Cortes Currents

David P Ball/ Vancouver Coop Radio - A growing number of First Nations in British Columbia and beyond are ramping up their urgent demands for control over the welfare of their own children, particularly after numerous reports of "birth alerts" surfaced in the media this year.

A birth alert is the longstanding practice of social workers being alerted to an Indigenous mother going into labour so they can seize the newborn baby from her as soon as it is born. Sometimes, hospital staff alert children's ministries.

The issue sparked controversy after recent media reports, including an investigation by IndigiNews' reporter Anna McKenzie, who told The Pulse on CFRO the issue has deep personal impact for her not only as a child welfare reporter, but as an young Indigenous mother herself.

But her attempt to get information released by the government of B.C. about what it knew of the practice — before banning it, at least on paper, last year — hit a wall when the province gave her documents revealing the government's own lawyers suggested the practice could be unconstitutional.

McKenziw said the government demand the documents back and attempted to suppress IndigiNews' publication. After consulting with a lawyer, McKenzie said the Indigenous-run outlet refused to back down and published the exposé in the public interest.

The provincial children's ministry said in a statement that it would not tell parents if they had been subject to birth alerts in the past, because it wants to look "forward" not back in time, out of concern for "retraumatizing" parents. McKenzie called that explanation, "problematic."

She said now more First Nations are stepping forward to join the few who already negotiated self-determination over their own child welfare systems in B.C.

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - One of the advantages of virtual AGM is that people from Vancouver, Calgary, and select locations on both the West and East Coast can also attend. Most were in houses, but one was in a parked car and another on a sandy beach somewhere in Washington state. The Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island (FTCCIS) reviewed significant accomplishments of the past year at a ZOOM conference on Jan 23, 2021.

“We did our first COVID compliant Mycoblitz in the Children’s Forest… We identified 66 species and added 23 new species … We build these lists over time and will clearly get into several hundred species on Cortes. I would guesstimate there are more than 2,000 species on Cortes, so this is just the very beginning, “ explained mycologist Paul Stamets, who co-led the team with Cortes Island biologist Sabina Leader-Mense.

“We took one day to focus on research and mentorship, which Sabina organized in the field with six youth. Then we had a day of education and public participation. Those youth mentored and guided us through those interpretive mycostations,” said Christine Robinson.

“We started a whole new vocabulary. I just added mycoknots to it. Mycoblitz, mycostations, mycothanks, mycomerriment, and mycowonder came out of that week-end and now I am adding mycoknots – so the vocabularly continues to expand,” added Leader-Mense.

There is much more about the mycoblitz, as well as the James Creek spawning bed project, Youth programming, and the FTCCIS board for 2021 in the podcast above and https://cortescurrents.ca/significant-accomplishments-reported-by-forest-trust-for-the-children-of-cortes-island/

Photo courtesy Max Thaysen

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - One of the advantages of virtual AGM is that people from Vancouver, Calgary, and select locations on both the West and East Coast can also attend. Most were in houses, but one was in a parked car and another on a sandy beach somewhere in Washington state. The Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island (FTCCIS) reviewed significant accomplishments of the past year at a ZOOM conference on Jan 23, 2021.

“We did our first COVID compliant Mycoblitz in the Children’s Forest… We identified 66 species and added 23 new species … We build these lists over time and will clearly get into several hundred species on Cortes. I would guesstimate there are more than 2,000 species on Cortes, so this is just the very beginning, “ explained mycologist Paul Stamets, who co-led the team with Cortes Island biologist Sabina Leader-Mense.

“We took one day to focus on research and mentorship, which Sabina organized in the field with six youth. Then we had a day of education and public participation. Those youth mentored and guided us through those interpretive mycostations,” said Christine Robinson.

“We started a whole new vocabulary. I just added mycoknots to it. Mycoblitz, mycostations, mycothanks, mycomerriment, and mycowonder came out of that week-end and now I am adding mycoknots – so the vocabularly continues to expand,” added Leader-Mense.

There is much more about the mycoblitz, as well as the James Creek spawning bed project, Youth programming, and the FTCCIS board for 2021 in the podcast above and https://cortescurrents.ca/significant-accomplishments-reported-by-forest-trust-for-the-children-of-cortes-island/

Photo courtesy Max Thaysen

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - One of the advantages of virtual AGM is that people from Vancouver, Calgary, and select locations on both the West and East Coast can also attend. Most were in houses, but one was in a parked car and another on a sandy beach somewhere in Washington state. The Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island (FTCCIS) reviewed significant accomplishments of the past year at a ZOOM conference on Jan 23, 2021.

