Here we are in lac la biche, alberta!
[cheering & applauding]
This place, it's amazing!
On one side, it's this blue collar,
Alberta oil town between edmonton and fort mcmurray,
Where the economy goes up and down with the price of gas.
But on the other, if we're talking crude,
This town is anything but.
Lac la biche has not only a fancy french-sounding name,
But a history of white fish caviar and fur mink coats.
Well, excusez-moi and pass the grey poupon.
[laughing]
I've seen top of the line cree teepees with bedding
By the bay, a touch of metis magnifique.
I've seen a gas station with lavatories so luxurious,
Well, talk about taking a "piss de resistance".
[laughing]
Mon dieu, I think I j'aime lac la biche.
[laughing]
That, of course, means I love-
Actually, I don't know if I should say love, but already
I can honestly say I "lac" you more than a friend.
[laughing]
[cheering & applauding]
When you grew up in a small town in newfoundland,
You see the people have a sense of humour
About hard times.
Check, check.
I turned that into a career and hit the road.
[mc] mr. Jonny harris!
Now I'm on a mission to find the funny in the places
You'd least expect it...
Canada's struggling small towns.
Towns that are against the ropes, but hanging in there.
Still laughing in the face of adversity.
This is lac la biche, alberta.
♪
[inaudible conversation] [faintly] yeah...
♪
-Bye! -Bye!
[cheering & applauding]
For nearly two centuries, lac la biche was reliant on
Its founding industries: Farming, fur,
Forestry, and fishing.
But when those steady industries declined,
The town transitioned to the more boom or bust economy
Of oil and gas.
It's sort of a service hub to fort mcmurray,
Which is a couple hours north of here.
This is one of those rare situations where you want
The people upwind of you had gas.
[laughing]
♪
I spoke to a woman who's so proud to be born and
Raised in lac la biche,
A retired schoolteacher, which was great except every
Time I asked her a question I had raised to my hand.
[laughing]
Mysoon tarrabain.
[cheering & applauding]
When I found out that this place had a huge arab population,
I said, "you cannot be syrians!" and they're not-
-Lebanese, mostly. -[laughing]
Big lebanese community here.
[cheering & applauding]
My parents both are immigrants to lac la biche.
America was the land of riches and opportunities.
When they had decided to come,
She said her father was so excited, right.
They were coming to america, the land of milk and honey.
They got so excited.
He comes, lands at the international airport.
Italian suit, italian loafers.
She said he got dressed up in his best suit,
And was wearing his italian loafers
When he stepped off the plane...
In edmonton, in February.
[laughing]
But you know, at the end of the day, jonny,
My dad loved minus forty.
-Is that right? -Yeah, he went...
We'd go back to lebanon, and he'd say, "oh,
Can't stand this weather."
Once they got- she said her dad loved it here.
The family loved it here.
My father became a well-known mink breeder.
Apparently, this was what a lot of
Lebanese people did here.
Farming the black majestic mink.
There was tons of mink ranches here.
In town, out of town, by the lake.
All over, they were all over.
I was told that by the 70s, there was something like
40 lebanese families here with mink ranches.
In fact, it was so many, a little mosque was built
Here in town, second one ever in all of canada.
[applauding]
For that to happen right here on the prairie...
I mean, regardless of how you feel about a second
Little mosque on the prairie...
[laughing]
I get a bonus every time I mention another cbc show.
Hey, ten bucks is ten bucks, come on!
[laughing]
And they did well with the mink ranching, right,
Producing these highly valued furs...
As did a lot of lebanese families,
And that was going well for a while.
With people becoming more aware of animal activists,
People not wanting to really wear fur anymore,
People started to think they need to diversify or evolve
Somehow because mink ranching was not going to survive.
Fur just sort of lost its hollywood image in a way.
Fur sort of fell out of fashion. You know,
At one point- mink coats- that was, you know...
Marilyn monroe and liz taylor
Then, all of a sudden, it's sort of...
Kid rock and don cherry.
[laughing]
Lac la biche has survived, and continues to survive.
We had families that moved into lac la biche
Because of the oil and gas industries.
We don't live far from fort mcmurray.
People prefer to raise their families here.
And then, go work seven days in fort mac and come back.
This town provides the oil patch with everything from
Propane tanks, to tires, to a workforce.
