Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -A new report comissioned by the Wilderness Committee and Sierra Club BC found that Federal and Provincial government policy gaps have rendered their protection of species at risk ineffective.

“Our study looked at terrestrial and freshwater vertebrate species in BC We needed to refine the scope a little bit just because there are so many species at risk in BC In order to do this analysis, we had to sort of narrow in on a few species to be representative. In total, we had 64 species. Of the 64 species, only two of them have had their critical habitat mapped by the deadlines. The remaining 97% have experienced critical habitat mapping delays anywhere from two to 18 years. And then there's 16 of the 64 species that still don't even have their critical habitat mapped,” explained Charlotte Dawe of the Wilderness Committee.

“For example, the spotted owl: despite them requiring critical habitat maps over 18 years ago, they still don't have those maps and, because of this delay, logging has continued in their habitat unabated. There's now only one known spotted owl left in the wild. This is a very sad but obvious example of how delays in critical habitat mapping can drive extinction of a species.”

Dawe said that after the recovery strategy for an endangered species comes out, the government has one year to produce the critical habitat map. In the case of ‘threatened species,’ they have two years.

A spokesperson from BC's new Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship emailed Cortes Currents that they have not had time to study the report and it would be premature to respond to specific questions.

He reaffirmed the government’s intention to implement the 'Together for Wildlife Strategy' as well as all 14 recommendations of the independent panel’s old growth strategic review report, including Recommendation #2 to “declare the conservation and management of ecosystem health and biodiversity of British Columbia’s forests as an overarching priority and enact legislation that legally establishes this priority for all sectors.”

“We were hoping to do a deep dive into basically all of the laws in BC that can help protect species at risk. So this also included the Federal Species at Risk Act and how it is working to protect or not protect species at risk in BC, but then also, we know that the provincial government relies on saying that we have a number of different laws that add up to offer protection to species at risk under their jurisdiction of what they manage. What we found is that these laws leave huge gaps that allow species at risk to continue to plummet to extinction,” said Dawe.

“For example, the Forest & Range Practices Act is something that BC commonly says helps protect species at risk, but Companies aren't even required to survey for species at risk before they lay out a cut block boundary.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Current - Walk With Me’ returns to Campbell River on Wednesday November 16, 2022. Participants will sit in a circle, while the organizers descibe the project and explain the explain the context of the stories they are about to hear. Then they will go on a walk, listening to a 40-minute-long audio on a headset. (There are static options for people with mobility issues.) After the walk is over, everyone will return to Spirit Square and reflect upon what they heard.

“We exist in a public health emergency that has taken the lives of 30,000 Canadians and many of whom are my friends. I've dealt with friends dying for the last 10 years to the toxic drug poisoning crisis, and it's conducive society community to do what it is able to do to prevent the loss of life and to prevent suffering needlessly,” explained Christopher Hauschild, a Research Administrative Coordinator with the project.

Project Director Sharon Karsten added, “We’re building relationships across divides, inviting people to think about the gravity of the crisis and about potential solutions in these small cities. I think really key in all of this work are notions of collective health and wellness and how can this be achieved in our small communities? Certainly there's a rise in housing prices, a rise in numbers of people experiencing homelessness in these small places. With those numbers rising comes a rise in community tensions around downtown cores, and around public space. All of these tensions tend to sit under the surface and boil away. They need to be addressed in some way through a dialogue, through civic engagement, through better understanding, through human connection. That's the work of this project is to facilitate those understandings, those connections, those relationships that we hope will lead to transformation.”

This is not the first time they came to Campbell River. There was a walk in the fall of 2021.

Campbell River’s next ‘Walk with Me’ takes place from 10:30am-12pm, and 12:30-2 p.m. on November 16. Anyone wishing to participate is invited ito Spirit Square.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - When temperatures plummeted to −20° last year, SRD Emergency Coordinator Shaun Koopman stepped in to make arrangements for Campbell River’s homeless population to be sheltered in the city’s community centre. The SRD intervened again last week, but at their November 9 meeting the Board decided this was a Campbell River problem.

As Chief Administrative Officer David Leitch put it, “When it comes to the shelters, then the direction we have is that the Regional District is not going to do anything. I'm not saying that these groups won't approach us and we'll communicate with the city, but we have no authority.”

