The Georgian Peaks Ski Club, near Collingwood, Ont., has a history of producing winners.
Three of its racing alumni were on the slopes at the Beijing Winter Games, with Jack Crawford capturing Olympic bronze in the men’s combined.
But “the Peaks” — one of Canada’s most exclusive private clubs, with an initiation fee of $43,000 — has had much more to celebrate this season, including an unprecedented surge in new members and the opening of a “state of the art” $13-million lodge.
Not to mention $1.37 million in taxpayer-supplied federal COVID relief, which helped propel the club to a $1.54-million budget surplus, three times greater than the year before.
Financial statements for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2021, obtained by CBC News show that Georgian Peaks received $1.203 million under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and a further $166,885 from the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS).