Views from Citizens Concerned About Impacts to their Lives & Livelihoods

We’ve compiled a variety of letters and comments from local residents and businesses about Policy Statement impacts on their daily lives and livelihoods. You can also view more on our Facebook page.  Please visit our Gulf Islands Resident and Business Poll page for a more in-depth overview of the top issues.

”I understand that at the Financial Planning Committee meeting on February 16th, the Committee approved a $9.5 million dollar budget for referral to the Trust Council, a budget that was $400 thousand more than the budget that the public had been asked to comment on. This is directly opposite to the results of the public survey on the budget; specifically, 49% wanted to see a budget decrease and 31% wanted the budget to stay the same. Combined, 80% of the respondents do not support an increase in the Trust budget versus 14% supporting an increase. I am also aware the Trust received a number of letters and emails that did not support an increase in the Trust budget.” Jeff Green, Facebook page

Former Senator Pat Carney said she tried to engage the Islands Trust but found challenges around getting clear information, even on matters such as population numbers. With many years in federal politics, she admitted the language around the policy is bureaucratic and the process needs engagement with senior governments. “I can’t really understand what it is that they’re really trying to achieve,” she said. “The goals are undefined. The data is inconsistent…. It’s unclear whether our autonomy is going to be taken away.”
- Comox Valley Record newspaper

A Thoughtful Analysis

Local North Pender Island resident George Leroux wrote a thoughtful and compelling analysis of all 51 directives in the Trust Policy Statement and shared a letter he’s sent the Trustees with us.
”It is my observation that the Trust is a largely unmanageable beast, whether from a staff or trustee perspective. The organization has tied its processes up in knots so as to take control of both the direction and nature of any change…”

Read more here: Analysis and Letter.

Letter from Susan de Stein to Islands Trust Chair and responses

Read her first letter pictured, then download the subsequent responses here.

….More Letters

“The document was definitely crafted, intentionally or otherwise, to give the resident of the IT region the impression that if you did not support this document, you were not in support of First Nations reconciliation. The reconciliation word was ubiquitous through the document.
However as dialogue has increased since July it has become clear that First Nations were barely consulted.” -Jim Allan

“(Professional forester) David Dunnison did an excellent job explaining the information used by staff when presenting Forestry and species at risk in the gulf islands to Trust Council. He carefully laid out how the information was misinterpreted, misleading and at the best very selective, creating a misleading alarmist report to Trust Council when there was, really, no species at risk.” - John Money, former Islands Trustee

“It seems to me as though residents (many belonging to families that have lived here for generations), their businesses and livelihoods are just inconveniences to be legislated out of existence. All with no attempt at a balance between communities and the environment. A balance that is recognized all over Canada. The Gulf Islands are special but then so is the whole of BC, as are its residents – why do we get to live in a museum while paying our local government to act as curators?” -Dave Paton

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We now have nearly 2,000 supporters and growing, with a variety of professionals who volunteer their expertise to help us oppose Islands Trust overreach.  We are grassroots, organized and represent many voices, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous.  We welcome all opinions.