Cortes Currents

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U Radio - In this edition of the Folk U Radio’s Reporters Roundtable, our journalists talk about environmental issues in some Vancouver Island small communities.

Our host, Manda Aufochs Gillespie of Folk U Radio, is joined by:

Shalu Mehta, reporter for The Discourse in the Cowichan Valley and on the West Shore.

Rochelle Baker, Quadra Island resident and reporter with the National Observer

Roy Hales, editor of Cortes Currents .

Marc Kitteringham, reporter with the Campbell River Mirror

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - “We have been reaching another exciting milestone, in our immunization here in BC. At some time today, the two millionth dose will have been given to people in British Columbia,” said provincial health officer Bonnie Henry, yesterday afternoon.

That’s nearly half of the provinces 4.3 million eligible residents.

While numbers are falling across British Columbia and Vancouver Island, they may temporarily be higher in Greater Campbell River.

The difficulty in making that assessment, is that the data released last Wednesday evening was already a week old.

There were 11 cases in Greater Campbell River Local Health Area during the epi-week ending on May 1st. That is almost a three fold increase over the previous epi-week, but not really a concern. This number was fluctuating throughout April.

There were 20 active cases in North Vancouver Island as of Thursday, May 6th and the numbers have been steadily going down for the past four weeks. There were 40 on Thursday April 16th.

The Vancouver Island wide statistics have been falling for an even longer time. There were 508 active cases on Thursday, April 9th, and 187 yesterday.

77% of the cases on Vancouver Island were variants of concern

The 8 schools currently listed on Island Health’s School exposure page are all in Victoria.

In yesterday’s update, Bonnie Henry said, “It is incredibly encouraging to see our immunizations going up and our rates of transmission ever so slowly bending down. It’s also so important that we started to see the impact of the measures we have been taking together in BC, meaning that hospitalizations and ICU admissions are also decreasing. This is a huge relief to many of us, to those of our colleagues who are working so diligently every day.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - “We have been reaching another exciting milestone, in our immunization here in BC. At some time today, the two millionth dose will have been given to people in British Columbia,” said provincial health officer Bonnie Henry, yesterday afternoon.

That’s nearly half of the provinces 4.3 million eligible residents.

While numbers are falling across British Columbia and Vancouver Island, they may temporarily be higher in Greater Campbell River.

The difficulty in making that assessment, is that the data released last Wednesday evening was already a week old.

There were 11 cases in Greater Campbell River Local Health Area during the epi-week ending on May 1st. That is almost a three fold increase over the previous epi-week, but not really a concern. This number was fluctuating throughout April.

There were 20 active cases in North Vancouver Island as of Thursday, May 6th and the numbers have been steadily going down for the past four weeks. There were 40 on Thursday April 16th.

The Vancouver Island wide statistics have been falling for an even longer time. There were 508 active cases on Thursday, April 9th, and 187 yesterday.

77% of the cases on Vancouver Island were variants of concern

The 8 schools currently listed on Island Health’s School exposure page are all in Victoria.

In yesterday’s update, Bonnie Henry said, “It is incredibly encouraging to see our immunizations going up and our rates of transmission ever so slowly bending down. It’s also so important that we started to see the impact of the measures we have been taking together in BC, meaning that hospitalizations and ICU admissions are also decreasing. This is a huge relief to many of us, to those of our colleagues who are working so diligently every day.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Midway through Cortes Island’s second Spring of the pandemic, more people are buying locally, but government restrictions and Quadra Island’s negative messaging have an impact.

Bill Dougan reported that, at the Gorge Harbour general store, “Up until the beginning of May, it was up quite substantially over last year. We’re seeing new people and a lot of local islanders who maybe were gone during the winter in normal winters, but are still here. We’re seeing a lot more people from Mansons Landing down at this end, I’m not really sure why. A bit of both: new people and people who usually go away during the winter.”

Eric Hargrave from the Cortes Natural Food Co-op emailed that “We do have more local customers; people are staying on the island more for their shopping, and we expect that to continue. However, we’re still seeing plenty of visitors on the weekends especially. People are still coming to the island – whether they’re looking for a new home, considering their retirement here, or just relaxing at the beach – I don’t know, but they are coming.

