Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The recent Investigative Journalism Foundation exposé on lobbying, prior to Mark Carney’s first budget, fits a familiar pattern. Industry logged hundreds of hours of consultation with government officials. By way of contrast, the environmental sector has little representation. They are not even mentioned in this report! What does this mean? Cortes Currents asked Jennifer Lash, who has been both the founder of a non-profit society and a senior government analyst, for her insight into why the system is important and how it works.

Jennifer Lash: “The term lobby comes from the area around the House of Commons where the different parties gather when they’re not actually in the House. That’s where people used to go and meet with them to share their perspectives on things. They were meeting in the lobby, so these people became known as lobbyists. That’s where the term comes from, and anyone is lobbying if they’re meeting with an MP or a bureaucrat and advocating for something.”

“If I was working for a not-for-profit organization and went to meet with the Minister of the Environment and was advocating for certain policies, I would be lobbying them. Quite often we use the term lobbyists to mean people who are paid to do this. Large lobbying firms specialize in government relations; they know all the people to meet with, and they often have relationships with people in government. Organizations and companies will hire these firms to help get access to people.”

“It’s a very common thing that’s done. Anybody can hire a lobbyist. Not-for-profit organizations will hire lobby firms, and companies will hire lobby firms.”

“Where it gets a little bit more controversial—and where people have concerns—is the fact that hiring lobbyists can be expensive. Usually the only entities that can afford to hire lobbyists are companies, such as oil and gas companies, where they have a lot of profit and there’s a lot at stake financially. So they’ll invest a lot of money in hiring a lobby firm to advocate for what they want, whereas not-for-profit organizations like climate advocacy groups don’t have that budget and can’t afford to hire lobby firms. They have less time and capacity to be able to advocate for what they want.”

“Quite often it’s interpreted that if the government has met with far more people from the oil and gas industry, they are going to reflect the position of the oil and gas industry. I’m just picking on the oil and gas industry in this example. It could be mining companies; it could be any companies that have more money. Quite often we’ll see reports that say the government met with lobbyists from natural resource development companies far more than they met with environmental groups; therefore, they’re leaning that way.”

“That’s, of course, very possible. Ultimately, it’s up to the politicians and the bureaucrats to make the right decisions and to listen to the information and make the decisions that are right. In a perfect world, it wouldn’t matter if you meet with one company 10 times and another organization one time; that shouldn’t shift the weight of the decision. You should still be making the decision in the best interest of Canadians. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes, if you have had more time with some groups over others, you will tend to lean in that direction. It gets a little bit more difficult.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -The Strathcona Regional District Board passed the Cortes Island Zoning Bylaw.

Regional Director Mark Vonesch gave an overview of the process:

“We're at the last stage of potentially passing the Cortes Island zoning bylaw. It's been almost a two year process of community consultation, both online and in person. It's gone to the advisory Planning Commission on Cortes, and it's gone through a public hearing at the beginning of September. We had 140 plus folks attend that hearing, which is amazing. The reason I deferred it a month was that you have 200 pages of comments on this, and I wanted to take the time to read them all and to really assess what people's challenges and also what they like about the bylaw before making my own personal recommendation.”

“I think overall, people appreciate that there will be increased density allowed for the Cortes Housing Society on their Rainbow Ridge property.”

“Again, not everyone's in complete agreement, but I'm really excited about that part of the housing needs on Cortes is increasing our nonprofit housing. I'm excited that they're moving forward with 24 units on part of their property. I think that's obviously doesn't cover every concern or every comment that everyone had, but it covers a lot of the bigger comments.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Mark Baker is once again acclaimed Chair and Mark Vonesch was selected as the new Vice Chair of the Strathcona Regional District Board.

These offices are yearly appointments and were made at the board’s inaugural meeting on Wednesday November 19, 2025.  

This will be the fourth consecutive year that Mark Baker has been chosen Chair.  

Campbell River Director Susan Sinnott and Regional Director Mark Vonesch ran for election as Vice Chair. 

When neither candidate was able to obtain the necessary 8 votes after two rounds, they were asked to give a short speech.  

