Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The drought conditions settling throughout the West Coast are another example of what Fisheries and Oceans Canada has identified as the #1 threat to BC’s endangered salmon population.

“While there are many stressors that affect Pacific salmon survival, climate change is rapidly superseding these threats,” DFO media spokesperson Lara Sloan emailed Cortes Currents.

A recent twitter video shows thousands of dead salmon in spread out across the bottom of an almost dried up creek. Their corpses are so think that you cannot take a step without treading on them.

Sloan explained, “On October 4, 2022, the Heiltsuk First Nation identified the death of approximately 63,000 adult Pink and Chum salmon in Neekas Creek which is located approximately 25 km north of Bella Bella.”

On Wednesday, October 5, the City of Nanaimo released water from its reservoir to help the Chinook run stranded in the tidal portion of the Nanaimo River. The augmented flow will enable them to reach their spawning grounds. It will taper off on the weekend of October 8-9.

It may be a little early for the Chum to return to Basil Creek on Cortes Island. They seem to have arrived towards the end of the month last year. In 2020 Christine Robinson wrote they ‘began to come into the creek on October 17.’

There were no signs of any fish, when I walked along the bank this morning. To my untrained eye, it is difficult to image salmon passing through the immense bed of rocks at the creek’s mouth. There is only a narrow trickle of water.

“Vancouver Island has been experiencing an extended period of dry weather.  Coupled with warmer water temperatures, current conditions for salmon in smaller river systems are generally poor, and there is unlikely to be sufficient rain to improve conditions in the next week to 10 days,” wrote Sloan.

“A small number of river systems where water flow is controlled are experiencing water levels more typical for this time of year (e.g. Cowichan, Campbell, Qualicum and Stamp Rivers…).”

Rochelle Baker of the National Observer recently donned a wetsuit to swim among the abundant Pink Salmon run in the Campbell River.

Sloan warned that it may become necessary to reduce the flows of these less effected rivers, if drought conditions persist.

“In general, we are not seeing fish moving into systems in the area, rather they are staging in front of rivers, or in deep pools in rivers where accessible.  Some species have commenced spawning (e.g. Pink Salmon or early-timed populations of Chum and Chinook Salmon), but their eggs are likely safe, provided they remain moist through groundwater or subsurface flows,” she wrote.

“The planet is warming, and the most recent five years have been the warmest on record. In Canada, the rate of warming has been twice the global average and is even greater at northern latitudes.  Stemming historic declines and rebuilding key Pacific salmon populations are the overarching goals of the historic $647 million Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) launched in June 2021. PSSI represents the largest-ever Government of Canada investment to save Pacific salmon. We need to take action toward stemming the declines now, while helping to rebuild adaptable populations over the longer term.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - There were at least 159 Cortes Island residents living in ‘unsheltered’ or ‘at risk’ conditions when they responded to the housing needs survey last spring. There was a smaller response on Quadra and the Outer Islands, so only 69 were identified. These are both low numbers. At one point during our interview Emma Wallace, who oversaw this project, suggested the actual number for Cortes might be 10% higher. So I am going to guesstimate about 175 people in a population of about 1,100. (I do not believe there is enough data to make a serious guesstimate in Area C.)

Wallace is employed by the Rural Development Network, which was commissioned to do this study by the Campbell River & District Coalition to End Homelessness and the Urban Indigenous Housing and Wellness Coalition.

In today’s program she gives a demographic sketch of the unsheltered and at risk population. Some will find this episode a little dry, but Wallace scatters nuggets of insight throughout.

“One of the things we do is we break down demographics of all of our survey respondents. So we ask them a series of questions that helps us identify who they are and what their experiences might be and how their experiences affect their housing,” explained Wallace.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - There may may be more than 1,200 ‘housing unstable’ people in the Strahcona Regional District.

This figure arises from a comment that Emma Wallace, of the Rural Development Network, made when she relased the comments from the 'Collecting Stories of Where you Live' data collection project.

Wallace’s organization was commissioned by the Campbell River & District Coalition to End Homelessness (CRDCEH) and the Urban Indigenous Housing and Wellness Coalition (UIHWC) to conduct the housing and service needs estimation in the Strathcona Regional District earlier this year. The ‘stories’ her organization collected were written responces to the housing needs survey.

