Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -Donations to the Rainbow Ridge affordable housing project, on Cortes Island, have reached the point that all loans can now be repaid.

A number of people loaned the project large sums of money, at rates as low as 0% interest.

Project coordinator Sandra Wood was not sure how much they have raised to date, but could confirm that by the end of 2020 the project had received the $450,000 needed to repay all outstanding loans.

“We have enough cash in hand to pay all of them back. There was never a mortgage on the Rainbow Ridge land. We bought the land outright with the money that local people had loaned us. So it wasn’t a mortgage, it was local loans combined with local cash that was donated, that enabled us to buy that property. So now we have no debt on the Rainbow Ridge property,” she said.

They can now proceed to erect up to twenty-two affordable housing units in Mansons Landing.

Wood said they still have money left over for construction, and on top of that we are still waiting for the BC Housing Grant and project funding to be approved.

“That’s what we are hoping to hear back, hopefully later this year,” said Wood.

She added, “Local Islanders are making this happen. They are using their personal savings and putting it towards community projects.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -Donations to the Rainbow Ridge affordable housing project, on Cortes Island, have reached the point that all loans can now be repaid.

A number of people loaned the project large sums of money, at rates as low as 0% interest.

Project coordinator Sandra Wood was not sure how much they have raised to date, but could confirm that by the end of 2020 the project had received the $450,000 needed to repay all outstanding loans.

“We have enough cash in hand to pay all of them back. There was never a mortgage on the Rainbow Ridge land. We bought the land outright with the money that local people had loaned us. So it wasn’t a mortgage, it was local loans combined with local cash that was donated, that enabled us to buy that property. So now we have no debt on the Rainbow Ridge property,” she said.

They can now proceed to erect up to twenty-two affordable housing units in Mansons Landing.

Wood said they still have money left over for construction, and on top of that we are still waiting for the BC Housing Grant and project funding to be approved.

“That’s what we are hoping to hear back, hopefully later this year,” said Wood.

She added, “Local Islanders are making this happen. They are using their personal savings and putting it towards community projects.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -Donations to the Rainbow Ridge affordable housing project, on Cortes Island, have reached the point that all loans can now be repaid.

A number of people loaned the project large sums of money, at rates as low as 0% interest.

Project coordinator Sandra Wood was not sure how much they have raised to date, but could confirm that by the end of 2020 the project had received the $450,000 needed to repay all outstanding loans.

“We have enough cash in hand to pay all of them back. There was never a mortgage on the Rainbow Ridge land. We bought the land outright with the money that local people had loaned us. So it wasn’t a mortgage, it was local loans combined with local cash that was donated, that enabled us to buy that property. So now we have no debt on the Rainbow Ridge property,” she said.

They can now proceed to erect up to twenty-two affordable housing units in Mansons Landing.

Wood said they still have money left over for construction, and on top of that we are still waiting for the BC Housing Grant and project funding to be approved.

“That’s what we are hoping to hear back, hopefully later this year,” said Wood.

She added, “Local Islanders are making this happen. They are using their personal savings and putting it towards community projects.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - While the largest slide in human memory occurred only months ago, local historian Judith Williams says Bute Inlet lets loose all the time. In the podcast above she talks about a slide in the 1860s, another in the 70's and how debris from the most recent slide appears to have reached Cortes Island.

Williams has a special connection to Bute Inlet, which was the setting of her most recent book.

She also talks about its importance as a source of what some experts are already calling the 'oil of the future': water.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - While the largest slide in human memory occurred only months ago, local historian Judith Williams says Bute Inlet lets loose all the time. In the podcast above she talks about a slide in the 1860s, another in the 70's and how debris from the most recent slide appears to have reached Cortes Island.

Williams has a special connection to Bute Inlet, which was the setting of her most recent book.

She also talks about its importance as a source of what some experts are already calling the 'oil of the future': water.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - While the largest slide in human memory occurred only months ago, local historian Judith Williams says Bute Inlet lets loose all the time. In the podcast above she talks about a slide in the 1860s, another in the 70's and how debris from the most recent slide appears to have reached Cortes Island.

Williams has a special connection to Bute Inlet, which was the setting of her most recent book.

She also talks about its importance as a source of what some experts are already calling the 'oil of the future': water.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District is sending Cortes Island Regional Director Noba Anderson a letter advising of the SRD Board’s expectations regarding communications between Directors and Regional District staff.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District is sending Cortes Island Regional Director Noba Anderson a letter advising of the SRD Board’s expectations regarding communications between Directors and Regional District staff.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District is sending Cortes Island Regional Director Noba Anderson a letter advising of the SRD Board’s expectations regarding communications between Directors and Regional District staff.

an Mei Xi/ Vancouver Co-op Radio - In a time when many have felt hopeless, Libby Davies is anything but.

The former MP of Vancouver East of 18 years told The PULSE that she believes every group, no matter how marginalized, can “absolutely” make change.

"People know what needs to be done. The hard part is knowing how to do it," says Davies, in the podcast above.

"Libby Davies is one of Canada’s leading advocates for social justice. She was known for her principled yet collegial approach to important but often contentious issues as a community activist, a Vancouver city councillor and, subsequently, a long-serving member of Parliament. Throughout her 18 years in the House of Commons, she provided leadership and continuity during a tumultuous period in our political history. She gave a voice to the voiceless on such issues such as the plight of thalidomide survivors, LGBTQ rights, affordable housing, missing and murdered women, and safe injection sites - Governor General of Canada

She points to many wins for the neighbourhood during her decades as an elected representative, including the successful opening of Insite, North America’s first supervised drug injection site.

Davies said that a tip she would offer advocates is to persevere. Political change is an inherently slow process, said Davies, but a concerted effort over time will yield change.