Former City Councilor and newly elected Campbell River Mayor Kermit Dahl explained, “For the last four years on council, this has been a last minute thing every year and each year the SRD comes to the city and wants to use the community center. This year, same thing. I was hoping that maybe something had happened over the last year, but clearly nothing has. We had 24 hours notice that the SRD was asking if the community center could again be used as a shelter and programming that was already prescheduled had to be canceled to make it available.”

The SRD vote came in response to a Campbell River Coalition to End Homelessness request ‘that the Strathcona Regional District consider becoming the operator for BC Housing contracts for temporary and extreme weather shelters in the Regional District.’

Their letter states:

“Until 2021, Campbell River non-profit organizations have provided these services. As the population of unhoused individuals and families increases, our partner organizations no longer have the physical or human resources to open these critical services on their own.”

“These programs are periodic rather than ongoing, therefore existing agencies who are currently struggling with staffing and resource issues cannot meet this surge in demand. We believe the sustainability needed to operate Extreme Weather/Temporary Shelters lies with a government body.”

“BC Housing is eager to open these shelters — almost wherever capacity and need exists. The Campbell River community has worked collaboratively in the last two years to develop and coordinate a community response that is nimble, flexible, and meets all regulatory and safety requirements.”

“We hope the Regional District will consider becoming the Operator in Campbell River as a starting point to develop systems and expertise for any community in the region that needs to open a temporary shelter. This would include budget development, signing the contract with BC Housing, recruitment, training and hiring staff, and financial administration.”

Rene LaBoucane, SRD manager of Strategic Initiatives, informed the board, “The coalition is seeking a longer term sustainable approach and has requested that the SRD manage and coordinate contracts with BC housing and work with the community to deliver services. We've had some initial discussions and basically want to get some direction from the board as to our next steps and if we further research the request.”

SRD staff presented two options to the board:

(A) They could give staff direction to prepare a report on the possibility of operating homeless shelters, or

(B) The SRD could advise the coalition that the SRD is not prepared to take on the responsibility for operating homeless shelters at this time.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Cortes Island just passed a major hurdle on the road to adopting a 3% tax on short term rentals. In the first meeting of the new board, the Strathcona Regional District unanimously voted to write a letter of support, which will accompany the Cortes Community Housing Society’s application to the provincial government for a Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT).

“We won't know if it's put in place until the province approves our application, but we're hoping that it will be in place by June or July of 2023,” said Sandra Wood, Executive Director of the Cortes Community Housing Society.

Cortes Island's new Director, Mark Vonesch, explained, “This is a tax that affects all short term rentals on Cortes, whether you do that through Airbnb or other online platforms, or you rent your place out privately. It also applies to the ‘hotels’ on Cortes, which are the Gorge Harbour Marina, the Cortes Island Motel and Hollyhock. In order for this application to be submitted, you need at least 50% support from the ‘hotels’ on the island. We were really fortunate to have Hollyhock, the Gorge and the Motel all sign on. Part of my argument to the Regional District is, ‘Look, there’s the support from 100% of all the ‘hotels’ on Cortes!”

If the Government approves the housing society’s application, people booking a short term rental anywhere on Cortes will pay a hotel tax. This will be collected by the ‘hotel’ or Airbnb, which sends it to the government, who passes it over to the Cortes Housing Society.

Vonesch explained that he found housing was the #1 priority mentioned by most Cortes residents.

“We need more rental housing. We need affordable purchase options. If we want to maintain the culture of Cortes, we need to support our businesses and make sure that they have places for their workers to live.”

Wood added that the housing situation changes after tourists discover remote locations like Cortes Island. The Airbnb and vacation rental market is more lucrative than providing year round rental accommodation to locals. This has created a shortage of housing.

At their inaugural meeting on November 9, Vonesch told the incoming Strathcona Regional District Board that the proposed MRDT would help finance the Rainbow Ridge affordable housing project on Cortes Island. The Cortes Housing Society has already raised $1.6 million from the community and purchased the land. They want to build 24 one, two, and three bedroom units. There is a huge demand for affordable housing on Cortes, and 150 people are already on the waiting list for the 16 units that will be rented out at below market prices. The other 8 units will be used for professionals.

“One of our challenges is that we have a clinic, but we don't have places to put doctors and nurses,” explained Vonesch.