Wallace spoke at the Thursday, October 6 meeting of the Campbell River and District Coalition to End Homelessness

“We identified 427 surveys that were suitable for analysis and that is the focus of this report and today's presentation,” said Wallace.

311 of these responces surveys came from ‘housing unstable’ people and, after you add in their spouces and dependents, the number of people known to be in ‘unstable conditions’ rose to 801.

“It's really important here to emphasize or remind folks that there are likely many more people experiencing homelessness in the region,” said Wallace.

Cortes Currents asked,”Do you have any idea of how widespread the problem really is?”

Wallace responded, “What we often say is that we likely have captured 65% of the folks who are experiencing homelessness in an area.”

That works out to 1235, but as it is a guesstimate it is probably more accurate to say there could be more than 1200.

The regions highlighted in the Rural Development Network report are:

Campbell River, We Wai Kai (Quinsam), Wei Wai Kum First Nation, SRD Area D

Cortes Island and Klahoose First Nation

Quadra Island and the Outer Islands

Gold River, Tahsis, Tsaxana and Sayward

50 of the respondents were ‘unsheltered,’ 15 were in emergency shelters, 97 were ‘provisionally sheltered’ and 211 were in situations where their housing was ‘at risk.’

The top five reasons for housing instability were:

an inability to afford rent or mortgage payments

low wages

housing needs major repairs

increasing rent prices

illness or medical conditions

One of the surveys shocking findings is that 65% of the ‘unstable respondents’ are employed.

In addition:

- 107 people don't have heat in their home.

- 55 lack indoor plumbing.

- And 37 don't have access to safe drinking water.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The two candidates running for Regional Director of Area C, in the October 15 election, appear to have very different visions of how to govern.

Robyn Mawhinney explained:

“I'm very focused on creating a Community Advisory Council to support the Director's decision making process, a community advisory council with a broad spectrum of community voices. The other candidate, Marc Doll, is really focused on using his directorship as an opportunity to build a Community Association from the ground up. I'd like to talk about the difference between a Community Association and an Advisory Council and why I think there is quite a big difference.”

“There are several benefits to an Advisory Council. The Director receives input from a broad spectrum of community voices. It has geographic and demographic representation. It also does not add a complex layer of work to Area C’s already limited volunteer base. The Advisory Council is meant to support the decision making process of the Director, brainstorm and discuss island centric solutions to big issues as well as sharing opinions on land use and zoning applications. A Community Advisory Council is a no cost process.”

“It's really important that it has representation of the many diverse areas of Area C as well as representation of various areas within Quadra Island. The ages I would like to be represented: under thirties and elders, as well as those in between. I think it's really important for various interest groups, or important groups on Quadra Island to have a voice at the Advisory Council as well. Those voices or areas I would consider to include would be tourism, silviculture, First Nations, business interests and environmental advocacy. I think all those voices are really important.”

“As a Director, I intend to support the community and our established island institutions that we already have. Things like Quadra Island Recreation Society, ICAN, Quadra Circle, Quadra Foundation. These groups are already doing great work on Quadra Island. There are so many islanders who are busily engaged in community volunteering, and I'm grateful that the Quadra Community Center provides an umbrella of support for many of these groups and committees.”

“On Read Island, there's the Surge Narrows Community Association, which manages important projects. They've mentioned that they would love to find a way to have a paid community recreation organizer, something I'd look into researching as Director. My point is that there is great work being done in these organizations and through these organizations, and I see my role as director to support and strengthen this work.

“An Advisory Council is intended to provide the Director with a range of thoughtful opinions while not adding a complex layer of volunteerism work to our already busy involved community. I think it's important to tap into a range and intentionally broad spectrum of representation.

Historically, in my memory, a previous community association that was formed on Quadra Island was frequently in opposition to the Director. Apart from the costs and logistics, the Director is being elected to do the work, to take responsibility for decisions. I am unequivocally committed to doing the work.

