Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - he West Connect Infrastructure (WCI) crew had just finished laying CityWest’s main cable in Whaletown, when one  of the workers noticed that a line had been cut. They immediately informed the RCMP, whose press release states they were initially informed of three cuts to the cable. 


Scott Simpson, Senior Marketing Manager at CityWest explained:

“On the evening or night of Thursday, March 21st,  there was some vandalism done to the fibre optic network that was being constructed for the service to the community of Whaletown. Crews noticed some damage to the network. Upon further investigation, we found that 17 different sites have been damaged along about a 1.5 kilometre stretch on Whaletown Road. So, 17 different sites that had been cut with multiple cuts at each site, quite a bit of restoration work. We're looking at an estimate of about $40,000 worth of damage overall. That would include materials and the labour to fix everything.”

Cortes Island Academy at Folk U - On the March 29th replay episode of The Wild Island, created by the 2022-2023 Cortes Island Academy cohort, young journalists cover Cortes from different angles; Ro explores the island’s history with forestry, Finley unpacks the mystery of the abandoned cars in Carrington Bay, Sophie looks at the realities of coexisting with wild animals, and Seren and Sonia profile the Children’s Forest.

What really matters most in the world? How will we help inspire the next generation of truth-seekers and truth-tellers? At the Cortes Island Academy we believe in the passion and skills of the people and wild places of this place and are proud of our youth who learned along side our community and shared their growing skills through journalistic podcasts, Elder Documentaries, Field Guides and unsung hero posters.

Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 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.

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - part 4 of 5 of the interview with Doug Brown of Good Libations

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Area C ‘opted-in’ to the Short Term Rental Accommodation Act at the SRD Board meeting yesterday. There was a spirited discussion in which the Director from Area D and two of his Campbell River colleagues discussed their reservations. Regional Director Mark Vonesch showed everyone an exception that would allow some absentee landlords to continue operating their short term rentals. When the final vote was taken Area C’s motion to opt-in was approved with only two dissenting Directors.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The SRD Board will be meeting again today and three items about BC’s Short Term Rental Act are on the agenda. The Ministry of Housing responded to Cortes Island’s decision to opt in. 58% of the respondents of Area C’s survey on whether to opt in replied ‘Yes’ and Area D will not opt in. 

On February 28, the SRD approved Cortes Island’s decision to opt in to BC’s Short Term Rental Act. The Ministry of Housing responded to this in an email last week.

“The request to opt-in to the principal residence requirement will take effect November 1, 2024, to give hosts notice to comply. In the meantime, this spring the Province will be standing up a new STR Compliance and Enforcement unit to investigate, take enforcement action related to short-term rentals, and direct platforms to remove non-compliant listings.”

Vonesch was informed that the Ministry needs to receive a copy of the SRD resolution approving Cortes Island’s action by March 31, 2024.   

Cortes Island and ‘other interested local governments’ will be removed from the exempt land list this spring. 

“If the Province grants a change to exempt land status, that change remains in effect indefinitely unless a subsequent request to reverse the exemption is made by March 31 of a future year.”

In related news, on March 5 Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney of Area C   launched a survey to see if her constituents also want to opt in. 58% of the people who 405 repondants stated 'Yes' and  41% stated 'No.'

Area C has not announced a final decision and this matter will be discussed at today’s meeting. 

In the same staff report it states John Rice, Regional Director of Area D, the Director has chosen to not opt-in to the principal residence requirement but is looking for public input regarding the regulatory aspects of STRs within the zoning bylaw. This will be discussed at a later date in a separate report.

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - part 3 of 5 of the interview with Doug Brown of Good Libations

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - The story of Good Libations Part 2 of 5

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A citizen scientist project to photograph pacific herring spawn along the West Coast, from Alaska down to California, has been underway for two months. It is based in the Comox Courtenay area, and one of its many partners is the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI).

According to project lead Jacqueline Huard, a scientist with Project Watershed, “I work with the Coastal Forage Fish Network. We are very community scientist based and so working on a herring project in iNaturalist just was a natural fit for us. The network that I work with already has quite a bit of outreach. I wanted to encourage the folks that we work with to put their data somewhere where they could also access it. The goal is two fold, both to collect some data and address a gap, but also to get it out to the public and have a publicly available data set for the public and created by community scientists.”

CIA on Folk U - On the March 22nd replay episode of Cosmic Confidential, created by the 2022-2023 Cortes Island Academy cohort, journalists Rose and Zella dig deep into Cortes Island’s infamous coffeehouse drugging incident with their piece Psychedelic Soup. Kiana and Igor explore the possibilities and pitfalls of using psychedelics as medicine in their piece, The Psychedelics Journey.

What really matters most in the world? How will we help inspire the next generation of truth-seekers and truth-tellers? At the Cortes Island Academy we believe in the passion and skills of the people and wild places of this place and are proud of our youth who learned along side our community and shared their growing skills through journalistic podcasts, Elder Documentaries, Field Guides and unsung hero posters.

Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 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.

Jemma Hicken (she/her)

Literacy Coordinator

Gratefully living on the unceded traditional and ancestral territories of the toq qaymɩxʷ (Klahoose), ɬəʔamɛn qaymɩxʷ (Tla’amin), and ʔop qaymɩxʷ (Homalco) peoples.

De Clarke/ Good Libations - One of Cortes Island's best loved businesses is a U-Brew tucked away in an old seafood plant, off the beaten track on Hansen Road. Founder and sole proprietor Doug Brown started the business 25 years ago after moving to Cortes from the Fraser Valley.

Currents interviewed Doug in mid-March 2024. Our extensive interview covers many topics including: how Doug got started in wine-making, what inspired him to start a U-Brew on Cortes, how wine is made, why wine is now a more practical product for him to offer than beer, what challenges he has met along the way, what he loves about his work, his feelings about community and customer service, and his thoughts about the future of this iconic Cortes Island business.