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Should We Fear the Slippery Slope of a Tiered Healthcare System?
April 1, 2022: After a moving Territorial Acknowledgement, the 19 who gathered in the Library Program Room welcomed our special guest, MLA Adam Olsen. Adam was accompanied by his constituency advocate, William Kelly, and two legislative interns Rose Williams and Jerram Gawley. He began by sharing something this week that – while emotional – had excited and delighted him: he had spoken to the Legislative Assembly’s release of its Declaration Act Action Plan outlining 89 specific actions that ministries are directed to take to create a better province for Indigenous Peoples in B.C: (https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022IRR0018-000457). When Adam spoke of this action plan, (https://adamolsen.ca/2022/04/response-to-ministerial-statement-on-declaration-act-action-plan/), he issued…
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Want to Talk About a New Firehall for Salt Spring?
March 25, 2022: Surprisingly, only nine came to this ASK Salt Spring gathering in the Library Program Room – and three of them were our special guests: Fire Chief Jamie Holmes, Fire Trustee Chair, Rollie Cook, and local consultant, Bruce Cameron! We thought that Salt Springers were interested in the proposed new firehall. Were we wrong? Despite the small number, the conversation was rich and, as the first of many outreach events before the firehall referendum, it was a good soft launch for the upcoming events. Each of these community engagement opportunities have been designed to make sure that all Salt Springers…
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Islands Trust Challenges: Laura is Listening
March 18, 2022: Fourteen joined us to welcome Laura Patrick, one of our two local trustees for the Islands Trust, to this ASK Salt Spring gathering in the Library Program Room. While we shivered with the open wall of glass doors, we were happy to be together in person again. After a Territorial Acknowledgement, Laura encouraged each of us to take steps to open our hearts to Reconciliation. A participant, holding a copy of the recently completed Islands Trust Governance Review: ((https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/governance-review-final-report-february-2022/, asked a series of questions about the report’s findings and recommendations. Laura agreed that change is needed and that the…
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Whatever is a Warming Space?
March 11, 2022: A total of 26 joined us for all or part of the time at this ASK Salt Spring Zoom gathering welcoming CRD’s Gary Holman. After the Territorial Acknowledgement, Gary began by giving us some unfortunate budget news: Because our BC property assessments have increased far more than the CRD average, Salt Spring taxpayers will now pay a larger percentage for our regional services, like parks, administration, and health facilities. Gary reminded us that we also benefit from these CRD services, including the $3 million recently provided by the CRD Regional Hospital District (CRHD) to help fund our new Lady…
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Planning for Our Village’s Future
March 4, 2022: Thirteen joined us via Zoom for this ASK Salt Spring gathering that welcomed the Chair of the Islands Trust Ganges Village Plan task force, Jenny MacClean. After her heartfelt Territorial Acknowledgment, she began by telling us why Ganges needs another plan despite several excellent ones in 1995 ( https://www.crd.bc.ca/docs/default-source/salt-spring-island-ea-pdf/cedc/ganges_ocp_95.pdf?sfvrsn=2)and 2007 (https://www.crd.bc.ca/docs/default-source/salt-spring-island-ea-pdf/cedc/ganges.pdf?sfvrsn=2). The reasons supporting this new plan include: Jenny reminded us of Ganges’s rich archeological heritage, a heritage that she believes needs to be both protected and honoured through better community information about the development processes of these sites as well as historical signage. It is Jenny’s hope that this…
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Some of the ABCs of an LCC
February 25, 2025: Twenty-two attended this initial discussion about the possibilities and challenges of a Local Community Commission (LCC). After our Territorial Acknowledgement, CRD Director, Gary Holman, one of our three special guests, began this gathering by offering some basic information about what an LCC could and could not accomplish. During our two hours together, our other special guests, Linda Adams and Brian Webster, also fielded a number of questions, and the three of them led an interesting conversation about the possibilities of improving our local governance. We learned that the provincial legislation is permissive, allowing local communities a high degree…
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A Glimpse into Complex Islands Trust Decisions
February 18, 2022: After a territorial acknowledgement, one of our two locally-elected Island Trust trustees, Laura Patrick, began by telling the 14 people who had gathered that housing is foremost in her mind. In her opinion, we need a wide spectrum of housing options for a diverse and healthy community. The housing options we need are less about accommodating a growing population and more about housing the people who are already here or are having to leave — the folks who work in our shops and restaurants, BC Ferries, our tradespeople, artists, young families, and seniors. She believes that we all…
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A Battle Between Bureaucracy and Humanity?
February 11, 2022:Thirteen joined us on a lovely almost-spring day to engage with CRD Director Gary Holman on some of the issues that mean the most to us. After our First Nations Territorial Acknowledgement, we asked Gary to tell us what was on his mind. While housing concerns are paramount for him, he began by speaking of some other projects. Gary is pleased that the Fire Trustees and CRD have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreeing, in principle, to allow the Ganges Firehall to remain in public hands and repurposing it for a year-round food market. The MOU also…
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Has Our Trust and Confidence in the BC Government Been Eroded?
February 4, 2022: Sixteen joined this ASK Salt Spring conversation, including our special guest MLA Adam Olsen and his team: Laura Parker, William Kelly, and Jake Rees. After our Territorial Acknowledgement, Adam shared his grave concerns about the fragility of our democracy. He worries that our democracy needs greater strength, vibrancy, and resiliency. His concerns are supported by the fact that a recent poll found three out of five Canadians have recently reported that they do not trust their government. Adam believes certain actions by our BC government are simply not working including: Combined, these actions have, in Adam’s opinion, created a sad…
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Are We Prepared for the Increased Traffic Volumes and Climate Changes Buffeting Our Island?
January 28, 2022: Eighteen gathered to ask our questions of our special guests, Emcon managers, Andrew Gaetz and Dillon Thornton, and CRD Emergency Operations managers, Charles Nash and John Wakefield. After our Territorial Acknowledgement, participants began by asking about our road maintenance. There was general agreement that Emcon has done an amazing job addressing an enormous task. While providing consistent maintenance is challenging for all roads, Emcon’s task on Salt Spring is even more challenging as our roads were constructed to yesterday’s climate and traffic volumes and have not been upgraded to address our current realities. When asked what we as islanders should do to help,…