People here began working there.
People who were working there began buying homes here.
And everything was humming along,
Looking pretty good until...
Oil production took a dive in 2015, and the town felt it.
Oil and gas eventually dropped 70%.
And even with the prices where they're at now,
Lac la biche hasn't entirely recovered.
We noticed that the population is declining.
Lots of 'for sale' signs.
And a lot of people had to leave, you know.
A lot of young families too, which is a shame.
You know, young guys in alberta,
They don't want to pack up the truck.
They want to work and make money and jack up the truck.
[laughing]
That's the thing, you know, with the price of gas,
It's kind of out of your hands.
Like, what can you do? Like maybe it's a bit like...
When I was a teenager siphoning fuel from
Our principal's hatchback into my dirt bike.
Like, sometimes it sucks when gas tanks and
You just have to swallow it.
[laughing]
[applauding]
♪
I met a woman who came here originally for forestry,
But realized that fishing is where the real action
Is in lac la biche, brenda robitaille.
[cheering & applauding]
We were fishing for tullibee in the winter.
Some days were a little treacherous, you know,
Like twenty below and the wind's just going.
But I loved being out there.
The big commercial catcher for a while, ironically, was...
Tullibee, which people can't eat.
Apparently, it has some type of like cyst worm thing in it
And stuff that was not good for human consumption.
She said, "it's got some kind of worm in it,
And if humans eat it, you might be fine.
You might get very sick."
It's like the cookie dough of fish.
[laughing]
But while people couldn't eat it,
You know who loved it?
The mink.
You know, there was like 54 mink ranches here,
So it was a lot, a lot of people out fishing
To feed all those minks.
So, you had these two local industries here that
Supported each other, which is pretty neat.
It's funny, you should see, you should see my impression
Of a worm being eaten by a fish being eaten by a mink.
It's off the food chain. I get-
[laughing]
I don't have it fully figured out right now,
But it's sort of like-
No, no, I'm not gonna do it, I'm not gonna...
Oh, all right, all right!
Okay, so here's an impression of a worm
Getting eaten by a fish, getting eaten by a mink.
Okay, it's like, "whoa, okay, so this is happening."
-Anyway, I still... -[laughing]
I'm still working on it.
[laughing]
Brenda said, you know, in the 70s,
When the fur industry declined, of course,
The tullibee market took a big blow with it.
But white fish was the one that laid the golden eggs.
Lac la biche got into the caviar game.
-Was very highly praised. -Yeah?
Like, the cruise ships demanded
Lac la biche white fish caviar.
And no everyday dollar store caviar, mind you.
Like, this was the uniquely golden eggs
From the white fish.
Now, why were these fish eggs savoured by so many?
Well, apparently because rich people are weird.
They'll get into anything, do you know what I mean?
Like, "oh, you think the lac la biche white fish, itself,
Is a delicacy? I rather think you haven't tried
The goop that comes out of its butthole."
[laughing & applauding]
♪
This next guy is known for having a great can.
Hear me out.
[laughing]
The owner of beaver hill gas station and
Mediterranean restaurant- you heard me-
Mo kabalan.
[cheering & applauding]
Mo opened this business, it's the gas station...
As well as the lebanese and mediterranean restaurant.
You know, you look on the outside,
It doesn't look much, it looks like a building.
And then as soon as you walk in there, you see guys,
Like their eyes just open up.
-Yeah, yeah. -So... [laughing]
They've got, you know,
A stone oven to make fresh pizza.
They serve shawarma plates, chicken kebab, beef kofta.
Great food and, if you get a combo,
You can get half a litre of windshield fluid.
[laughing]
But, the claim to fame for this place is the bathrooms.
This bathroom is so nice it won an award for
Best bathroom. You're thinking, what,
Best bathroom in a service station in northern alberta?
No, no, no, best bathroom- period- in canada, period.
♪ [angelic]
Granite countertops, okay?
Wood-framed mirrors, and chandeliers.
A herringbone floor pattern
With tiles imported from Italy.
People taking selfies in there and
Putting them on facebook.
-Really? -[laughing]
Mo told me that part of the motivation to build these
Lavish lavatories came from his wife.
He said she hated going to a dirty bathroom.
