Dear Minister Fleming,

We are Howe Sound Secondary students from beautiful Squamish, BC (and our community supporters). We are extremely concerned about the climate crisis and the impact it will have on our futures. Our community is threatened by both the risk of forest fires and the risk of flooding from sea level rise and extreme precipitation events. We are hoping that you can help us to get the Sea to Sky region on track to help British Columbia reach it’s target of a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

Our home is not so much just the single community of Squamish as it is the entire Sea-to-sky region. Let me share an example to illustrate. In our class, approximately 75% of us have one or more family members who commute to Vancouver or Whistler for work. The official statistic from the District of Squamish is that 30% of the workforce commutes on the Sea-to-sky highway for work and of those commuters 85% are a single occupant vehicle. Once you add tourist traffic to the Sea-to-sky highway, you get even more GHG emissions. These numbers are very concerning for us as tackling climate change will be next to impossible with these current practices.

Luckily, we have a solution to this challenging situation. Transit. We believe that regional transit that runs from Vancouver through to Pemberton with stops in Squamish and Whistler would be a significant first step to reducing our emissions. Until now this simple solution has been blocked by jurisdictional and funding issues. We do not have any more time to wait for this regional transit if we are to meet our 2030 targets. We hope that you will help us bring this regional transit to life and show that now is the time to take climate action seriously.

Our understanding is that regional transit, of the variety we are proposing, would fall under your jurisdiction. We have met with our local MLA Jordan Sturdy who fully supports this initiative. In his research, he has determined that such a service could be completely funded by a gas tax of 4¢/L for gas sold in the Sea-to-Sky region. We have also been meeting with Ian Picketts, PhD who is the Manager of Sustainability and climate change with the District of Squamish. Through him we have learned that 52% of our communities GHG emissions are from transportation. This is further evidence that with our current practices it is not possible to address  the climate crisis in any real way.

This transit program would have many other benefits as well. Firstly, as housing prices have risen here, it has become more difficult for low to middle income residents to both live and work in Squamish, as many regular “9 to 5” jobs won’t support the cost of living here. Transit would allow working families to make big savings on transportation costs that would help offset the cost of housing. Secondly, a transit option would alleviate parking pressures and perhaps free up some public areas for additional green spaces, another hidden bonus! 

More importantly, transit will increase safety on the highway. It would reduce the number of vehicles on the road, providing a safe option for tired commuters who are more likely to cause accidents due to fatigue. This is a very real threat as Squamish had 7 residents killed in a head on collision just North of Squamish in 2004. A student from our high school was one of the dead as he and his father were traveling to early morning hockey when the driver of a commuter van fell asleep and crossed into oncoming traffic, killing everyone in both vehicles. This was a completely avoidable fatality. It just further shows how transit can save lives as well as the planet!

Finally, a commuter service allows freedom of movement for young people who don’t have drivers licences or cars. It would allow us to go skiing in Whistler, shopping in Vancouver, and just about anything else we chose to do. This service would help fill the void left by the closure of Greyhound bus. It also allows our generation to learn to get around without relying on cars. I think we can likely agree that a fundamental shift will be necessary in how we get around if we are to meet our climate goals. Single occupant, gasoline powered transportation is going to be a thing of the past and we are ready to embark on this new era of shared green transportation. It is never too early to start good habits!

Now we are putting our future in your hands. We hope that you will support our climate action, affordability plan for regional transit. It is a clear and simple solution to solve so many problems. It is a win/win/win/win solution!