He added while the Rainbow Ridge project seems ambitious, the Cortes Housing Society has already proven themselves. Units in the Senior’s Village which they completed in 2020 are currently being rented out for $535 a month, or one-third of the tenant’s income.

“What I'm asking is that the SRD provide a letter of support for the application that we're making,” he said. “My opinion is there's zero risk to the SRD for writing this letter of support. The worst case scenario is that this application goes into the BC government, and they say, ‘Nope, sorry, we're not going to implement it.’ Best case scenario, they're going to say, ‘Yes. We're going to raise an estimated $50,000 a year that’s going to provide a revenue for Cortes to put towards community housing.”

The new SRD Chair, Ron Kerr, was quick to endorse the proposal, “Thank you Director Vonesch for bringing this to us. It sounds like a great initiative. I think you presented it really well and I think this is an opportunity to really show what this board can do and not drag things on, but try and move them forward.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The new Strathcona Regional District Board was sworn in on Wednesday, November 9.

“10 of the 14 directors on the Stratcon Regional District Board are new. So there's been a huge changeover, you do have some folks with experience in there, but it's a new place to work and, my initial experiences with folks is that people are approaching this job with a really open mind, a willingness to work together, cooperative attitudes and it's really great,” explained Mark Vonesch, the new Regional Director for Cortes Island.

Prior to swearing them in, Judge Barbara Flewelling reminded the directors of the common issues throughout the district. The need for affordable housing is probably on the top of everyone’s list. Homelessness is a major issue everywhere. In many areas, long drives are involved to reach anything from groceries to a bank. Rural areas do not have adequate internet service, which is why the Connected Coast project came into being. There aren’t enough BC ambulance first responders and shortages of medical caregivers is resulting in many closures. There is a widespread labour shortage and climate change appears to be upon us.

“That's a pretty daunting list, but don't be discouraged. What I wanted to say was I was struck by the many common goals that you are all facing and shared by your districts, even though they each have their own unique needs and priorities. There are many challenges that such a large and diverse area presents, and it will require leadership and teamwork and collaboration to work together for the good of the land and the communities and the people who live in your areas who live in this land. I was happy to see there are many new faces with new ideas this year, and that's encouraging,” she said.

Mark Baker, the mayor of Sayward, is the new SRD Chair, “What’s important to me, that I stress up my council back in Sayward is that we work for the betterment of the unit for everybody. It's not ‘us’ that are important, it's the job that we do. That's what's important, and I think it's also very important that we have the opportunity to discuss resolutions and things brought forward to us here. When we have discussion, it's extremely important to view and to express our feelings about what that topic is in front of everybody. That, to me, gives you an open, honest, and transparent government.”

A number of business items were discussed.

Campbell River Director Ron Kerr is the new Vice Chair and will be representing the SRD at the Remembrance Day celebration in Campbell River’s Spirit Square today.

Staff is preparing a tentative 5-year contract between the Regional District and the South Quadra Fire Protection District for operations in north Quadra Island.

The Campbell River & District Coalition to End Homelessness has requested that the SRD become the operator for temporary and extreme weather shelters in the Regional District. After a long debate, which Cortes Currents will report separately, the board decided to advise the coalition that the SRD is not prepared to take on the responsibility for operating homeless shelters at this time.

However the board agreed to write a letter of support for a proposed 3% tax on Cortes Island’s short term rentals. The final decision on this tax will be made by the provincial government, but Robyn Mawhinney, the new Director for Area C, was encouraged by the response this request for support received.

“I think it really sets a great tone for future meetings, that we can recognize when there is a community initiative that needs support and ensure that that happens.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - More than a third of the 'housing insecure' respondents to the survey on Quadra Island and 15% on Cortes Island were seniors. The percentage was lower throughout the Strathcona Regional District, but a significant number of residents are paying more for rent or mortgages than they can afford. In the second half of an interview with North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney, she talks about ways the government can help seniors living below the poverty line.

(As there was room in today’s broadcast and they effect seniors as well as the wider population, she also spoke about GST rebates and carbon pricing.)

“We know across Canada we're definitely hearing from a lot more seniors, probably because we have, of course, an aging population. For Cortes, that's about 27% of people that are over 65 and for Quadra quite a lot higher than that,” Blaney began.