To taking responsibility to listening to the community and reflecting that at the board level. I'm also dedicated and committed to amplifying community driven projects and advocating on important issues with other levels of government on Quadra Island.

There have been various residents and Community Associations over the years, and if there is an appetite for organizing as an association I think that's fantastic. As a Director, I would never stand in their way of organizing, and I would definitely attend and listen to the ideas and concerns being discussed.

I would say that it sounds like a time consuming process to create such an organization and the work of the Director is already a substantial job.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - One of the key points that Marc Doll keeps mentioning, in his campaign to become Regional Director of Area C, is the need to form a community Association. In today’s interview he explains why.

“There’s significant differences between a Community Association and an Advisory Council,” explained Doll.

“It’s created by the Regional Director, for the Regional Director. It is an attempt to give the Regional Director some input from a select group of people on the island.”

“A community association, on the other hand, is created for the community by the community. It is independent of a Regional Director, but it’s process of how it proceeds with discussions, how it attacks issues informs the regional director while it’s doing the work of the community association at the same time. So it’s more of a parallel process, it’s independent, it’s democratic. Those are some of the significant differences.”

Q/Why is this important?

“Well, I think it’s incredibly important on basic democratic principles, on community building and community organizational principles. The other thing is in terms of effectiveness, a regional director is one person who has, in our case, two votes on a council with 35 votes. There is limited power that comes with the voice of one.”

“However, when a community is engaged and working on issues, its voice is more than just the Regional Director table. Its voice extends out beyond that. It also adds weight to the voice that the Regional Director is bringing to the SRD table. Instead of saying, ‘Well, I’ve consulted with my people, and we believe this is the way to go,’ you’re now, ‘hey, the community has put the work into this issue. We’ve gone through a democratic process. Discussions were had. This is the way that Quadra Island and the Outer Islands wants to go.’ Weight really helps move community issues forward.”

“Another important aspect of a community association is it isn’t all about working on the next problem. It’s also doing the work of making a community better, of getting groups together, of making collaboration possible, of creating partnerships, of engaging people, getting people to focus on their community. Its reach is much more than just advising a Regional Director. It does the work of community building and making a community better.”

Q/How would you go about forming a community association on either Quadra Island or Area C?

“We already have a community association in Area C with SNCA, Surge Narrows Community Association on Reed Island.”

So we know that it is possible. We have examples on Hornby Island with HIRRA and Denman Island with the Denman Island Residence Association. So we have examples to fall follow. We’re not going to be inventing this from scratch. Like all not for profit organizations, there’s a basic template that needs to be followed. How it’s going to come about is actually already starting. One of the big parts of this campaign is finding those who have the passion for this community, that have the energy, that want to step up and make this happen. And as I’ve spent the last four months talking to people, the number of people wanting to jump on board is significant.

Getting messages like we got just this week from somebody saying,’ my chances of being appointed to an advisory committee are small, but I will join a community association in a heartbeat to make this community better.’ Those are the type of messages that we’re getting.

We know the interest is there and it’s simply engaging in and harnessing the skills and passions that we know people in this area and on these islands.

Hiway Hippy's home burned down by Cortes Currents (https://cortescurrents.ca/)

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - United Way British Columbia awarded an Emergency Preparedness and Response grant of $25,000 to Quadra Circle.

“We're pretty excited about it. We are a group of various social service and community organizations on Quadra,” said Maureen McDowell, President of Quadra Circle.

Quadra Circle’s 'Better at Home Program,’ the Quadra Island Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Program (NEPP), Quadra Island Seniors Housing, Quadra Legion Branch 154, Quadra ICAN, Old Age Pensioners and the Quadra Island Medical Clinic are all involved.

“On Quadra, we have a very good Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Program. There are volunteers in each neighborhood who know who the more vulnerable people are, and are able to reach out to them and see if they need help. They would plug us into those seniors if the seniors are willing to accept some extra help, or equipment in their homes. So we can make stronger, more efficient use of those resources that we have already in a more coordinated way.”

“We'll have a coordinator, at least for this project, who will help us take those action steps and make sure that all the systems are operating together and sharing information.”

