De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - Episode Three: SRD, the Regional District System, how it works for us (or doesn’t)

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -In the Spring of 2022, Campbell River & District Coalition to End Homelessness and the Urban Indigenous Housing and Wellness Coalition  commisioned a series of studies of the housing crisis in our area. One components was a survey called ‘Collecting Stories of Where We Live’ conducted by the Rural Development Network. 110 Cortes Island and 43 Area C residents participated (all but two of the latter were from Quadra Island).

“The purpose was to provide a comprehensive picture of housing instability and homelessness in the area to help inform service providers and municipal, provincial, and federal policies, practices, and funding decisions. And then to elevate and incorporate the voices of folks who are experiencing homelessness in solutions to end homelessness,” explained Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network.

Key findings on Cortes Island:

77 of the 110 survey respondents lived in unstable housing situations. When the reported dependents and adults living in the same household were added, the number of people living in unstable conditions rose to at least 159. A further breakdown of the 77 ‘unstable’ respondents revealed:

Only 51 of the 77 stated they were in unstable housing situations, 7 were ‘unsure’ and the remaining 19 were identified by criteria in the survey.

11 lived outside in the ‘unsheltered’ situations typically associated with ‘homelessness’ during this past year.

49 were couch surfed, stayed in an emergency shelter, or in an abandonned building at some point.

51 were ‘at risk’ of homelessness because they are paying more for their rent or mortgage than they could afford. (7% of housing ‘unstable’ respondents on Cortes own their homes and 22% are renters.)

The top five reasons for housing instability on Cortes

Low wages, 

Mental and physical health concerns, 

The inability to afford rent/mortgage, 

Housing in need of major repairs (i.e., no windows, no heat, water or mould damage, leaky roof), 

Their house is only available to them seasonally or they struggle to find parking for their mobile home. 

"Less frequently noted reasons for instability included rent increases, job loss, domestic/family violence and/or family rejection, lack of transportation, COVID-19, death of a family member/partner, and conflict with a landlord.” - the study

Key findings on Quadra Island (and Area C)

41 of the respondents were on Quadra Island, 1 on Maurelle Island and the last in an unidentifed Outer Island. 30 were ‘housing unstable’ and this number rose to 69 after adding the reported dependents and adults living in the same household. A further breakdown of the 30 ‘unstable’ respondents revealed:

Only 21 of the 30 stated they were in unstable housing situations, 4 were ‘unsure’ and the remaining 5 were identified by the survey.

12 lived in unsheltered situations this past year

13 were either ‘emergency sheltered’ or ‘provisionally accommodated’ at some point.

22 paid more for their rent or mortgage than they could afford. (14% of the ‘unstable’ respondents own their homes and 11% are renters. )

The top five reasons for housing instability of Quadra

Physical or mental health concerns; 

Inability to afford rent/mortgage; 

Low wages; 

Housing in need of major repairs (i.e., no windows, no heat, water or mould damage, leaky roof); 

Domestic/family violence, abuse, and/or rejection.

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - Noba Anderson was first elected as Regional Director for Strathcona Regional District Area B (Cortes Island) in 2008. She served 4 terms (two three-year and two four-year) for a total of 14 years in office, making her the longest-serving Regional Director in the island’s history.

Episode Two:    The Political Life: how did Noba get into it, and how does it feel to get out again?

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - Noba Anderson was first elected as Regional Director for Strathcona Regional District Area B (Cortes Island) in 2008.  She served 4 terms (two three-year and two four-year) for a total of 14 years in office, making her the longest-serving Regional Director in the island’s history.

Some other Strathcona Regional Directors (notably those from Oyster River and Quadra Island) have held office for far longer, running repeatedly for decades without successful challengers.  In 2022, however, Oyster River’s

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - 130 Cortes, Read and Quadra Island residents completed the Quadra ICAN rideshare survey, and another 36 responded to specific questions.

“Ride sharing is a really interesting alternative. It wasn't the transportation solution that everyone is really looking for. I think it's just a small part of trying to tackle this larger issue. If it works for a few communities that's great, but it's not the answer,” explained Aaryn Perreault-Laird, who is overseeing the program.

She is currently studying in Ontario, but is a Quadra Island resident who once lived on Cortes Island.

“We are going to probably take a break over the winter and revisit it when I return the next summer. There has been talk of a trial run in that corridor from Read Island, Heriot Bay area to Quathiaski Cove, along the ferry route. This would likely start sometime late next year. We've talked with someone about creating a webpage to facilitate communication between riders and drivers.”