She considers couples earning $30,000 or less to be below the poverty line, ‘because it's pretty hard to live under that amount.’

One of the things that concerned her was the Government’s decision to only increase Old Age Security (OAS) benefits for people over the age of 75.

“The Liberal government has brought this forward and said, ‘Okay, we know that seniors 75 and older are struggling.’ They have a lot of statistics to back that up, and I don't disagree with them,” explained Blaney.

“The problem is it means that they're assuming that every senior between the age of 65 and 74 is fine and dandy and we know that's not the case. If you're a senior who has a severe disability, if you're a senior who has a very modest income, life is not getting better for you and you are really struggling.”

“So it's one of those things where I have to ask the seniors minister, ‘Are you not taking into consideration that if you leave people struggling between the ages of 65 and 74, their health outcomes are going to be a lot worse when they hit 75? So we're really encouraging them not to have a two-tier system. It doesn't make any sense. Just give people who are 65 and older the same amount of OAS as everybody else so that we can nip that in the bud.’”

Another one of the problems that Blaney is concerned about is the 25,000 to 35,000 seniors that are cut off from the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) every year and then reinstated after 3 or 4 months. The problem first came to her attention shortly after Blaney was elected. A woman in her 80’s, who did not know where to turn, phoned the constituency office and said she was about to be evicted from her home. She had been ill during tax season, was a few weeks late getting her taxes in and was consequently cut off from the GIS. Blaney’s Office was able to fast track her reinstatement with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and reassure the woman’s landlord that her rent money was coming.

Since then, every July when the tax assessments come out, Blaney hears from seniors across North Island-Powell River who have been cut off from the GIS.

So she filed a question on the order paper in parliament and received more information about the Canadian seniors who were being cut off.

“Most likely what was happening was seniors were getting their taxes in a little bit late for whatever reason. The stories that I've heard are: somebody is sick, a loved one passes away, they're caring for their partner who is very ill, so many different things.”

So Blaney is filing Motion 70, which calls for a year of grace before seniors are cut off from the GIS.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The situation for 57 boats tagged on the beach in Mansons Landing Provincial Park has changed. They were origiinally to have been destroyed if not moved within 30 days. That was before Lisa Ferentinos spoke with BC Parks Supervisor Thomas Porsborg. Now the removal order only applies to ’15 boats that have been determined to be derelict.’

Ferentinos emailed Cortes Currents,“Photos of the 15 boats will be made available soon through an announcement on Tideline with a link. BC Parks is interested in meeting with community members when they come to the island sometime around the end of November. They will notify us of the date. They can show us the boats to be removed before it happens. We can discuss with them potential areas for storage of boats adjacent to the parking lot. They also need to determine a strategy for reducing the number of boats being stored. Boats can't be kept anywhere they will destroy the coastal strand vegetation that protects the shoreline.”  

Porsborg thanked Ferentinos for her interest in resolving this issue, writing “it’s much appreciated.”

 

He also informed her that there are no other BC Parks that have a similar issue with boats being stored on park property, as storage of anything on park property is illegal. However, there are community groups that have partnership agreements with Parks to maintain trails and interpretive sites. Thomas can send us the standard language in an agreement. 

If an organization were to make an agreement with Parks for a structure to hold kayaks and canoes, or an area for boat storage, liability insurance would be required and something like an annual registration fee might need to be charged to cover it.

He stated that eventually BC Parks will require that all boats be moved outside the park boundary, but they have no timeframe for this.

The Canadian Coastguard is aware that the derelict boats that may be creating pollution inside the lagoon and at some point they may beome involved in this issue.

Also, the Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans is selling off wharves that are not primarily used for fisheries. This includes the dock at Mansons Landing.

Meanwhile BC Parks will be coming to Mansons Landing Prov Park for a walk-about towards the end of November.

You have been listening to a synopsis of Lisa Ferentinos email, which Park Supervisor Thomas Porsborg has seen and commented on.

Roy L Hales/ COrtes Currents - The inaugrial meeting of the new Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board occurs today. All of the incoming and re-elected Directors will be sworn in. Both of the two new Directors from our broadcast area, Mark Vonesch and Robyn Mawhinney, will be among them. Cortes Currents spoke to Mawhinney about her preparations to take office.