McDowell said the situation was already on their minds, “Especially during the heat dome. Then in the winters when it's been extra snowfalls and power outages combined with storm after storm, after storm. We've certainly seen how difficult it is not for ourselves, as younger seniors, but especially for those who have more health problems or are more frail, can't get out, don't drive, whatever. They are really in a very stuck place that can put their life in health at risk.”

The B.C. Chief Coroner’s Report found that 67% of the 619 decedents during the recent heat dome were 70 years old or older. Most lived in homes without adequate cooling systems, such as air conditioners or fans. More than 60% had seen a medical professional within a month of their death.

“I do know of one situation where the person was very, very ill and when there was a request to find a fan, there was no fans left to be bought anywhere and the person did pass away. The heat played a big factor in it at the time. That’s the only one that I, personally, am aware of,” said McDowell.

“As islanders we do what needs to be done when an emergency comes up. We're already doing some of those things, but in some cases the financial resources to purchase equipment or to be able to coordinate and think ahead, et cetera. It's all been very add hoc.”

“The exciting part for us is to be able to work together with so many different community groups who are all doing good services, so that we don't overlap each other. We check in and know that somebody is helping Mary or Fred or whatever and it doesn't necessarily have to be Quadra Circle. It could be their friends, or their family, or their neighbourhood. It pulls the community together and in a way that maybe makes everybody, volunteers included, feel like they're making a contribution and giving back to the seniors in the community. Hopefully they know that they'll be able to get similar help when they need it and can't manage. I think that's the motivation for all of us that are working on this.”

Quadra Circle was already looking into the logistics of setting up a cooling or a warming center on Quadra, Cortes, or some of the Outer Discovery Islands. They were sudying the heat dome in particular and used this information to apply for the grant.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Jason Johnson has been the General Manager of Qathen Xwegus (QXMC) for a little over four months. He took the helm of the Klahoose First Nation’s management corporation during a busy tourist season. Johnson was back home with his family in Sayward when Cortes Currents interviewed him over ZOOM.

“I first wanted to acknowledge that I'm talking to you today on National Truth and Reconciliation Day, and I'm calling in from my home office in the unseated territory of the Comox First Nation,” he began.

“I wanted to first thank the community and all of our returning guests. We had an amazing season at the Gorge. It was also an opportunity for us to do some learning, and it was definitely a difficult start at the Gorge. We had a lot of support though, from the community. Gorge Harbor is a unique blend where tourism meets local, and plans are to continue this. I'm pretty excited about where things are going in that regard, but yes, we had the opportunity, to take a look at what worked and what didn’t."

Johnson emailed, “We welcomed a great many people to the resort arriving by vehicle, boat (and the odd plane!) There was live entertainment at least 5 days a week, great offerings at the Floathouse Restaurant and our store had another very busy season. RV sites were busy and the pool is always a hit.”

While he did not have the statistics, Johnson knew there were many nights when guests could not book a table at the Floathouse Restaurant. They were sold out. QXMC is looking into ways they can improve services and serve more guests. The restaurant is currently closed for repairs.

“When we reopen the doors there, the community will see some of the work done. It'll be very obvious,” said Johnson.

QXMC is also responsible for the drone recently flying over Squirrel Cove. It carries LiDAR, to assist with the planning and development of the 14 acres that Klahoose First Nation acquired in Squirrel Cove.

“We are leaning into the concept of camping facilities there. As that unfolds, I'll definitely have more to share on that. We are looking forward to the potential to bring another location to Cortes for the enjoyment of our residents, community, as well as building up another part of the tourist space for Cortes.”

2022 has been a strong season for the Klahoose Wilderness Resort, which is still in its peak season.

“We had the pleasure to welcome a lot of guests this year, much more than we had last year. We've had many nights as well on those three and four day tours that were completely sold out. Very successful season all the way around. We've had a lot of great feedback about the cultural immersive experience that our guests are enjoying,” said Jonson.

From all reports, the Bear Tours have been exceptional. Johnson has heard this from partners like Campbell River Whale Watching, Eagle Eye Adventures and West Coast Grizzly Bear Tours as well as staff.

“We've established that there's need for some more programming at the resort. Guests are wanting to see more excursions and we're looking really forward to building that out as we start planning our 2023 season.”