“We did our first COVID compliant Mycoblitz in the Children’s Forest… We identified 66 species and added 23 new species … We build these lists over time and will clearly get into several hundred species on Cortes. I would guesstimate there are more than 2,000 species on Cortes, so this is just the very beginning, “ explained mycologist Paul Stamets, who co-led the team with Cortes Island biologist Sabina Leader-Mense.

“We took one day to focus on research and mentorship, which Sabina organized in the field with six youth. Then we had a day of education and public participation. Those youth mentored and guided us through those interpretive mycostations,” said Christine Robinson.

“We started a whole new vocabulary. I just added mycoknots to it. Mycoblitz, mycostations, mycothanks, mycomerriment, and mycowonder came out of that week-end and now I am adding mycoknots – so the vocabularly continues to expand,” added Leader-Mense.

There is much more about the mycoblitz, as well as the James Creek spawning bed project, Youth programming, and the FTCCIS board for 2021 in the podcast above and https://cortescurrents.ca/significant-accomplishments-reported-by-forest-trust-for-the-children-of-cortes-island/

Photo courtesy Max Thaysen

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - The relocated Whaletown Post Office has finally got its approved Canada Post internet connection! Twincomm and Canada Post’s technical staff were able to get the PO online in January, so semi-automation is restored for many routine postal functions. Customers can once again use credit cards.

heat, phone & internet

The Post Office now has a Telus landline number again: 6341.

The Whaletown community has continued to support the relocated building during many upgrades since its relocation last year. Both volunteer and paid hours have resulted in proper under-floor insulation, power metering, an electric heater, and other improvements. Canada Post supplied an entire new wall of (sequentially numbered!) post boxes, installed by local carpenters.

Acknowledgements

In a recent Tideline article, Postmistress Mary Clare expressed her particular thanks to Hubert Havelaar, Bruce Harrison, Bill Wheeler, John Messent, Carol London, Tammy and Bill, Rod and Karen Lee as well as others who “wished to remain anonymous.” The community participated in a hand-made knitted hat raffle just before the holidays, which helped to raise money for several of the recent upgrades. Hats were contributed by Ayami Stryke, Bernice McGowan, Carole Davidson, Donna Nichols, Gabriel Dinim, Helene Racine, and Jo-Anne Thompson.

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - The relocated Whaletown Post Office has finally got its approved Canada Post internet connection! Twincomm and Canada Post’s technical staff were able to get the PO online in January, so semi-automation is restored for many routine postal functions. Customers can once again use credit cards.

heat, phone & internet

The Post Office now has a Telus landline number again: 6341.

The Whaletown community has continued to support the relocated building during many upgrades since its relocation last year. Both volunteer and paid hours have resulted in proper under-floor insulation, power metering, an electric heater, and other improvements. Canada Post supplied an entire new wall of (sequentially numbered!) post boxes, installed by local carpenters.

Acknowledgements

In a recent Tideline article, Postmistress Mary Clare expressed her particular thanks to Hubert Havelaar, Bruce Harrison, Bill Wheeler, John Messent, Carol London, Tammy and Bill, Rod and Karen Lee as well as others who “wished to remain anonymous.” The community participated in a hand-made knitted hat raffle just before the holidays, which helped to raise money for several of the recent upgrades. Hats were contributed by Ayami Stryke, Bernice McGowan, Carole Davidson, Donna Nichols, Gabriel Dinim, Helene Racine, and Jo-Anne Thompson.

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - The relocated Whaletown Post Office has finally got its approved Canada Post internet connection! Twincomm and Canada Post’s technical staff were able to get the PO online in January, so semi-automation is restored for many routine postal functions. Customers can once again use credit cards.

heat, phone & internet

The Post Office now has a Telus landline number again: 6341.

The Whaletown community has continued to support the relocated building during many upgrades since its relocation last year. Both volunteer and paid hours have resulted in proper under-floor insulation, power metering, an electric heater, and other improvements. Canada Post supplied an entire new wall of (sequentially numbered!) post boxes, installed by local carpenters.

