back-injuries-from-whistler’s-bobsled-ride-have-happened-at-‘steady-rate’:-report
| | | |

Back injuries from Whistler’s bobsled ride have happened at ‘steady rate’

ByTiffany Crawford

Since 2012, there have been seven confirmed back fractures sustained by patrons at the Whistler Sliding Centre’s thrill ride. Published Nov 21, 2024  •  Last updated 47 minutes ago  •  3 minute read Screenshot from Technical Safety B.C. report on Whistler Sliding Centre’s bobsled. Photo by Technical Safety B.C. Two passengers of the “bobsleigh sport experience” in Whistler — the only ride of its kind in Canada — have suffered back injuries in the past year caused by seat ergonomics and compression forces, says a Technical Safety B.C. report. There have been seven confirmed broken backs on the Whistler Sliding Centre’s ride since 2012, according to the report released this month. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account or Article content “Vertebrae fractures, and more specifically, lower or lumbar back fractures have occurred at a steady rate since 2012, shortly after opening,” the report says. The centre’s website says visitors can experience what it’s like to “slide like an Olympian,” as trained pilots take them through twists and turns at speeds of 125 km/h. Passengers are asked before they ride to confirm they do not have any heart conditions and that they have not had any previous head, neck or back injuries. They also must meet certain age, height and other requirements. The investigation was launched after two passengers broke their backs — one in November 2023, the other in February 2024 — while on the four-person bobsled. One required surgery. The other did not, but faced a long recovery. “They compare it to a roller-coaster. But in a roller-coaster, the G-force isn’t sustained, you get weightlessness. … The G-force on the bobsled is constant,” the passenger injured in February told the safety authority. “As you went down, the pressure increased, it was the second or third-to-last, I could feel my back get more and more compressed and then at one point I felt like I got the wind knocked out of me.” By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Article content Article content The report said the usual compression forces from the ride and the ergonomics of the rear seat in the bobsled made riders vulnerable to injury. Measures taken by the company after these injuries were focused on amending the pre-ride warnings to include the risk associated with medical conditions, the report said. However, investigators said it’s unlikely the injuries that occurred in 2023 and 2024 were linked to passenger health. Investigators said the ergonomics of the fourth seat contributed to both injuries because of the way it forces the rider to lean forward, disengaging core muscles which would otherwise support the spine and concentrating the force on a smaller area of the vertebrae. They said the rear seat appears to have a higher incidence of injury than the two middle seats. The bobsled track was built for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. It was the track where Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili crashed and died during a training run just before the opening of the Olympics. When the company opened it as a public ride in 2011, the bobsleds were changed to make them safer. They have wider seats with foam pads, taller sides that were intended to provide better protection in the event of a rollover, and cables that ran along the interior sides of the bobsleigh to hold on to. Brakes and steering moved to the front of the bobsleigh to be operated by the professional pilot. Article content Screenshot from Technical Safety B.C. report on Whistler Sliding Centre’s bobsled experience. Photo by Technical Safety B.C. Technical Safety B.C. interviewed the engineer that did the safety assessment. The engineer did not address the bobsleigh ergonomics, passenger positioning, or restraint as it was not part of their mandate. The engineer did try out the ride several times to understand the forces that would be

immigration-cuts-will-help-housing-gap,-pbo-says,-but-less-than-government-projects
| | | | |

Immigration cuts will help housing gap

ByBusiness in Vancouver

OTTAWA — The federal government is overestimating the impact its cuts to immigration will have on the country’s housing shortage, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer said in a new report. OTTAWA — The federal government is overestimating the impact its cuts to immigration will have on the country’s housing shortage, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer said in a new report. In the analysis published Friday, the PBO said its projections still indicate the country’s housing gap should fall by 45 per cent, assuming the Liberal government’s own population projections in its immigration plan are accurate. The PBO isn’t entirely convinced they are, saying “we judge that there is significant risk” to the demographic projections the government made in its 2025-27 immigration levels plan. The PBO cautioned its model assumed some non-permanent residents, whose permits or visas would expire and not be renewed under the new plan, will actually leave the country. “Both our estimated reduction in household formation and the housing gap under the (immigration levels plan) are uncertain and likely represent upper-bound estimates,” the PBO warned. In October, the Liberal government announced it was cutting the number of permanent residents allowed into the country over the next three years. The plan expects to see Canada’s population decline by 0.2 per cent in 2025 and 2026, marking the first time Canada would see an annual decline in population, the PBO said. The PBO now estimates Canada needs to build another 1.2 million homes by 2030 to close the housing gap. In its report Friday morning, the PBO said the revised immigration plan will reduce that gap by 534,000 units — or 45 per cent — by 2030. The government’s projections, factoring in its new immigration targets, suggested the population estimates would reduce demand for housing by 670,000 units by 2027, well above the PBO’s estimates and three years earlier than the PBO’s timeline. “This difference likely reflects several factors, such as the assumed age, region and household structure of the (non-permanent resident) outflows projected under the (immigration levels plan), as well as the time horizon and counterfactual population projection,” the PBO wrote. In a statement, Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s office said the PBO report confirms the government’s immigration levels plan will reduce the housing supply gap, and that the report’s projections are in line with the department’s own expectations regarding the housing supply gap for this year. “While an adjustment in immigration levels is helping to reduce the strain on our housing supply, it is also true that immigration and newcomers to Canada will continue to have an important role to play in helping us grow the housing supply,” Miller’s office said. “Immigrants are not to blame for the housing crisis and they, like everyone who lives in Canada whether temporarily or permanently, deserve to be set up for success while they are.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024. Nick Murray, The Canadian Press

