April 21-24 2021

Kelowna’s skyline is being transformed in front of our eyes. I am fortunate to be a part of the building of the newest high-rise condominiums being built in the downtown of Canada’s fourth fastest-growing city. Mostly fortunate… I think.

It sure is hard work.

My favourite part of being on the site of the highest building between Vancouver and Calgary was the view. Every day when I was on the building I tried to make a point of soaking in the beauty of the Okanagan Valley. The lake and the mountains that reflected off it always humbled me, I appreciated the shimmer of the snow-covered peaks and the glorious sunshine above. Soon there will be many more tall buildings reflected in the cold depths of our lake.

One thing that broke my heart as I visited the sites of our cities upward construction was the waste. The utter massive amount of waste that is produced by these behemoth jobsites. Concrete dust filled the air of the parkade as jackhammers broke the concrete up and had to repour an entire section of the parkade. That kind of waste is almost understandable – mistakes happen.

Other forms of waste are hard to watch. Entire walls half a block long and fifteen feet high were ripped out and thrown away. Nothing gets saved and everything goes to the landfill. 

Our forefathers would cringe and cry about the utter lack of concern to save anything. Today we build for speed and time is money so waste is part of the price. A price that gets passed on to the consumer. 

It feels like the rush skyward is a race against time. Since the original slowdown, a year ago, time seems to have picked up speed, and now were are hurtling toward some unknown goal. A goal that could consume the world as quickly as we consume the world’s resources. 

Stop the world! I want to get off. 

I think this feeling is a result of the lack of recreation and travel options since covid began. No concerts, no travel, limits on how many people we can see… It is a mental health crisis as well as a viral one. 

An ache burns inside as we hurtle toward an unknown goal. 

I also can’t help but feel – when will it come to an end? This rate of development can’t be sustained forever. It almost feels like there is a black hole behind me and if I take a step back or even stop, I could fall into that hole.  As much as the virus hovers over us, the black hole of a financial abyss is there in the background. 

Standing at the edge of a thirty-six-floor building I see a parallel with our world today. As long as I stay safe, stay cautious and remain tied off near the edge, I will survive and thrive. But one false step or a moment of inattention could be catastrophic. 

At the end of the day, I stood once again at the top of the highest man-made point in the Okanagan and stopped to breathe in the view. A view unmatched in beauty. Whatever the future has in store I realize I am in one of the best places to see it from.