My days have been very full since the election. I had a seven hour orientation session at the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) office, and I learned from the many different departments what they're working on and how they intersect and can support Area C and Quadra Island. I've had other meetings with other staff members as well, including Tommy Yates, the corporate officer. I've been learning about the options and considerations as I work on how best to achieve the community advisory council that I spoke about during my campaign,” she explained.

“There are issues, of course, which continue from one director to the next, and I'm really grateful for Jim Abrams commitment to a smooth and informed transition. He and I have had several long conversations.”

She’s also been getting emails and phone calls from her constituants.

One of the ideas that she found particularly intriging was trying to come to a strategic alignment with the other Regional Directors, on the issues they want to prioritize over the next four years.

“Many staff decisions are filtered through these strategic priorities and initiatives. I understand that the board will be working together on these in spring 2023, setting the direction for the next four years, and I am looking forward to that,” said Mawhinney.

“It feels to me like each director really has the best interests of their community at heart, and each of the electoral area communities have very different needs and priorities within them.”

Gerald Whally gave the other rural Directors a tour of the Sayward Valley and village last week.

Mawhinney said she is enjoying getting to know the other Directors, and listed their top priorities:

Gerald Whalley (Area A: Sayward to Kyuquot/Nootka) - keeping taxes low and people as unfettered as possible by any sort of regulation.

John Rice (Area D: South of Campbell River to Oyster Bay, from the Strait of Georgia to Buttle Lake) - water is important t the whole community

Vonesch (Area B: Cortes Island) - who has been wotrking with the Cortes Housing Society on a plan to impose a 3% tax will be asking the SRD for a letter of support to impose a 3% tax on all of Cortes Island’s short term rental units.

Mawhinney was impressed by the fact Vonesch is ready to ask the SRD for a letter of support. If he gets it, the next step will be to approach the provine.

“It was great hearing how far Cortes has come in their work towards affordable housing. I think that here on Quadra we have a lot to learn from Cortes,” she said.

Mawhinney also spoke about Jim Abram’s assistance dealing with the Outer Islands. The SRD has completed a fire brigade study for the Surge Narrows Community Association. They are currentlly assessing whether it meets their needs, or if there's some other option which might meet their needs better.

The SRD is also about to install pumps on the wharfs at Owen Bay and Evans (Sonora Island), Evans Bay (Read Island), Surge Narrows (Read Island) and Port Neville (on the B.C. Mainland). This is a fire protection measure that that Mawhinney inherited from Abram. She learned about at her orientation meeting and the SRD engineer has agreed to let her come along when they do the installation.

“I’m really excited to see Owens Bay and Evans Bay. I visited Surge Narrows four times during my candidacy, but I haven’t had a tchance to explore further,” she said. about I believe that visiting and experiencing a location expands one's understanding and respect for a place, and that I'm really looking forward to it.”

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - The high school students from the Cortes Island Academy (CortesISlandAcademy.ca) join Folk U host Manda Aufochs Gillespie in a teen takeover of Folk U featuring their favourite songs of the day and a bit of commentary.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - According to data from the 2016 census, 20% of Quadra Island residents and 27% of Cortes Island residents are paying more for their homes in rent or mortgages than they can afford. More recent studies suggest that a significant number of families throughout the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) are so financially stretched that they are at risk of becoming homeless. 75% of the 'housing insecure' respondents to the ‘Collecting Stories of Where We Live’ survey on Cortes Island, and 33% on Quadra Island, are working. These are some of the people North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney is referring to, when she talks about the need for a bar of dignity.

“One of the things that I'm really passionate about working for in my constituency, and in fact for all of Canada, is this idea of having a bar of dignity. We can't let them go under that,” she told Cortes Currents.

“What we're seeing now is a lot of people falling between the cracks. We see it in our communities, we see it in people who are couch surfing. We see it in people in some of our bigger communities where they're pushing their carts around because that is their home. We're just seeing a lot of working families doing all the right things, just doing everything they're supposed to be doing, and they're not making enough to make ends meet.”

Blaney reiterated the idea that people should not be paying more than 30% of their income on housing.

“If it gets over that, it really leads to a lack of stability which is not good for communities and it's definitely not good for seniors and families,” she explained.

“If people have enough, things like crime go down and community well-being goes up.”