Acknowledgements

In a recent Tideline article, Postmistress Mary Clare expressed her particular thanks to Hubert Havelaar, Bruce Harrison, Bill Wheeler, John Messent, Carol London, Tammy and Bill, Rod and Karen Lee as well as others who “wished to remain anonymous.” The community participated in a hand-made knitted hat raffle just before the holidays, which helped to raise money for several of the recent upgrades. Hats were contributed by Ayami Stryke, Bernice McGowan, Carole Davidson, Donna Nichols, Gabriel Dinim, Helene Racine, and Jo-Anne Thompson.

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - In the Agenda published on Friday Jan 22, 2021 for the SRD meeting of Weds Jan 27th, 2021 can be found a couple of items of interest to Cortes Islanders. For item N.1 (Cortes Island Assent Voting Bylaws), all sub-items have been postponed indefinitely. But more dramatic developments are found in section M (Staff Reports) item 1, “Director Anderson — Insider Influence.”

Attached to Item M.1 is a staff report dated January 21st and signed by David Leitch, CAO, with several documentary attachments. The Board is requested to “consider the process for deciding whether to pursue allegations of insider influence in relation to Director Anderson’s December 17, 2020 communication with a staff member as it pertains to a proposed subdivision of land co-owned by her and located on Cortes Island.”

In order to place this document in context, we will have to review some history rapidly receding in the rear-view mirror.

Aftermath of the Regional District Elections in 2018

Ms Anderson narrowly won the Area B election for Regional Director in October 2018. Immediately after the election, political opponents made allegations whose apparent intent was to overturn the result of the election — by disqualifying voters, or by disqualifying Ms Anderson herself from serving a further term.

Disqualification of voters was attempted very shortly after the results were announced, by means of a complaint filed with RCMP alleging “illegal voting” by 43 persons who did not meet residency requirements. RCMP did travel to the island to investigate, but found no case of any unqualified voter casting a ballot in October 2018.

Disqualification of Anderson as a Regional Director was attempted by means of a petition filed with the BC Supreme Court by 13 residents of Cortes Island. This petition, which showed signs of hasty composition and little or no fact-checking, was dismissed as “without merit” in June 2020 by agreement of both counsels. While Currents has been informed of a story in circulation that the litigation was “settled” (i.e. Anderson paid or otherwise persuaded the plaintiffs to abandon their case), there seems to be as little substance to this story as the court found in the original allegations.

Unknown to most Cortes Islanders at the time was a third incident affecting the newly re-elected Director. Only a few days after the election, a complaint was filed with SRD regarding zoning violations on the land on Whaletown Road where Anderson lives, which she co-owns with five other land partners.

Zoning complaints are rare on Cortes Island, if we discount the occasional skirmishes over shellfish leases and their use of mechanical equipment. A land-based zoning complaint is very unusual; Cortes Island has a long tradition of “live and let live” — which is one reason why people come here. This is not the kind of suburban community where neighbours eagerly keep watch over their fences for the slightest infraction. Local resident Kristen Scholfield-Sweet says, “I cannot think, in my 28 +/- years on the APC, of an instance where a neighbour filed a complaint against a neighbour in an unprovoked situation.”

Read more at https://cortescurrents.ca/srd-contemplates-further-litigation-against-noba-anderson/

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - In the Agenda published on Friday Jan 22, 2021 for the SRD meeting of Weds Jan 27th, 2021 can be found a couple of items of interest to Cortes Islanders. For item N.1 (Cortes Island Assent Voting Bylaws), all sub-items have been postponed indefinitely. But more dramatic developments are found in section M (Staff Reports) item 1, “Director Anderson — Insider Influence.”

Attached to Item M.1 is a staff report dated January 21st and signed by David Leitch, CAO, with several documentary attachments. The Board is requested to “consider the process for deciding whether to pursue allegations of insider influence in relation to Director Anderson’s December 17, 2020 communication with a staff member as it pertains to a proposed subdivision of land co-owned by her and located on Cortes Island.”

In order to place this document in context, we will have to review some history rapidly receding in the rear-view mirror.

Aftermath of the Regional District Elections in 2018

Ms Anderson narrowly won the Area B election for Regional Director in October 2018. Immediately after the election, political opponents made allegations whose apparent intent was to overturn the result of the election — by disqualifying voters, or by disqualifying Ms Anderson herself from serving a further term.