first-of-six-units-begin-generating-power-at-bc.s-site-c-dam
| |

First of six units begin generating power at B.C.s Site C dam

ByNews Staff

Posted October 28, 2024 4:44 pm. Last Updated October 28, 2024 5:38 pm. BC Hydro says the massive Site C dam project in northeastern British Columbia has started generating power. The provincial electric utility says in a statement that the first of six generating units on the Site C dam has begun operations after completing testing and commissioning procedures. It’s expected that the site will be in full service by fall 2025, adding about eight per cent more supply to B.C.’s electricity grid. BC Hydro says the reservoir is now reaching more than 90 per cent full, with the water level at the dam rising by about 40 metres since late August when the filling process began. The utility is also warning people to stay away from the area of the reservoir for at least one year after it has been filled, citing possible unstable terrain and floating vegetation debris as potential hazards. BC Hydro says the reservoir filling is anticipated to be completed later this fall. Construction of Site C project was launched in 2015 under Christy Clark’s B.C. Liberal government and it has seen cost estimates spike from up to $6.6 billion in 2007 to $16 billion in 2021. The project continued under former BC NDP Premier John Horgan after he said the dam needed to be finished despite his party not supporting the start of construction in the first place.

bc.-businesses-seek-concrete-economic-vision-from-parties-ahead-of-fall-election
| |

B.C. businesses seek concrete economic vision from parties ahead of fall election

ByNews Staff

Posted September 10, 2024 1:15 pm. Last Updated September 10, 2024 8:49 pm. Leaders from a wide array of businesses in British Columbia are urging the province’s political parties to “deliver a clear and actionable plan” for revitalizing an economy that they say has pushed many residents into a “personal recession.” Groups representing the forestry and mining industries, independent businesses and contractors say they have sent a survey of 10 questions to leaders of political parties ahead of the fall election, asking for a clear response on their economic visions for B.C. and concrete steps to get there. Business Council of British Columbia president Laura Jones says her group is seeing more residents expressing a loss of hope in their “prospect of building a good life” in the province due to economic concerns, even if B.C. isn’t technically in a recession. Other business leaders say they want the next B.C. government to answer concerns about the high cost of doing business, government budget deficits, bureaucracy in delaying permitting of projects, public safety and acute labour shortages. The call for action comes the same day provincial finance minister Katrine Conroy is unveiling B.C.’s first quarterly report, and Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT) President Bridgitte Anderson says businesses remain in the dark about the economic platforms of the major parties. Anderson says a recent parliamentary budget report painted a “dire” picture for B.C.’s finances that requires “billions of dollars that need to be cut or increased in taxes” for stability, and businesses are asking those who could form the next government “to show us a vision.” “I think there’s a lot of voters who are undecided right now, within the business community and public at large,” Anderson says. “And I think this is an opportunity for all of the parties to look at their platforms and to appeal to the voters. “This is a unique opportunity, and elections matter, campaigns matter. And this campaign will matter more than anything.” In late August, the province said B.C. ended the fiscal year with a deficit of around $5 billion due to items such as wildfire expenses and essential spending on “priority services.” That comes as the GVBOT says its members have incurred an additional 6.5 billion dollars in government imposed costs in the last two years, which Anderson tells 1130 NewsRadio is unsustainable for small businesses. “The regulatory system is challenging when it comes to licensing and permitting. So businesses in British Columbia are facing many challenges right now, and the cost of doing business is simply too high,” she said. Anderson says members of the board came up with 10 questions for political parties ahead of the election, hoping they are answered publicly.  She says the questions focus on the economy, business growth, innovation, and investment, “but also other items like ‘what is the energy policy of all of the parties?’ And ‘how will they address some of the very serious issues we’re seeing around public safety and crime?’” Anderson says the NDP government has made some positive adjustments to their regulation thresholds to allow for breaks for small businesses, but many of the over 5,000 members of the GVBOT have answered surveys saying it’s still too expensive to do business in the region. “It is property taxes, it is the cost of labour, it is inflation, it is licensing and permitting. It is so many layers of different costs that businesses are dealing with right now that simply make this jurisdiction just really unaffordable.” The fiscal update in August also said natural resources revenues are down while vehicle insurance revenue from ICBC rose. Earlier this month, Canfor Corp. announced it is shuttering two northern B.C. sawmills , citing a recently imposed U.S. tariff as a key factor on top of ongoing financial losses, a weak lumber market and difficulty accessing economically viable timber in the province. –With files from Srushti Gangdev.

national-housing-market-in-holding-pattern-as-buyers-patient-for-lower-rates:-crea
| | | | |

National housing market in holding pattern as buyers patient for lower rates: CREA

ByNews Staff

Posted September 16, 2024 6:54 am. The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down. The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year. On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July. CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.” The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier. The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.