She'd rather go on the side of the road than
Minus 30 outside, she'd be like squatting outside.
[laughing]
And I get it- a grimy bathroom?
You know, at least in minus 30,
You're just gonna catch hypothermia.
[laughing]
And, I guess it's different for women, too, right?
Like, because women sort of- in a public bath-
You got to make contact. Unless you do the hover.
[laughing]
But even then, that's only good for-
Like if any of us have to do a number two,
You can't hover, I've tried.
I'll close the cubicle door and latch my belt
Under the coat hook and sort of like...
[laughing]
I feel like an idiot.
I look like somebody who's getting nervous
About doing a rope swing.
[laughing]
And not only that, he and his brother
Are both jiu jitsu experts.
♪
In fact, his brother ahmad opened a studio here in town,
Has about 50 students.
And, he won a world championship in las vegas.
[cheering & applauding]
So, don't mess up the bathroom.
[laughing]
If you sprinkle when you tinkle...
Be a sweetie, he can dislocate your shoulder.
[laughing]
[cheering & applauding]
♪
I met a woman who is showcasing
Lac la biche's indigenous roots.
And the way she's doing it is really "in tents".
I chatted with donna webster.
[cheering & applauding]
Now, donna is the executive director of the lac la biche
Canadian native friendship centre.
And she's the reason that you have these two beautiful
Teepees on the shore of winston churchill park.
Having grown up here all my life,
There wasn't anything that represented indigenous people.
She felt that there was always a lack of cultural
Representation for indigenous people here,
Cree and metis cultures.
And she wanted to change that.
Donna wanted something in this area,
And she called up alberta parks, and well,
I guess she pitched a tent.
[laughing]
I just called them up and asked them...
"would you like to put some teepees in
Sir winston churchill park?"
And he said, "I'll call you back."
And I thought, well, it was a try, right?
-Yeah. -Two days later, he said...
"I brought all my managers in."
He said, "this is our plan."
And they were into it right away. They said,
"yes, you can have two and there's more on the way."
So, the next step was...
They took a poll...
And then they took 14 more poles.
[laughing]
It's not just a structure.
Every pole has a meaning.
So, it's love, honesty,
Truth, humility,
Things that you bring into your home.
I have a camping tent, it's only three poles,
But I think they're all humility.
[laughing]
Talk about visual representation,
It's 20-foot high....
Bright beacons of cree culture.
This has been a big success- visitors have come from
All over alberta and from all over the world.
And these teepees, they show you a connection to the past,
But you're not exactly roughing it, okay.
So, this is not a traditional teepee inside.
We have a mattress that is six inches deep.
And if you want to "glamp" a little more,
You can contact the friendship centre and
We will add the hudson bay bedding.
Okay, they got lovely beds in there.
They got pillows and blankets.
These are a bit different than like,
Hundreds of years ago cree teepees,
Because if I know my cree history,
Which I'm pretty sure I do...
I think the heating fans next to the bed
Did not oscillate, but these ones do.
-[laughing] -these ones do.
But it's good 'cause it's...
It's more "glamping" than camping.
You're gonna be comfortable. In fact,
Alberta parks built some amenities there.
There's a little hut there that has
A full bathroom in it. A bathroom, which is-
Listen, I'd just been to mo's place.
The bathroom is fine, it's fine.
[laughing]
And there's also a kitchenette in there, right?
So, they got a stove and a microwave and fridge,
So it's a perfect balance, right?
You want to learn some, some cree history, you can.
You want to warm up a pizza pocket, you can.
[laughing]
There's so many visitors that come by to come and
See the teepees. -Right.
Which is great, like, that's creating conversation.
They've been booked solid all summer.
You can go on...
I think alberta parks runs an online booking portal.
It's best to book it online, right?
That's better than, you know, first come, first serve.
Because with this kind of thing,
You don't want to be getting into arguments about
Who was here first.
[laughing]
[applauding]
♪
When you talk about the community efforts
In lac la biche,
If you don't talk about archery,
You're missing the point.
[laughing]
I met up with father and daughter,
Rene schaub and emma thomas.
[cheering & applauding]
Okay, so these guys run a 3d archery.
I learned what that was. That's where you're shooting
At a three-dimensional foam model of an animal.
So, when I say 3d, I don't mean like you got goggles
And a headset and you're banging into the bookshelf.