Cortes Island passengers will have to make their own way to Heriot Bay. Perreault-Laird explained that when she lived on Cortes, people dropped her off at the Whaletown ferry terminal.

She explained that the surveys for the three islands were pretty much the same except that Quadra residents were also asked what part of the island they lived in.

There were 94 completed surveys from Quadra residents, 29 from Cortes Island and 7 from Surge Narrows on Read Island.

A breakdown of the answers:

Are you interested in ride sharing on Vancouver Island? - 61% of the Crotes responces, 55% from Surge Narrows and 42% from Quadra wrote ‘Yes.’

How old are you? - Most respondents were between 25 and 65 years old.

Most respondents were permanent rather than seasonal residents.

How frequently would you request a ride? - most respondents said a few times a year or once a month, when it was most convenient. (This was the question that led Perreault-Laird to conclude that ride share isn’t ‘the’ answer to the area’s transportation problem, but it could be one of several answers.)

Are you willing to share a seat in your car? Overwhelmingly, ‘yes’ - Surge Narrows 71%, Cortes 69% and Quadra 64%.

Would a contribution to the cost increase your interest in sharing your vehicle? - the responses were divided between Yes, No, and ‘Maybe.’

How often are you willing to offer a ride? - Most people were willing to offer a ride about once a month.

What is your preferred source of ride sharing information? - Responses varied from island to Island. Everyone in Surge Narrows wanted to use Facebook. Quadra respondants were divided between Facebook and a mobile or computer app option. Only 24% of the Cortes residents wanted Facebook, but 50% wanted a mobile or computer application.

Would you support a fee for service? - equally between Yes, No and Maybe.

Perreault-Laird did not know how many of the respondents were drivers, but said the 29 people who were willing to share a seat in their car would have been.

She also was not sure how much of an improvement this would be ovber the Tideline for Cortes residents.

“I really like the Tideline. I wish that Quadra had the Tideline, but they don’t. For Cortez residents, I guess the Rideshare would be in one place. On the Tideline, your post might not get missed,” responded Perreault-Laird. “Maybe you would encourage more ride sharing because it's a designated platform.”

She added, “This survey was created to get the general sense of what people were interested in. It doesn't seem like there's an overwhelming desire for a ride sharing service. There is some interest for sure, and I think that there would be a corridor where it would work well, but I also think that there needs to be other options.”

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - On Friday Oct 14 Manda Aufoichs Gillespie welcomed Quadra Island based sound gurus Jim Thievin and Dylan Alps to Folk U Radio. They are the creators of a Quadra compilation cd we will be hearing more about in the coming months and years. It was born during the pandemic, when the music industry was essentially dead. They had a few rules: the music had to be original and under 5 minutes in length.

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.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -More than 69% of the electorate in Area C chose Robyn Mawhinney as their new Regional Director on October 15. She learned this from an unexpected source. Mawhinney and her team were sitting in the Heriot Bay Inn, while they waited for the election results to be announced on Saturday night. The scrutiner from her team had not yet arrived and they were enjoying a nice glass of wine.

“I got a phone call from Mark Doll who congratulated me on my win,” she said. “I didn’t know the numbers yet.”

Someone photographed the moment that an ecstatic Mawhinney embraced her campaign manager. She received 823 votes to Doll’s 368.

“I want to say that this campaign and everything that has happened is because of the amazing team of folks who have had my back and been on my team attending meetings, editing, suggesting even chauffeuring me by vote. I'm so grateful to have had so many folks sending me messages of support and kind words of encouragement. I really have felt like the community was behind me and it kind of feels like that today too,” she explained.

“I definitely want to congratulate Mark Doll for his robust campaign. He proved his integrity in the way that he managed difficult situations and I look forward to working together with him on Island projects. I also want to congratulate his wife, Jen Doll. Mark had an amazing and dedicated campaign manager, which was his wife, and she did great work and there were many thoughtful conversations which were had.”

Marc Doll sent a written statement: “Robyn and I talked on the phone once we had the election results, and I know Robyn’s commitment to our islands is heartfelt and founded on goodwill for all community members. Best wishes to you Robyn, as you take on this new role.”

“We saw such an impressive level of community engagement during the last few months, and I encourage everyone to continue to stay involved in the community conversation – no matter who you thought was the best candidate for Regional Director.”

