DAVID HELLIWELL

Biographical Statement
A proud father of a newly-born fifth-generation BC resident, David Helliwell has lived and worked in a number of countries but has never stayed away from BC for longer than three years at a time. While studying geophysics at UBC and Harvard, he competed at a national level in cycling and triathlon. Starting in 1994, as a geophysicist, he alternated between leading mining exploration crews in Mexico and Northern Canada and representing Canada on the windsurfing World Cup. In 1998, David returned to UBC to study economics, then went to Paris to earn an MBA at the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. Upon graduation in 2000, he was hired as a senior consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's strategy group in Paris. He worked with clients around Europe until September 2002, when he returned to Canada to his current job as senior policy advisor to Federal MP and cabinet minister Stephen Owen. He has followed Owen to a number of portfolios: Public Works and Government Services, and Indian Affairs and Northern Development and currently Western Economic Diversification and Sport. David is an inaugural Action Canada Fellow.

Personal Connection
I fear that sometimes my passion and enthusiasm for all things British Columbian can be a bit annoying. During my 5 years living in France and Australia, and two years living and working in other countries, I have bored friends and colleagues by continually talking about the joys of BC—though I should note that a number of them have subsequently moved to Canada.

There are a few stories that come up quite often, and a number of which involve Hornby Island, where my grandfather bought a beautiful piece of land in the 40s, and turned most of it into a Park in the 1960s. Some examples: The time a killer whale breached, to my surprise, within 2 metres of my 3 metre inflatable boat; hiking and canoeing in Tweedsmuir National Park, with 40 lb salmon and dozens of grizzly bears; how I can ride my bike all year round, windsurf to my parents' house from my downtown apartment, get to a ski run in 25 minutes, or get to a whitewater river in 20 minutes; the surprisingly large number of successful business ventures starting in Vancouver; and the fact that a small minority of school children in most Vancouver schools are white English speakers.

These are stories of nature, of sports, of business, of friends who come from around the world, and of great hope for the future. By being away from BC, I've developed a finer appreciation of what an extraordinary place it is, and I'm happy to be—as are my friends overseas who are no longer subjected to my stories.