-Right? -[laughing]
This club here, there was down to like ten people.
Rene told me that when he joined the archery club,
It only had about ten members, and no kids.
I wanted to make a family sport out of it.
And so, he did what any parent would do, right?
He became president of the club and changed the rules.
[laughing]
Emma, how old were you when you first shot a bow?
-I was eight. -Eight years old?
Yes, I just loved it.
My dad and I would shoot together,
Which made it even funner.
Amazing.
Rene isn't a guy to set modest goals,
Nor is he wants to take no for an answer.
He set out and succeeded in hosting bigger and
Bigger events here in lac la biche.
And the 2019 world 3d archery championships
Were held right here.
So, there was over 25 countries.
And, how many people?
318 archers, plus all their support staff.
Amazing.
It was the first time the world championships had
Ever been held anywhere outside of europe.
You can look it up, you see the all the host cities there.
There's genoa, Italy.
Avignon, France.
Sopron, hungary.
Lac la biche, alberta.
[cheering & applauding]
The thing that was really impressive
Was the community effort.
You know, not only was the facility built,
Everybody in town, they put on a parade for all these
Contestants and visitors from all over the world.
They singled out rene and thanked him for all of his
Efforts, which emma told me was a really touching moment.
The entire place stood in standing ovation for him.
But even like, you know, the community effort,
He told me volunteers went out through the night on atvs
To patrol the course because it's like a 12-kilometre
Course, and all these foam animals were out there.
Usually, you'd put them away,
But they had to leave them out
For the duration of the championships.
And you put them away because...
They'll get eaten by bears.
[laughing]
He said they had, they'd left out a lion one time...
And one of our furthest ones was attacked by a bear.
It was a lion, and took a piece of his bum out.
[laughing]
And the bear came, and ate the lion's butt.
[laughing]
And they had to, they had to get rid of it.
These things are expensive. They had to,
They had to throw the lion away.
Apparently, the butt was repairable,
But they couldn't get the grin off his face.
[laughing]
[applauding]
But I decided to give it a try, you know.
We went up, and they had a tree stand built and so
We were shooting down at this raptor, a velociraptor.
Pull back.
-Nice, look at that! -Ooh!
-You got him! -Got him!
-Just in the back of the neck. -Yeah.
They were both coaching me.
Emma showed me a technique where, you know,
You want to draw your arrow level and then bring it down.
Oh, nice one.
That's how you shoot a velociraptor.
Clever girl!
[laughing]
Nice!
I took a few shots at the crocodile in the swamp,
From the bridge.
Look at that!
I got excited because there's a kill zone and I thought
I got it in the kill zone, but realized I just missed.
-Nice! -Oh!
[emma] so close! [jonny] so close!
And then, I was like, I'm gonna get it next shot.
Okay, here we go.
♪
-[emma laughing] -I nailed the gopro!
I hit the camera.
They had a gopro set up behind the crocodile,
And I hit the gopro.
So now, all we got to do in editing,
I just got to go in and record me saying,
"all right, forget the crocodile.
I'm going for the gopro."
[laughing]
-Give me five, all right! -Ah! [laughing]
But it wasn't hard to believe that so many people
Came here and really enjoyed lac la biche.
Where else are there teepees and a mosque,
An orthodox church with the onion dome on top?
Yet it's uniquely albertan, for you also will find...
No less than twelve tire shops.
[laughing]
The world came to town with bows at the ready.
They ate the culture up like a rich person eating caviar,
Or a bear eating a fake lion's butt.
[laughing]
I saw the beach and dipped my toes.
I relieved myself, to my relief, at mo's...
After finishing a lebanese dish.
But sadly, now I must depart.
Cupid's lakeland arrow through my heart.
I think I love, more than like,
Lac la biche.
Thanks for coming out, everybody.
You've been great! Thank you!
-Thanks again! -[cheering & applauding]
I loved it, and I feel like it really accurately
Represents lac la biche and how we can basically
Get through anything.
Thank you so much for coming to our town,
And showing all the beautiful people we have,
All the culture that we have.
A feather in my hair.
Oh, here, I'll get it.
Thank you.
[laughing]
♪
[off-screen] [laughing]
[seagulls screeching]
♪
Still standing rocks!