He reports that a year before the Pandemic, in April 2019, the Co-op’s sales were $140,000. They rose to $182,000 in April 2020, the height of the pandemic run on food. Sales for April 2021 were not much less than last year: $177,000.

Curt Cunningham said sales at the Squirrel Cove General Store have been steady.

“Local traffic is up, slightly, not a lot from before the virus and, of course, tourism traffic is way, way down. We’ve had very few tourists and a couple of boaters.”

Dougan says that, with sales being substantially higher, he is also ordering more stock. Yet, aside from a few tricky items, there has not been any problem keeping up.

Hargrave wrote, “Instead of making big orders in the store for bulk quantities like last year, people have gone back to more regular shopping. However, because the restaurant business is so limited now, people are looking for new foods to try and are still buying more on every trip. After a couple years at these levels, we expect them to become our new baseline for the future.”

Take-out has become a big treat for many Cortesians.

As of Wednesday, May 5th, the Floathouse restaurant is open five days a week, from one to 8:30.

The Sunflower Food Truck will be reopening at its new location by the Gorge Harbour store this Friday, from 8 AM to 1 PM and it will be open 5 days a week after the long weekend.

They have a full breakfast and lunch menu plus lots of home baked goods like Cinnamon Buns, Muffins, Cookies, and a local favourite: sausage rolls.

When I interviewed Carie Taylor a couple of months ago, she reported they were selling more than 30 sausage rolls a day through the Gorge Harbour store.

Sujon is now calling the Toki Bap Cafe Toki to go. Order from the menu on the Tideline, and select the pick up time by Thursday 4pm by email [email protected] or phone 250-935-6665 or text 250-201-5421. Pick up Friday 12-5:30.

The Co-op cafe is now a deli and has been slowly building sales again since the beginning of this year.

The Cortes Market Deli and Coffee Bar is open during store hours, with strict COVID protocols in place. They offer sandwiches, a variety of sweet and savoury goodies, plus Tim Horton Coffee to go.

There have also been challenges.

Eric Hargrave reports “There is an acute shortage of working people this year.

On April 23rd, the province announced it is prohibiting non-essential traffic between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

Quadra Island is asking visitors to stay away.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Midway through Cortes Island’s second Spring of the pandemic, more people are buying locally, but government restrictions and Quadra Island’s negative messaging have an impact.

Bill Dougan reported that, at the Gorge Harbour general store, “Up until the beginning of May, it was up quite substantially over last year. We’re seeing new people and a lot of local islanders who maybe were gone during the winter in normal winters, but are still here. We’re seeing a lot more people from Mansons Landing down at this end, I’m not really sure why. A bit of both: new people and people who usually go away during the winter.”

Eric Hargrave from the Cortes Natural Food Co-op emailed that “We do have more local customers; people are staying on the island more for their shopping, and we expect that to continue. However, we’re still seeing plenty of visitors on the weekends especially. People are still coming to the island – whether they’re looking for a new home, considering their retirement here, or just relaxing at the beach – I don’t know, but they are coming.

He reports that a year before the Pandemic, in April 2019, the Co-op’s sales were $140,000. They rose to $182,000 in April 2020, the height of the pandemic run on food. Sales for April 2021 were not much less than last year: $177,000.

Curt Cunningham said sales at the Squirrel Cove General Store have been steady.

“Local traffic is up, slightly, not a lot from before the virus and, of course, tourism traffic is way, way down. We’ve had very few tourists and a couple of boaters.”

Dougan says that, with sales being substantially higher, he is also ordering more stock. Yet, aside from a few tricky items, there has not been any problem keeping up.

Hargrave wrote, “Instead of making big orders in the store for bulk quantities like last year, people have gone back to more regular shopping. However, because the restaurant business is so limited now, people are looking for new foods to try and are still buying more on every trip. After a couple years at these levels, we expect them to become our new baseline for the future.”

Take-out has become a big treat for many Cortesians.

As of Wednesday, May 5th, the Floathouse restaurant is open five days a week, from one to 8:30.

