Seventeen joined this late afternoon (4-6) ASK Salt Spring gathering to welcome MLA Rob Botterell. He offered a Land Acknowledgement, one of appreciation for the spectacular beauty of this part of the world and gratitude that we get to live here, reminding us of First Nations’ stewardship for the land we love. 

After we all had an opportunity to introduce ourselves, Rob shared his “excitement and delight” that, after his car refused to go into drive as he was beginning to board the ferry for a full day of critical meetings, he was able to coast a bit and get his car into gear, and board – whew! He also expressed delight that a mechanic fixed his car, a welcome, although expensive, success. 

Before questions from participants, he gave us a brief overview of the upcoming legislative session. Reconvening February 12, he is glad that he had some time off to catch up a bit as he predicts this session to be a very interesting, as well as tumultuous, one. Expected highlights include: 

• The 2026 budget, to be presented February 17, is expected to be one of austerity, with multiple cuts.
• Divisions among MLA’s over Reconciliation and DRIPA – Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/indigenous-people/new-relationship/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples) are expected to be contentious. 
• Leadership of the Conservatives will be determined this spring with 10 candidates, many of them already in the Legislature.
• There is also talk of the possibility of a Snap Election: (https://www.biv.com/news/commentary/rob-shaw-early-election-window-opens-as-bc-legislature-set-for-return-11702041).     

Rob spoke briefly about the Green Leader, Emily Lowan (https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/01/05/Emily-Lowan-Next-Steps-BC-Greens/), awaiting a by-election or election to run for a seat in the Legislature and, in the meantime, building a mighty Green social presence with millions of followers. 

The Review of CleanBC (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/clean-bc-review-lng-9.6993870) was our first topic. A participant, representing a regional cooperative of green energy advocates, expressed concerns. He shared his disappointment that his group had not been allowed to offer feedback for this review. This exclusion was especially painful as hundreds of other groups had been invited to offer feedback. This oversight did not appear to be accidental as this participant had tried multiple times, often with Rob’s help, to offer his group’s feedback.

The participant also shared his concern that the BC Utilities Commission (https://www.bcuc.com/) is getting progressively less transparent, also seemingly unwilling to listen to alternate energy proponents. 

This participant did see some hope in the recommendation from the Clean BC review, directing BC Hydro work on distribution systems as well as exploring solar and battery options.

A participant took a few moments to say “Thank-you!” to Rob for his help with Bader Beach concerns. Having never contacted her MLA before, she began 2026 by reaching out to Rob’s office with her concerns. Nearly immediately, Rob’s office connected her to involved agencies, including our Ministry of Transportation and Transit Area Manager, Owen Page, and much of the problem was solved. A shout out to Rob, his staff, and Owen for listening and acting with dispatch. 

The next topic was protection of Old Growth. On this topic , Rob highlighted the release of the 2026 report, “From Conflict to Care: BC’s Forest Future” which calls for a major overhaul of forest management in BC. https://pfac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PFAC_Final-Report_From-Crisis-to-Care_Digital_V1.0.pdf. It was conducted by the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council (PFAC), an independent body created in 2025 as part of the cooperation accord between the BC NDP and the Green Party caucus. 

While this report was not embraced by environmental groups (https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/news/newest-bc-forestry-review-fails-protect-old-growth), Rob shared his opinion that it has value: It creates a framework for the successful protection of Old Growth including:

1. Old Growth forests must be fully mapped. The shocking truth is that we do not have the data we need to identify our entire inventory of Old Growth and vulnerable eco-systems. While much data of the wildlife and even insects of these areas is available, lidar (https://www.neonscience.org/resources/learning-hub/tutorials/lidar-basics) has not been used to fully map the Old Growth areas. For Rob, this is the first basic step, one that is relatively easy to do and can be done very quickly. 
2. Rob also supports the recommendation that we need to take politics out of the protection of our Old Growth and the management of our forests and ecosystems. Politicians come and go. Rob agrees that, to protect our Old Growth and properly manage our forests and ecosystems, we need independent agency oversight. This independent oversight would insulate the implementation of the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council’s recommendations and protection of Old Growth from changing governments and political party priorities. 
3. A passionate proponent of getting all parties around a table to listen to perspectives and craft solutions, Rob strongly supports the recommendation that communities in regions be empowered, funded, and supported to manage the forests and ecosystems in their areas by implementing solutions to protect Old Growth in a manner that works for their community. He is of the view that communities will be better stewards of the forests and ecosystems around them than well intentioned government officials.     

While Salt Springers are largely aligned in support of protecting Old Growth, Rob reminded us that logging these enormous old and majestic trees is often an important source of local family-supporting jobs and community profits. It also provides a lucrative business return, a revenue that many – often both First Nations as well as logging companies – will fight to retain until there is an alternative. 