Director Vonesch was first: “Thank you, this is fantastic: democracy in action. I think you've all seen the vigor and the passion that I brought to this board table , working for my community and working together to, to move the priorities of this board forward. That's something that I would bring to this leadership position. When I'm in meetings at UBCM, I'm speaking loudly and strongly for the needs of this entire district. I believe deeply in the power of government to have an impact on people's lives and the decisions that we make here are important. As the Vice Chair, I would be a candidate for all of you. I'd be a candidate for Campbell River. I'd be a candidate for Zeballos, Tahsis,Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations, Sayward and all the areas. Gold River, of course, Michael. I'm honored to be nominated and I appreciate you considering your support for me. I promise to hold this position with integrity and passion.”

Director Sinnott stated,  “Thank you. So everyone knows I have been vice chair and it's not very often that you serve, but the most important event I felt very special about was what Director Rice did this year, which was represent the SRD at the Remembrance Day, which I think was a really nice thing to be able to do because our current chair is in his own community. The other thing is I can run a meeting very quickly and efficiently, I think, and make sure that we get through our business promptly and as well as represent the interests of the region as a whole because I'm very much into the regional approach.”

This was followed by a third and once again inconclusive round of votes, after which they drew lots. 

Thomas Yates, Senior Manager of Corporate Services, declared,  “Director Vonesch has been elected as Vice Chair.” 

Chair Baker closed this segment of the board meeting:  “Well, congratulations to Director Vonesch. Thank you all again for electing me chair for the fourth year. I appreciate that very much. I will try to make you proud.”

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - On October 31st, the Cortes Climate Action Network (CCAN) hosted an EV forum at Manson’s Hall, attracting over a dozen people. The event began with a prepared presentation about the carbon/energy profile of EVs vs internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, followed by general Q&A in which local owners of EVs answered questions about their cars, usage patterns, and overall experience.

The last EV discussion and demo event to be held on Cortes was pre-Covid, on Earth Day in 2019. Since then the number of EVs on the island has grown considerably and many more brands and models are now available. E-bikes have become more common on our local roads than pedal-only bikes, and interest in “going electric” for our transportation needs seems to be growing.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Five years have passed since the provincial government’s Old Growth Review panel published its report on BC’s old growth forest management. Sierra Club BC recently commissioned two of the panel's three scientists to do a study on how their recommendations were carried out. In today's interview, Karen Price talks about their report ‘Closer to the Brink.’

“We need to shift the paradigm because we all depend on the Earth and we need to start putting ecosystems and human communities ahead of industrial profits. To do that, we need to protect big tree forests. That's my bottom line. That means supporting nations in their planning and it means working towards protecting 30% of each ecosystem by 2030 and 50% by 2050,” she explained.

The 30% by 2030 goal was adopted by the 188 nations that signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022. Canada was one of them. While the Kunming-Montreal Framework did not specifially endorse the 50% by 2050 goal, it does state we need to “substantially increasing the area of natural ecosystems” by 2050. One of the better known advocates of a 50% goal is the late Edward Osborne Wilson, a foundational figure in modern biology. Wilson stated the next big thing will be global biodiversity loss. “If we protect half the Earth’s land and sea and manage sufficient habitat to safeguard the bulk of biodiversity, living Earth can continue to breathe.” 

Karen Price: “The forests in BC play a really important role in both the climate and the biodiversity crises. People have probably heard about nature-based solutions. Our forests are some of the world's best options for nature-based solutions to both climate and biodiversity crises.”

“Our trees in BC and particularly our big tree old growth are the best carbon bank that we have. Terrestrially, we need to be storing carbon and some of these ecosystems can store more than a thousand tons per hectare.”

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents -Monday November 17, 2025 - Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is expected to face another non-confidence motion today. This will be the third non-confidence motion this month, which the opposition parties have made in regard to the 2025 budget. In this morning's interview, Jennifer Lash, the liberal candidate for this riding during the last election, explains why the budget is good for North Island Powell River, and why it's good for climate action.  

Jennifer Lash: “Budget 2025 can be looked at in two ways, and I'm going to use some economic language here. There's both the macro approach and there's the micro approach. So the macroeconomic approach is, what does it mean for Canada?A thriving economy within Canada benefits everybody in terms of just having a healthier economy and generating more tax revenue for the government - which can result in more social services.”

