports early life skills development, and the on-going mental and physical health benefits and enjoyment that comes with immersion in nature.  This is likely the primary motivation for most of us choosing our careers in this industry.  I will admit, that at times I wonder how some of our work on policy or operational decisions ties to sliding with glee down a slope, but it is reflective of the increasingly complex environment that ski areas now operate.

As ski areas welcome their summer guests for biking, hiking, weddings, activities, and for some…summer skiing, the CWSAA team is available for support.  As always, please reach out at any time.

Cheers

– Christopher Nicolson