October 10

Twelve joined all or part of this ASK Salt Spring gathering to welcome Restorative Justice Team members Tina, Laura, and Irina. Beginning with our Land Acknowledgment, Tina shared a heartfelt recognition of our past, adding a meaningful definition of the often-used but seldom understood word “unceded.” 

Reminding us that the core of Restorative Justice (https://www.rjssi.org/) is built upon indigenous teachings, we reviewed and agreed to the five principles guiding our time together: 

1. Honor the talking piece.
2. Speak with care/ Listen with care.
3. Speak from the heart/ Listen from the heart.
4. Honour confidentiality.
5. Take care of yourself.

The topic of our discussion was to explore our values in the context of tourism and its impact upon our community. We began by introducing ourselves and preferred pronouns, sharing with the group one thing we try to practice regularly that contributes to our wellbeing. The answers varied widely and included: 

• Tai chi, Qigong
• Nonviolent Communication,
• A Varied Pace While Rowing, 
• Slowing Down, 
• Yoga,
• Two Crossword Puzzles Each Morning,
• Relaxing Body Tension by Loosening Muscles,
• Gratitude,
• Breathing,
• Walks in Nature,
• Putting Phone Away, and
• Getting the Upsetting Things Done. 

We then broke into small groups to explore these two questions: 

1. Where has tourism created strain in our community?
2. How has tourism enriched our community?

Where has tourism created strain in our community? 

A) Accommodations for Tourists Instead of Locals: The group jumped on this question with enthusiasm. At the top of their list was the serious lack ofhousing for our workers partially attributable to the increase in rentals to tourists rather than to locals. While it was agreed that our housing crisis was complex, there seemed to be agreement that if tourists were not willing to pay enormous amounts to stay on Salt Spring, more homeowners might decide to rent to locals. A participant who was a long time Salt Springer recalled the disruption to neighbourhoods when a homeowner decided to rent their home to tourists. Never again the same, he recalled watching neighbourhood cohesion crumble as close-knit communities were disrupted when homes were made available to short stay outsiders. 

B) A Focus on the Needs of Tourists Rather than the Needs of Locals: In addition to the disruption of the local rental market as a result of tourists, other disruptions were cited, including: 

• The annoying loss of access to Ganges on Saturday due to crowding by tourists and no parking, 
• Loss of a sense of community when locals no longer venture to Ganges on summer Saturdays; 
• Road safety concerns, especially at Fulford, with tourists flooding our roads;
• A seeming inability to find a way to get tourists to contribute to the infrastructure they are so heavily-using and from which they are benefitting. A participant reminded us of all the huge trucks polluting and taking space on our ferries, many of which are bringing supplies used by tourists. Not only are these trucks crowding our ferries, damaging our roads, and blocking passage when they unload, these owners pay taxes in other communities, not Salt Spring. 
• As these tourists are only here several months a year, sustaining tourist-oriented businesses is difficult. 

How has tourism enriched our community? We were then asked to explore the benefits of tourism to our community. While several were pretty confident that there were none, we were surprised when the list of benefits grew longer and longer. Benefits included:

• A significant percentage of our residents would not be able to stay if tourists did not come. Restaurants would close, shops would not survive, and many artists and craftspeople would not survive financially. And, with businesses closing, the loss of other support jobs would also be significant. 
• Is the frequency of our ferry service based on the volume of tourists visiting each year? It was agreed that if tourists stopped coming and the frequency of our ferries were reduced, locals would be unhappy. The impact on local ferry jobs would also be significant.
• It was suggested that we enjoy a far wider variety of arts – music, theatre, art shows, and community events – than would survive without tourists. The recent Apple Festival and Thursday evening concerts in Centennial Park were used as examples of a great events. While largely local, Salt Spring benefits from the significant revenue and spending of visitors drawn here by these increasingly successful events. 
• It was also noted that, when we take the time, we get to meet interesting folks from all over the world, bringing energy, excitement, and pride as they tell us how they love Salt Spring. 

It was surprising to some that there were so many benefits of tourism to our community. The next logical step in our conversation was to explore how to harness these benefits to enrich our community. A quote from Peter Beck (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Beck) was offered as a start to this portion of our conversation: 

“We change the world one room at a time. Applied to tourism, this means

that change starts with individual interactions and local efforts to create welcoming and collaborate environments.” 

We were asked to focus on creating a community of possibilities, not problems, from tourism. How do we inspire visitors and part time residents to feel they are part of our community and encourage them to contribute in meaningful ways? How can we help make that happen?  

A participant who works at a local accommodation spoke with passion of her hopes of getting tourists to value and embrace what is so special about Salt Spring. She hopes to provide local, environmentally beneficial, soap products for guests. By offering this gentle option, our lakes and water systems will benefit. Tourists will gain an understanding of our care for the environment, leaving Salt Spring with a model of best practices. And, they may also be so pleased by our local soaps that they buy them, helping local businesses.

Another participant suggested that we must provide open, free, accessible, community spaces for tourists and locals that are not based upon commerce. He stressed the value of relational rather than transactional ($$$) space. The discussion explored community gathering spaces, and the inventory of our welcoming spaces was discouraging. The removal of benches, tables, and garbage bins in our community was mourned. It was theorized that if we are to truly welcome our visitors, we must provide opportunity for them to enjoy free public gathering spaces. These gathering spaces would also provide that place for interchange, building understanding between locals and our visitors. Without these spaces, neither that welcome nor the opportunity for enhanced relationships are possible. 

As our time together was nearly over for this week, we were asked to share what we were taking with us from this gathering. Many shared their surprise that they were re-evaluating their frustration with tourists, shifting to thoughts about how our thriving tourist industry could enrich Salt Spring. Some were inspired by the possibility of using some of the money generated by tourists to create welcoming gathering spaces. One concluded that creating these spaces was a responsibility shared equally by our local government, our businesses, and the community. And, of course, while strategizing about getting some funding for these needed public spaces, the idea of charging all visitors a small additional BC Ferry fee going directly to Salt Spring was again mentioned as a viable possibility. 

Our time over for this week, we expressed our appreciation for this Restorative Justice Team, glad that they will again join us the second Friday of November. We bid farewell to them, surprised that this tourist conversation had taken such a positive turn by exploring how to better welcome and benefit from our visitors. We expressed our gratitude for this amazing team, acknowledging their hard work, wisdom, consistent optimism, and gentle communication. (Thank-you Laura, Irina, and Tina!)      

Just in case you are interested. . . .This report has been written by Gayle Baker, founder of ASK Salt Spring, currently also a Salt Spring Local Community Commissioner. It has been reviewed and edited by the Restorative Justice Team.