Disqualification of voters was attempted very shortly after the results were announced, by means of a complaint filed with RCMP alleging “illegal voting” by 43 persons who did not meet residency requirements. RCMP did travel to the island to investigate, but found no case of any unqualified voter casting a ballot in October 2018.

Disqualification of Anderson as a Regional Director was attempted by means of a petition filed with the BC Supreme Court by 13 residents of Cortes Island. This petition, which showed signs of hasty composition and little or no fact-checking, was dismissed as “without merit” in June 2020 by agreement of both counsels. While Currents has been informed of a story in circulation that the litigation was “settled” (i.e. Anderson paid or otherwise persuaded the plaintiffs to abandon their case), there seems to be as little substance to this story as the court found in the original allegations.

Unknown to most Cortes Islanders at the time was a third incident affecting the newly re-elected Director. Only a few days after the election, a complaint was filed with SRD regarding zoning violations on the land on Whaletown Road where Anderson lives, which she co-owns with five other land partners.

Zoning complaints are rare on Cortes Island, if we discount the occasional skirmishes over shellfish leases and their use of mechanical equipment. A land-based zoning complaint is very unusual; Cortes Island has a long tradition of “live and let live” — which is one reason why people come here. This is not the kind of suburban community where neighbours eagerly keep watch over their fences for the slightest infraction. Local resident Kristen Scholfield-Sweet says, “I cannot think, in my 28 +/- years on the APC, of an instance where a neighbour filed a complaint against a neighbour in an unprovoked situation.”

Read more at https://cortescurrents.ca/srd-contemplates-further-litigation-against-noba-anderson/

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - In the Agenda published on Friday Jan 22, 2021 for the SRD meeting of Weds Jan 27th, 2021 can be found a couple of items of interest to Cortes Islanders. For item N.1 (Cortes Island Assent Voting Bylaws), all sub-items have been postponed indefinitely. But more dramatic developments are found in section M (Staff Reports) item 1, “Director Anderson — Insider Influence.”

Attached to Item M.1 is a staff report dated January 21st and signed by David Leitch, CAO, with several documentary attachments. The Board is requested to “consider the process for deciding whether to pursue allegations of insider influence in relation to Director Anderson’s December 17, 2020 communication with a staff member as it pertains to a proposed subdivision of land co-owned by her and located on Cortes Island.”

In order to place this document in context, we will have to review some history rapidly receding in the rear-view mirror.

Aftermath of the Regional District Elections in 2018

Ms Anderson narrowly won the Area B election for Regional Director in October 2018. Immediately after the election, political opponents made allegations whose apparent intent was to overturn the result of the election — by disqualifying voters, or by disqualifying Ms Anderson herself from serving a further term.

Disqualification of voters was attempted very shortly after the results were announced, by means of a complaint filed with RCMP alleging “illegal voting” by 43 persons who did not meet residency requirements. RCMP did travel to the island to investigate, but found no case of any unqualified voter casting a ballot in October 2018.

Disqualification of Anderson as a Regional Director was attempted by means of a petition filed with the BC Supreme Court by 13 residents of Cortes Island. This petition, which showed signs of hasty composition and little or no fact-checking, was dismissed as “without merit” in June 2020 by agreement of both counsels. While Currents has been informed of a story in circulation that the litigation was “settled” (i.e. Anderson paid or otherwise persuaded the plaintiffs to abandon their case), there seems to be as little substance to this story as the court found in the original allegations.

Unknown to most Cortes Islanders at the time was a third incident affecting the newly re-elected Director. Only a few days after the election, a complaint was filed with SRD regarding zoning violations on the land on Whaletown Road where Anderson lives, which she co-owns with five other land partners.

Zoning complaints are rare on Cortes Island, if we discount the occasional skirmishes over shellfish leases and their use of mechanical equipment. A land-based zoning complaint is very unusual; Cortes Island has a long tradition of “live and let live” — which is one reason why people come here. This is not the kind of suburban community where neighbours eagerly keep watch over their fences for the slightest infraction. Local resident Kristen Scholfield-Sweet says, “I cannot think, in my 28 +/- years on the APC, of an instance where a neighbour filed a complaint against a neighbour in an unprovoked situation.”

Read more at https://cortescurrents.ca/srd-contemplates-further-litigation-against-noba-anderson/