“Thanks to everyone who got involved in the election campaign. If you hosted an event, attended an event, read articles or watched all-candidate debates, contacted the candidates with questions and suggestions, or discussed the future with your neighbours, you were participating in our democracy.  Way to go!”

“Thanks to local news outlets for providing news coverage. They play a vital role in keeping people informed.”

“Thanks to my campaign team for their advice, support and encouragement – and for living up to our pledge to keep things positive.

Doll concluded, “And biggest thanks to my wife, Jen, my daughters and my parents. You amazed me with your stamina and creativity that kept the farm running and made sure we had time for family fun during this campaign.You are brave, strong, and wonderful – and I love you with everything I’ve got.”

Mawhinney commented on the larger picture, “This election has brought change to Strathcona Regional District board and to the Campbell River Council, which holds five seats at the SRD table. That is significant. I'm really excited to collaborate with the other Electoral Area Directors and community representatives to tackle big issues that will be for the betterment of all of our communities and our homes.

“I'm really happy that there are gonna be some people there that do have that experience. Gerald Wally is still retaining his seat at the Electoral Area Services Committee and as an electoral area director, and I think that's gonna be really invaluable, otherwise, there's three new directors in the Electoral Area Services Committee. So, to speak to the great amount of change that we're seeing, I guess folks are ready for some new faces and some new energy, and I'm happy to be one of those. It'll be interesting to see how everything unfolds.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Half of the familiar faces will not be returning to the SRD Board this term. The former Chair and Vice Chair, Brad Unger and Claire Moglove, were both defeated in their bids for re-election. So were Regional Director Brenda Leigh and former Campbell River Directors Charlie Cornfield and Colleen Evans. Neither Jim Abram (in Area C) or Noba Anderson (Cortes Island) sought re-election. Seven of the 14 directors will be new this term.

“It’s the biggest change of faces at the Regional District, certainly since I have been there. I would submit the board could really use some renewal. There’s a lot of faces that I don’t know who are coming in, so I really can’t comment much on good or progressive or cooperative of a board it will be,” commented Anderson, who was originally elected as Cortes Island’s representative in 2008.

“It will at least give Mark Vonesch who is joining the board from Cortes, an opportunity to build relationships with other people that are new. I think that’s a really positive thing for him going in rather than inheriting a lot of the dysfunction of the old dynamic.”

We are going to be seeing a very different Electoral Areas Service Committee (EASC) as a result of the October 15 election. Gerald Whalley is the only one of the former Regional Directors to be re-elected. He was on the first SRD board, elected in 2008, and served as Vice-Chair. Whalley received 96.4% of the vote in Area A (Kyuquot- Nootka/Sayward).

“I’m really happy that there are gonna be some people there that do have that experience. Gerald Whalley is still retaining his seat at the Electoral Area Services Committee and as an electoral area director, and I think that’s gonna be really invaluable, otherwise, there’s three new directors,” said Robyn Mawhinney, the new Regional Director for Area C.

“To the great amount of change that we’re seeing, I guess folks are ready for some new faces and some new energy, and I’m happy to be one of those.”

Mawhinney was elected in Area C, defeating Marc Doll 823 to 368. Mark Vonesch was acclaimed on Cortes Island. John Rice was elected Regional Director in Area D, defeating incumbent Brenda Leigh – 707 to 587.

“I have certainly noticed that when people are in office for a really long time, there’s a possibility of getting stuck in that role and the community getting stuck in that particular director being in that role. Jim (Abram) and Brenda (Leigh) have both provided decades of service and worked really hard for the communities, and I appreciate that, but I really do think that some renewal is super healthy at this point,” said Anderson.

Campbell River sends 5 directors to the SRD Board. This is where Kermit Dahl and his band of ‘like minded candidates’- who insist they are not a slate – were swept to power. Dahl was elected Mayor and is joined by all of his associates: Susan Sinnott, Ben Layon, Sean Smyth, Ron Kerr and Doug Chapman.

The only new Councillor not in this group is Tanille Johnston, a member of the Wei Wai Kai Nation and the first Indigenous candidate elected to Campbell River’s city council.

The Mayor and four Campbell River Councillors will also serve on the SRD Board. Ron Kerr has served on the board since 2012. Dahl and Smyth both served as alternates on the board last term, but will now take their seats as regular board members. This will be the first term for Susan Sinnott and Ben Layon.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The legitimacy of Regional Director Jim Abrams expenses was once again discussed at the last meeting of the SRD board prior to the election.