Clear that we will not protect all our Old Growth, Rob is committed to pressing the government to identify and implement existing/new revenue sources and employment options as soon as possible in order to support communities to transition toward the cessation of Old Growth logging. Talk and log is not a solution. At the end of the day, to make anything happen to protect our Old Growth, however, Rob reminded us again that the political will of the government in power must be there.

Healthcare was our next topic, with a participant asking Rob to read the contract between Islands Health and Rebalance MD, the Victoria option for orthopedic surgery, to ensure that measurable objectives of this contract are being met. This spurred questions about solutions to the long waits for both primary and specialist care. As one participant said, “Universal healthcare is great, but the access is terrible!” 

Rob reminded us of the review of primary heath care, another result of the NDP/Green 2025 Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord (https://bcndpcaucus.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/03/2025-CARGA-Final-Agreement.pdf). While he understands that primary care is only a portion of our healthcare challenge, he believes that an initial focus on increasing primary care will give many of us faster access to care as well as reducing the increasing pressure on our emergency services. While we did not discuss the findings of this report (https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2025HLTH0108-001282), Rob reiterated his support for the team based approach to healthcare https://asksaltspring.com/2025/10/03/envisioning-a-better-healthcare-system/. 

Convinced that our healthcare concerns are largely structural and systematic rather than financial, Rob is committed to continuing this conversation about team-based healthcare with a focus on the promise of a Community Heath Centre for Salt Spring soon (https://asksaltspring.com/2025/11/28/promising-primary-care-news-for-salt-spring/). 

Our final topic for this gathering was a complicated and emotion-laden one: Reconciliation and the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act – DRIPA legislation. Rob shared his perspective on DRIPA in light of the recent Cowichan Supreme Court decision ( https://www.firstpeopleslaw.com/public-education/blog/correcting-misconceptions-the-cowichan-tribes-decision. Positions on this issue are generally split along party lines with the Conservatives seeking to repeal DRIPA, the NDP determined to significantly amend it, and the Greens unconvinced that there is anything wrong with the legislation. Were the Conservatives to get their way, all unresolved claims would end up in the courts as they have for decades. Were the NDP to alter it, the power of courts would be specifically limited, which could shift the focus back to government-to-government negotiations with no dispute resolution mechanism. Were DRIPA to remain as is, as recommended by the Greens, Rob believes that the legislation would be in place to guide reconciliation efforts, with the courts there when negotiated settlements cannot be found. 

While tensions are high regarding the Cowichan decision with fears being fueled by those who claim that all property rights are now at risk, Rob is adamant that the Cowichan ruling is, in many ways unique, due largely to decades of failure on the part of the BC government to find a solution. At the risk of oversimplifying, Rob offered a brief history lesson, asking us to envision 500 canoes arriving to their permanent summer village site on the Fraser, the Richmond land at the heart of the court ruling. And losing it when the very crown official charged with reserving the land for the Cowichan nation took this land promised to them for himself. Strong protests by the Cowichans began immediately and continued for decades and decades, all to no avail, until the Cowichan decided to take the matter to Court leading to last year’s Supreme Court judgment.

In Rob’s opinion, fears that this ruling will threaten all private property rights are unfounded due to the unique circumstances stemming from this malfeasance. The solution, according to Rob, is for the BC government to do the reconciliation work needed with Nations, sitting together, reaching consensus, and providing compensation when appropriate. 

For him, the needed work is clear: Our government needs to do the work required to support the current DRIPA legislation and address issue after issue such as the Cowichan Decision collaboratively and with respect. He reminded us that perhaps the most important thing to remember is that the Cowichan have stated repeatedly that they have no interest in depriving property owners of their private property, but they do expect the BC government to negotiate in good faith to reconcile their aboriginal title with the private fee simple interests.  

If you are interested in learning more about the Cowichan court decision, reconciliation, and DRIPA and the path forward, Rob mentioned he will be organizing a public forum in March on these topics at the Mary Winspear in Sidney – details to follow. He hopes to also do a live stream of this event.   

Our time together over for this week, we thanked Rob for sharing his insights, wisdom, and opinions with us. We recognized a theme: If you want Rob’s advocacy, give him all the information he needs to make the case to spur the Legislature or a Minister to action. His office is there for you. If you have an issue needing resolution, reach out to: Rob.Botterell.MLA@leg.bc.ca. 

Intrigued by our far reaching conversation, we left expressing our appreciation to Rob for his clarity, courage supporting his opinions, curiosity about the plethora of intriguing and challenging issues, willingness to work hard to support us, and good humour despite his daunting workload. (Thanks-Rob!)   

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 by Rob.