109 replies to this topic

[Matt R.]

Nailed it.

[Victoria Watcher]

Gulf Islands group has little support

 

Re: “Election an existential moment for the Gulf Islands,” commentary, Oct. 5.

 

The commentary by Frants Attorp is filled with conjectures that are far from the truth. He is one of the organizers of the Friends of Gulf Islands (FOGI) but he and his group of activists are no friends to Gulf Islands communities.

 

This group is less than one per cent of the Gulf Island population, yet they state that they are the voice of the Gulf Islands. They seem to oppose virtually anything and stir the pot in communities with innuendos and rumours.

 

 

https://www.timescol...l-river-5941700

[Mike K.]

Maybe it’s time to start an organization that brings some balance to the politics?

[Victoria Watcher]

Maybe it’s time to start an organization that brings some balance to the politics?

 

Who would be willing to put their time into that?  Especially facing so much opposition?

 

I'm guessing Gulf Islands home-ownership rate is at 90% or higher.  (percentage of SFDs occupied at least part-time by an owner).

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 October 2022 - 07:02 AM.

[Mike K.]

If ‘everyone’ dislikes the Trust so much and locals have so much trouble getting basic things approved, maybe the 90% are silent? I have yet to meet a resident of the islands who has a positive thing to say about the Trust.

[Matt R.]

The incorporation votes keep failing. It’s a loud minority that wants “change”.

[Mike K.]

There are incorporation votes? When was the last one?

[Matt R.]

2017, 3900 no to 2400 yes.

[Mike K.]

Oh yeah, those were the good ol’ days. What a lot of people wouldn’t do to return to the ‘normalcy’ of 2017.

It’s shocking to think that, isn’t it?

[Victoria Watcher]

Follow expert advice, don’t ignore it

 

Re: “Salt Spring’s governance model needs to be fixed,” commentary, Oct. 8.

 

David Fullbrook’s comments about the Islands Trust show a misunderstanding of the community he is working in and the governance he is dealing with.

 

There are 13 islands in the Trust Area, each electing two trustees, which is a total of 26 trustees in the Trust Council, not the 14 he calculates.

 

He states he “strongly” disagrees with the commentary from local resident Frants Attorp, but agrees “that a lot is on the line for Salt Spring this election.”

 

Fair enough, but going on to say that he doesn’t “believe the most pressing issue before island voters today is affordable housing, climate change or rising street crime” suggests he believes that the approval for his development is more important than the serious issues most other residents do feel are critical to the health of their community.

 

He then attempts to conflate economic difficulties, lack of housing and people leaving the island to the Trust, which only has responsibility for land use.

 

Furthermore, the public record will show that local trustee Laura Patrick did not “champion” a review of the Islands Trust or the Trust Act as he claims. In fact, trustee Patrick and all her fellow members of the executive committee voted against having a review by an independent consultant, Great Northern Management.

 

Attorp stated clearly and quite rightly that the process through which Fullbrook’s Vortex project is being subjected has serious misgivings, and therefore may have irreparable implications to the environment.

 

Trustees have chosen to ignore the findings and recommendations of their own staff and specialists that raise those concerns. It’s one thing to insist upon scientific data, it’s quite another to ignore those findings because they don’t support your particular desired outcome.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, but opinions lose their value if not based upon correct information. Attempts to revise the public record are not helpful.

 

Steve Wright
Pender Island

 

 

https://www.timescol...mocracy-5947420

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 October 2022 - 05:52 AM.

[Matt R.]

Oh yeah, those were the good ol’ days. What a lot of people wouldn’t do to return to the ‘normalcy’ of 2017.

It’s shocking to think that, isn’t it?

Things have changed, for sure. Everything pre March 2020 is like ancient history. Everything since then is new and uncharted. Want to run a 5 year sales analysis? Why bother, it’s all irrelevant now.

[Victoria Watcher]

A new trustee elected to represent Salt Spring Island on the Islands Trust Council is a tree faller who created a website called Stop the Islands Trust.

 

 

Jamie Harris says on the website, which is full of images of island pioneers, that the Islands Trust is “controlled by eco-radicals who have a extreme conservancy agenda with a total lack of regard for the working class citizens.”

 

Harris, who campaigned on a pledge to address the island’s workforce housing crisis, was elected with 1,327 votes— just 41 votes ahead of his campaign partner Don Marcotte.

 

 

https://www.timescol...-crisis-5987236

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 October 2022 - 06:09 AM.

[Mike K.]

There we go. Good find.

[Matt R.]

No salt spring elections thread, next time maybe.

[Victoria Watcher]

A Seattle woman who owned an island southeast of Nanaimo since the early 1960s has donated it to the Islands Trust Conservancy for protection as a nature reserve.

Betty Swift, who passed away in 2021, had built a small home on the island and visited often with her children and grandchildren.



https://www.timescol...reserve-6239659



The 52.5-acre island, which is close to Gabriola Island, is valued at $3.73 million by B.C. Assessment and is the Islands Trust Conservancy’s largest-ever land donation and the largest complete island managed by the conservancy.

The island is linked to Mudge and De Courcy islands at low tides.

Swift left instructions that her children and grandchildren be allowed to use the island for the duration of their lives.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 December 2022 - 03:39 PM.

[Mike K.]

So is it becoming public land, a park? What is its status likely to be?

I guess the wish of family having access until they pass, suggests it may be off-limits to the general public?

[Benezet]

So is it becoming public land, a park? What is its status likely to be?

I guess the wish of family having access until they pass, suggests it may be off-limits to the general public?

Quote from the article:

“The Islands Trust Conservancy said Link Island will continue to remain closed to the public so it can provide sanctuary to the rare and threatened ecosystems.“

[Mike K.]

Odd.

So the conservancy, and invariably the taxpayer, will be maintaining someone’s private island for the next 80 years?

[Matt R.]

Pretty much. But what’s to maintain if it’s to be left in its natural state?

[Mike K.]

Oh just you wait:

The conservancy is developing a management plan, and is initiating conversations about managing the island with First Nations. Link Island is located within the territories of the Cowichan Tribes, Xeláltxw (Halalt) First Nation, Lyackson First Nation, Spune’luxutth’ (Penelakut Tribe), SEMYOME (Semiahmoo) First Nation, Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo) First Nation, Stz’uminus (Chemainus) First Nation, and Ts’uubaa-asatx (Lake Cowichan) First Nation.

“We feel so honoured that Betty and her family have entrusted us with this island,” Linda Adams, chair of the Islands Trust Conservancy, said in a statement.

“It is our intent to manage Link Island in a way that recognizes and protects both its cultural and ecological values.”