Klahoose Wilderness Restort is in operation mode until the end of October, after which QXMC intends to enlarge the trail network and seeing what other investments are needed.

“Our mandate with QXMC together with the Klahoose First Nation is long term sustainable financial security for the nation, but also to provide employment to the community and members of KFN,” explained Johnson.

“There's going to be so many positions available at the Gorge for this upcoming season. So I welcome anybody to think about employment with us. We will be actively recruiting again January, February for the season and looking forward to another successful season in 2023.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Cortes Community Housing Society have a number of updates to announce as they work towards having a town hall meeting for their Rainbow Ridge project.

“We're very much looking forward to having this town hall meeting, potentially near the end of October, but please stay tuned. We'll announce the date, the time, and the place as soon as we can get all the parties together and have all our documentation and designs ready to exhibit,”

said Executive Director, Sandra Wood.

“We've been waiting for the Ministry of Transportation (MOT) to approve our subdivision plan for more than a year. It's been a long process.”

The full service surveying and engineering firm J.E. Anderson was employed to design Rainbow Road, which will come into the housing project.

Miranda Cross, Project Director of the Dillon Creek Wetlands Restoration, designed their stormwater management plan. She came up with a plan of bioswales, ponds and creeks to help capture the stormwater coming off Rainbow Ridge. The nutrients, like the nitrogen and phosphorus, will be absorbed by plants and the soil.

“Building on that preliminary work that Miranda provided us with in 2020 and 2021, we have now hired a company called Kinship to take it to the next level. They are still working with our engineers at J.E. Anderson, to adapt the routing of the water to accommodate the new layout of the townhouses. We've moved them in different positions on the property. So the site plan has changed and therefore the routing of the stormwater has changed. That's the piece that Kinship is now working on and building on Miranda's original framework,” explained Wood.

The Cortes Community Housing Society has drawn up a covenant to do any final finishing work, so that the new occupants of Rainbow Ridge will not have to wait for everything to be 100% completed before moving in.

While the society has to pay for the road into Rainbow Ridge, MOT will maintain it in the future.

Iredale & Associates was hired to reduce development costs.

“In rural BC, and especially on these islands, there's no public water system to plug into. There's no public sewer system to plug into. Not only that, but you have to build your own roads on your own property. So that's what we're faced with on Cortes Island, and that obviously is a huge expense for our community to provide infrastructure for Rainbow Ridge.”

Iredale is working with the contours of the land, to position the future town homes so that they nestle more naturally into the land. This eliminates the need to spend a lot of money moving soil around for foundations and buildings.

“Our main focus over this past year is finding ways to more inexpensively locate the parking lots, driveways and the houses, including all of the infrastructure, like the sewer, water, and the power that has to get to each of those buildings.”

After this is completed, the new site layout and plans for the townhouses will be unveiled in a town hall meeting.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Carol Titler served on the Friends of Cortes Island Board (FOCI) during some of the society’s formative years. She was not one of the founding members, but joined in FOCI was still meeting in people’s homes and hauling its records around in boxes.

“Then Hubert Havelaar built an office space and it was moved to downtown Manson's Landing where it put us right there in the public eye. People began to really want to see what we were up to,” she explained. 

“I think I joined at a really great time because there was a wonderful group of people there. They had these great projects that were really interesting and I felt were really great for the island. Ralph Nursall, who is no longer with us sad to say, was the president of the board. He brought all of his skills from being a marine biologist and a professor. He put together contracts to work with people because sums of money would be donated for something like forestry, large sums of money, and we needed to make sure that was all accountable and so forth. Our office person was Kathy Smail, who was really wonderful about devoting a lot of time to setting up the actual organization … Kathy was always there working away at her computer. She was a great person with the members of the island and the public.” 

Now that FOCI had an office, they started putting together a library. They purchased a lot of books on sustainability, the environment, gardening or orchards, pruning, beekeeping, mushrooms, botany and anything else that seemed relevant through Marnie’s Books. Nursall contributed books from his years at the University of Alberta.

A discussion of various programs follows - photo courtesy FOCI