When the auditor submitted his report to the SRD Board at their May 11, 2022 meeting, Campbell River Director Claire Moglove, pointed out that there was a significant difference in what Directors were being paid.

“I think for the sake of transparency in particular to the public, that we have a more of an explanation as to how that comes to be. So in particular, on the remuneration side, at some point I would love to see a breakdown of what is the regular stipend for directors and what are the meeting fees that have been incurred,” she said.

Campbell River Director Charlie Cornfield subsequently objected to the idea Directors were receiving compensation for attending meetings.

“Compensable meetings are supposed to be there to compensate you for loss of the day or time, or you’ve gotta travel and you’re gonna attend a meeting just like you came to attend this one. That’s fair enough, but it’s not there to generate revenue. I look at every single one of the virtual meetings that we attended, and I never once thought about claiming for one of those.”

Mayor Andy Adams of Campbell River added, “I’m going to move that an independent audit of the SRD Board members renumeration and expenses be conducted immediately to confirm the variances outlined in the report from the CAO.”

Director Abram received substantially more than the other Directors. For example, in 2021 eight of the fourteen SRD Directors had meetings with external agencies and were eligible for enumeration. Only two of them are mentioned applying. An unnamed Campbell River Director received $320. Jim Abram, Director of Area C received $4,800.

There is also specific compensation for Regional Directors attending public hearings, parcel tax hearings, select or committee meetings, et cetera. Only two Directors made claims. Abram, who looks after the largest area in the Strathcona Regional District, received $9,120 for attending 57 meetings. Gerald Whalley, whose area stretches across from the west coast of Vancouver Island to Sayward claimed $160 for one meeting. There were no claims from Area D or Area B (Cortes Island).

After a thorough analysis, the auditing committee determined that Abram, should repay $8,640, which Abram agreed to do ‘without prejudice.’

However, after the meeting, he told the Bird’s Eye, Quadra island’s weekly journal, “This was a complete miscarriage of justice, as far as I’m concerned. It resulted from a re-interpretation by our CAO of a bylaw that’s been in place, in writing, for over three years. We as Electoral Area Directors have been using that as our guide as to what can be claimed. I met the bylaw on every single one of those meetings. And I was paid after the scrutiny of the finance department after every one of those meetings. And now with a re-interpretation of what the bylaw meant I’m being told. Well, this one doesn’t qualify, or this one. Therefore you owe.”

He told the Bird’s-Eye that he had enough stress in his life.

“I’m quitting this job because of stress. I don’t need another stressful situation.”

Director Abrams subsequently printed an apology and retraction in the October 5, 2022 edition of the Bird’s-Eye.

In his Chair’s Report for the October 12 meeting. Brad Unger said, “The statements made in the Bird’s-Eye article by Director Abram after the board meeting were false and misleading to the public. Director Abram has subsequently now placed an ad in the October 5 edition of the Bird’s Eye, retracting his statements, apologizing to both the board and the CAO.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - As of Monday, October 24, the Cortes Playschool will be open four days a week.

“We'll be open Monday to Thursday, 9 AM to 4 PM. This expansion is largely parent driven, especially by parents that have to work and being open for four days gives people an opportunity to actually make a living and have access to affordable childcare,” explained Hannah Schwartzentruber, Playschool Facilitator at Mansons Hall.

“Since we decided to open up more days, I've been very touched by the feedback that I've had. This is making a huge difference for families on the island. They've been telling me that. They've been responding and it's really exciting to be meeting community need.”

Schwartzentruber said parents sometimes respond to her emails with a simple ‘Thank you so much.’ Others drop in to Mansons Hall after hours to let her know exactly what they are looking for and how they feel the Playschool may be an option.

“From my perspective, a large part of what group childcare is about is responsive care and peer to peer interaction. It's a lot about social development. Kids being comfortable with expressing themselves, advocating for their needs, navigating their environment, and their interactions with each other,” she said.

“In terms of your standard learning domains, we spend a lot of time singing and storytelling and just communicating with each other and that builds language. We talk about numbers a lot. The kids are learning to count, but it's so much about those social interactions. I think that's really the benefit, because once kids become comfortable in a learning environment like this, it awakens that innate love of learning and it supports them as they continue to grow and learn about the world around them, whatever that looks like.”

Schwartzentruber doesn’t know when the Playschool was founded, but its license was issued in 1991.

“It’s definitely multi-generational. We've got several kids whose parents attended this play school.”