“What the Prime Minister did with this budget is he really looked at how we can invest in major industries so that we can see the economic development we need to see in this country to make our economy stronger. A lot of that's through infrastructure, through capital investments, really trying to attract up to a trillion dollars of private investment so the economy at large across Canada is healthier. When our economy is stronger, we have more revenue for the social services that we all benefit from so many times. This, in general, will benefit North Island- Powell River, but there are some specific things that also develop that also benefit this area.”

“There is support for the forestry industry, which was announced before the budget, but reconfirmed in the budget. Money to help companies that are dealing with tariffs: how can they diversify their markets? How can they get guaranteed loans so that they can help to retool their industry or their business so that they can adjust to new markets overseas.”

“There's really an influx of cash into the forest industry to deal with these tariffs. It's really important to note that this riding is not a stranger to tariffs. “These tariffs that the country is talking about now, we have been dealing with for decades from the United States on the software lumber industry. So I find it refreshing, the government's finally really supporting us through that. I hope that it continues to get the priority attention it needs that the auto sector's getting, the steel sector's getting and aluminum sector's getting so forestry's really important.”

“In terms of fisheries, there's also funding for the seafood industry to also look at new markets and that would apply to wild fisheries as well as the aquaculture industry. So that's shellfish, farmed fish, and also our amazing, wild seafood industry. And again, talking about tariffs, It's not just the US tariffs that are a problem. A lot of the seafood industry is really affected by tariffs from China right now. How can we support our industry through that?”

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - Tune in on November 14th, 2025, for a conversation that explores how queer and trans zine-making can become an act of joyful resistance and connection. Addye Susnick joins host Manda Aufochs-Gillespie to chat about their PhD dissertation and their deep dive into zine culture, uncovering radical histories, underground networks, and continuing power as a tool for community and dissent in a digital age. Together, the conversation weaves zines, trans joy, and creative defiance into a reflection on how small acts of creation can ripple outward into meaningful social change.

Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 p.m. and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @CKTZ89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeats anytime at www.folku.ca/podcasts.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - In 2025, the Province of British Columbia funded homeless counts in 20 communities. To virtually everyone’s surprise, the numbers were down in eight communities. Campbell River, Powell River, Comox and Parksville/Qualicum were among them. Port Alberni and Sechelt/Gibsons were not. In this morning’s broadcast, Cortes Currents looks into the reasons why, as well as some popular misconceptions and possible remedies about homelessness.

Manda Aufochs Gillespie / Folk U -Tune in on November 7th, 2025 for a special collaborative FolkU episode, featuring Howie Roman telling stories of his life and how he got to Cortes. This is a live recording from the Cortes Island Museum and Archives Society’s latest Finding Home event, recorded in October 2025.

Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 p.m. and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @CKTZ89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeats anytime at www.folku.ca/podcasts.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District will not use $28,000 of its gas tax funds to help the Cortes Island Food Bank. At their October 22, 2025 meeting, 7 of the 14 district directors voted against a motion to fund the food bank.

Directors opposed to the motion were concerned about the potential impact that supporting a third party organization could have on future SRD applications for gas tax funding.

As Chief Administrative Officer David Leitch explained, “  I'm not saying $28,000 is a dealbreaker. I don't honestly believe it is, but moving forward, I don't think we can take the same approach when the number is $200,000 or $500,000.”

“If you're giving your gas tax money to third parties, are you saying you don't have any infrastructure need yourself?”

Mark Vonesch, Regional Director for Cortes Island, responded,  “One of the challenges on Cortes is that we don't have SRD capital projects to invest gas tax lending. So we do have to take these extra steps to be able to provide it through a third party.”

“I spoke with one of the folks involved with the food bank today, and they said that over the last three years, usage has gone up by a hundred percent every year. That's a lot of seniors, folks that are on pensions and really limited incomes. One of the interesting things he mentioned was that there's a mental health component to this as well, and that when folks get access to good healthy food and have some stability around food security, that really impacts other parts their life, including reducing the likelihood to need medical support and other costs to government systems. This is a grant request for $28,000 to help them finish this.”