The Sunflower Food Truck will be reopening at its new location by the Gorge Harbour store this Friday, from 8 AM to 1 PM and it will be open 5 days a week after the long weekend.

They have a full breakfast and lunch menu plus lots of home baked goods like Cinnamon Buns, Muffins, Cookies, and a local favourite: sausage rolls.

When I interviewed Carie Taylor a couple of months ago, she reported they were selling more than 30 sausage rolls a day through the Gorge Harbour store.

Sujon is now calling the Toki Bap Cafe Toki to go. Order from the menu on the Tideline, and select the pick up time by Thursday 4pm by email [email protected] or phone 250-935-6665 or text 250-201-5421. Pick up Friday 12-5:30.

The Co-op cafe is now a deli and has been slowly building sales again since the beginning of this year.

The Cortes Market Deli and Coffee Bar is open during store hours, with strict COVID protocols in place. They offer sandwiches, a variety of sweet and savoury goodies, plus Tim Horton Coffee to go.

There have also been challenges.

Eric Hargrave reports “There is an acute shortage of working people this year.

On April 23rd, the province announced it is prohibiting non-essential traffic between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

Quadra Island is asking visitors to stay away.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Rick Shellinick has been trying to subdivide his property for more than ten years and it now looks like he will not be able to have a public zoning meeting anytime in the immediate future. At their last meeting, the Strathcona Regional District Board passed a motion postponing all public meetings on Quadra Island until the province removes restrictions on public gatherings.

This is a controversial project, which in its current incarnation calls for developing 51 residential lots, a campground, marina and two waterfront parks in Gowland Harbour.

>>> The opposing vote

Though this was a meeting of the whole board, it is a rural issue and only the four Regional Directors could vote. All but one of them voted in favour of suspending public meetings.

Cortes Island’s Regional Director Noba Anderson, explained why she opposed the motion: “ I would support a delay for a few months, but it seems very likely that we won’t be able to have mass indoor gatherings for a year or more and I do not think it is appropriate to delay the core business of community land use planning, which is arguably the reason Regional Districts exist, indefinitely.”

Listen to the podcast to find out more

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Rick Shellinick has been trying to subdivide his property for more than ten years and it now looks like he will not be able to have a public zoning meeting anytime in the immediate future. At their last meeting, the Strathcona Regional District Board passed a motion postponing all public meetings on Quadra Island until the province removes restrictions on public gatherings.

This is a controversial project, which in its current incarnation calls for developing 51 residential lots, a campground, marina and two waterfront parks in Gowland Harbour.

>>> The opposing vote

Though this was a meeting of the whole board, it is a rural issue and only the four Regional Directors could vote. All but one of them voted in favour of suspending public meetings.

Cortes Island’s Regional Director Noba Anderson, explained why she opposed the motion: “ I would support a delay for a few months, but it seems very likely that we won’t be able to have mass indoor gatherings for a year or more and I do not think it is appropriate to delay the core business of community land use planning, which is arguably the reason Regional Districts exist, indefinitely.”

Listen to the podcast to find out more

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Funding is being set up for broadband internet on Cortes and Quadra Islands, as well as other relevant parts of the Strathcona Regional District.

“In essence, there are two different categories. There are communities that the Feds consider already served because they have a minimum upload and download speed. Parts of Quadra are like that and parts of Quadra are not. Cortes is not a minimum served community, therefore we can get Last Mile Funding from the Feds. Whereas areas that are considered served are not eligible, explained Cortes Island Regional Director Noba Anderson.“So in Cortes’ instance, [City West Cable and Telephone Corp] receives 90% of the funding required from senior levels of government.”

The SRD is borrowing the funding to service communities considered to be well served, but in its opinion are not well served.

Most of Squirrel Cove, Mansons Landing, Seaford and the part of Whaletown stretching north from Gorge Harbour will receive grant funding.

So will Bold Point, Granite Bay and Open Bay on Quadra Island and the village of Zeballos.

