Editor’s note: This is a copy of a letter to Hugh Tollett in response to a letter from Mr. Tollett that was printed in a recent edition of The Question.
On behalf of RMOW staff, this replies to your letter to the editor that appeared in Pique Newsmagazine in the July 22 issue (“The Whistler Way...”) and in The Whistler Question in the July 29 issue (“The Whistler Way?”).
You sure covered a lot of ground in that one letter:
• RMOW staff pumping out websites to waste taxpayer dollars and justify pay increases;
• Our competitive stance to www.whistlerforthedisabled.com;
• Your role in bringing new infrastructure for people with disabilities to Whistler;
• RMOW employees thinking they can do bad things and get away with it;
• Your disgust with the accessibility advisory group — “a propaganda machine for Legacies Now” — and your subsequent resignation;
• Stabbing you and knifing you in the back (at the same time).
When I reflect back on the past few years of working with you, I marvel at your energy, passion and commitment to assist people with disabilities. You are among a dedicated group at the forefront of assisting people with disabilities and you deserve the accolades, awards and acknowledgements conferred on you. My colleagues and I applaud the Whistler For the Disabled Society (WFTD), and we are truly impressed with www.whistlerforthedisabled.com. Congratulations on all you’ve accomplished.
Good news: you’re not alone. To the best of my knowledge, everyone in Whistler is committed to ensuring the best possible travel experience for people with disabilities. Are we there yet? No. Will we get there? Yes. Why, and how? Because as a community we are committed to be a leading example of accessible tourism for the world, and, to achieve that goal, we’re partnering for success.
That’s why we worked with you in partnership to integrate WFTD into whistler.com. You may recall that by creating a link to whistler.com (http://www.whistler.com/accessible_whistler/), we generated incremental traffic for WFTD, as well as a revenue opportunity by connecting WFTD guests to the whistler.com call centre. I believe we provided a business opportunity for WFTD where none previously existed; and it’s still there today.
That’s why I’m puzzled at your comment about the RMOW and/or our partners “running accessibility pages in a competitive stance.” Remember the last time we had this discussion? Remember how, upon reflection, you understood that it’s all about collaborating to provide as much accurate information from as many viable sources as possible; that a collaborative approach is good for people with disabilities and it’s good for Whistler? Everybody wins. Well, nothing has changed at our end. As far as I know the community is still working together in this endeavour.
Regarding the Whistler Accessibility Project Advisory Group (now the Measuring Up Select Committee of Council) anyone close to the situation knows what really happened, but if you want to position it as a point of principle on your part, that’s your decision.
For the record, my colleagues and I have the greatest respect for the work done by Legacies Now in several areas, including Accessible Tourism, Measuring Up, Access Works, and Virtual Voices Village. As a reminder, Legacies Now made a significant contribution towards the accessible playground adjacent to Whistler Olympic Plaza, and was instrumental in attracting further contributions — value-in-kind and/or cash — from Shane’s Inspiration (a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children with disabilities), the Let’s Play Project (a joint initiative of the Rick Hansen Foundation and the Province of British Columbia), and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Canada. The combined contribution from these organizations to our community was $450,000.
Lastly, about us pumping out websites to waste taxpayer dollars and justify our salaries. I’m puzzled by your comment. I mean, you’re a website guy so you’ll understand that, in certain situations, a micro site is a very efficient way to create and communicate information on large, complex issues; e.g. the 2010 Games with www.whistler2010.com, and now for the OCP, as well as www.thewhistlerway.ca
In closing, I’m sure you acknowledge that the RMOW has invested a lot of time to find ways to work together with WFTD, and to take accessibility to a new level by working with numerous partners in Whistler and beyond.
I hope you can find your way back to a perspective of working in collaboration toward the overall success of accessibility initiatives in Whistler.
John A. Rae
Manager, Strategic Alliances
Resort Municipality of Whistler