“This is to bring fibre optics to people’s houses, not to the ends of people’s driveways …The intention is that this is at zero cost to the homeowner. We are running on the telephone poles, across the whole island, but getting it from the telephone pole to your house will also be at our cost. If you have telephone poles up your driveway to your house, we will run it on those, and if you have an underground buried service, we will bury it, said Anderson.

The more established southern part of Quadra, along with Gold River, Tahsis, and Sayward are not eligible for grant funding.

So the SRD has agreed to borrow up to $12,540,255 so that City West can build the necessary high-speed broadband infrastructure.

City West agreed to make all payments (principal and interest) for the Indebtedness.

Disbursement of Loan:

$5,700,000 – Quadra Island

$800,000 – Tahsis;

$3,000,000 – Sayward;

$2,500,00 – Gold River

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Funding is being set up for broadband internet on Cortes and Quadra Islands, as well as other relevant parts of the Strathcona Regional District.

“In essence, there are two different categories. There are communities that the Feds consider already served because they have a minimum upload and download speed. Parts of Quadra are like that and parts of Quadra are not. Cortes is not a minimum served community, therefore we can get Last Mile Funding from the Feds. Whereas areas that are considered served are not eligible, explained Cortes Island Regional Director Noba Anderson.“So in Cortes’ instance, [City West Cable and Telephone Corp] receives 90% of the funding required from senior levels of government.”

The SRD is borrowing the funding to service communities considered to be well served, but in its opinion are not well served.

Most of Squirrel Cove, Mansons Landing, Seaford and the part of Whaletown stretching north from Gorge Harbour will receive grant funding.

So will Bold Point, Granite Bay and Open Bay on Quadra Island and the village of Zeballos.

“This is to bring fibre optics to people’s houses, not to the ends of people’s driveways …The intention is that this is at zero cost to the homeowner. We are running on the telephone poles, across the whole island, but getting it from the telephone pole to your house will also be at our cost. If you have telephone poles up your driveway to your house, we will run it on those, and if you have an underground buried service, we will bury it, said Anderson.

The more established southern part of Quadra, along with Gold River, Tahsis, and Sayward are not eligible for grant funding.

So the SRD has agreed to borrow up to $12,540,255 so that City West can build the necessary high-speed broadband infrastructure.

City West agreed to make all payments (principal and interest) for the Indebtedness.

Disbursement of Loan:

$5,700,000 – Quadra Island

$800,000 – Tahsis;

$3,000,000 – Sayward;

$2,500,00 – Gold River

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Telus intends to erect a a 73-meter tall cel phone tower on land owned by the Wei Wai Kai Nation at Drew Harbour, on Quadra Island.

They announced this in the Bird’s Eye on April 21 and April 28, stating “any person may comment by close of business on June 4th.” Interested parties are to email Brian Gregg of SitePath Consulting at [email protected]

Gregg emailed the Strathcona Regional District that “As you know, the land use authority in this instance is the First Nation however we wanted to send your team a copy of the upcoming newspaper notice as a courtesy to keep the SRD aware of TELUS’ plans in the area. We have full support of the We Wai Kai Nation Chief and Council and wanted to ensure that your team is in receipt of this notification as a courtesy.”

In response, the SRD Board is writing a protest to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to say they are opposed to this project until the community has been properly consulted.

According to Regional Director Jim Abram, the SRD lost out on Connected Coast funding because Telus gave the government incorrect information. The SRD had to borrow the money.

Regional Director Jim Abram said Telus has been trying to impede Quadra Island’s involvement in the Connected Coast project.

He said the more developed southern part of Quadra Island was not able to obtain funding through the Connected Coast because Telus gave the government misleading information about their internet connection speed.

” … That we were covered to a degree of 50 megabytes down, 10 megabytes up. That is untrue and we (subsequently) proved it with our screenshots. The highest one was 38. most of them were down around the 10s,” said Abram.

“They cut out a huge amount of our funding for the Connected Coast, which we are all involved in. We just passed a motion to borrow a bunch of money and that is because of what Telus has done. in this situation”

“Now they are trying to further impede our movement on the Connected Coast by putting up cell towers that will provide cell service … Also telling people that they can get high speed internet from those cell towers, which I believe they can – at a great deal of cost. That they are not telling us.”