-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
Interested in Envisioning an Even Better Ganges?
January 21, 2022: A total of 15 joined for all or part of the conversation at this ASK Salt Spring Zoom gathering. Trustee Laura Patrick offered a moving Territorial Acknowledgement and spoke briefly about her hopes for the Ganges Village Local Area Plan. She noted that Ganges Village is the heart of Salt Spring, and it is important to take the time to do good, inclusive, and collaborative planning. Salt Spring Island’s Official Community Plan (OCP) applies to the entire island. The Ganges Village Local Area Plan will form a detailed part of the OCP, and it is intended to guide the realization…
-
Composter, SeaBreeze, Assessments, and a Local Community Commission – Learning Lots from Gary
January 14, 2022: Thirteen gathered via Zoom to welcome CRD’s Gary Holman and to discuss those issues that matter most to us. After the Territorial Acknowledgement, we began with a brief discussion of Gary’s Looking Ahead article in the Driftwood. (Copy at the end of this report.) We learned more about progress with the long planned composting project. It is designed to initially focus on green waste from large users, like Country Grocer and our local abattoir. Its location at the large Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) Burgoyne Valley Farm is ideal because rezoning will not be required if the materials generated are sold to…
-
Welcoming Adam and Beginning the New Year with Optimism Amid Challenges
January 7, 2022: Twenty gathered via Zoom to welcome our MLA, Adam Olsen. After our Territorial Acknowledgement, Adam took a few minutes to share his personal resolution to seek positive things, never forgetting how lucky we are to live in these islands of beautiful British Columbia. He also acknowledged ASK Salt Spring for the regular opportunity it offers him to look deeply at the issues that matter most to us. Adam sees his top 2022 challenges to be in the continuing housing crisis; Indigenous rights; and concerns about local, provincial, federal, and global political climates. These challenges are exacerbated by COVID and severe…
-
SeaBreeze Inne Solutions. . .Which One Will Work?
December 10, 2021: Fourteen gathered at the Library Program Room to welcome CRD’s Gary Holman and participate in conversations about the issues that matter most to us. While these conversations touched upon North Salt Spring Waterworks District, Transition Salt Spring’s federal award of $100,000 for forest restoration, and the possibilities of a Local Community Commission on the October 2022 ballot, the major theme of our two hours together was housing. The focus of this housing conversation was upon the proposed purchase of the SeeBreeze Inne by the Lady Minto Foundation and the resulting need for accommodations for the 18-20 people currently…
-
A Dawning Recognition of our Vulnerability in Tense Times?
December 3, 2021 After a Territorial Acknowledgement suggesting we read The Dawn of Everything (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/18/the-dawn-of-everything-a-new-history-of-humanity-by-david-graeber-and-david-wengrow-review-have-we-got-our-ancestors-wrong) to better understand how Indigenous societal structures have impacted our democracy, 22 Salt Springers welcomed our MLA, Adam Olsen. Adam began by briefly reviewing some of the bills from the recently-concluded legislative session. Among them were two concerning childcare – one to regulate the childcare industry and the other to further the provincial commitment for universal childcare: https://www.leg.bc.ca/content/data%20-%20ldp/Pages/42nd2nd/1st_read/PDF/gov15-1.pdf) Adam also told us a bit about two complex bills with long-awaited amendments to forestry policy. Among other things, it moves the responsibility for creating forest stewardship plans from the logging…
-
Decades of Deferred Road Maintenance?
November 26, 2021: Eighteen Salt Springers came to discuss our recent flood and our roads with Salt Spring Island Emergency Coordinator, Charles Nash, and four of our Transportation Commissioners. After a meaningful Territorial Acknowledgment, we asked Charles to begin by giving us some guidance about preparing for emergencies. The messages were loud and clear – and repeated in a variety of ways during our two hours together: While Charles and his team were out monitoring Fulford-Ganges water levels during our flood, he advised us that preparing ourselves and linking with our POD are our best options. We learned that Charles and…
-
Are We Too Comfortable to Make Needed Changes
?November 19, 2021: Fifteen people came to welcome and ask questions of one of the Islands Trust’s Local Trustees, Laura Patrick, at this ASK Salt Spring gathering. During her Territorial Acknowledgment, Laura described a concept that resulted from a dialogue about incorporating indigenous knowledge into integrated land use planning: We should be thinking in terms of land relationship planning as opposed to land use planning: https://www.waysofknowingforum.ca/dialogue-9. Laura appreciated that the word relationship evokes human connection and responsibility for the land. Before fielding questions, Laura recognized with pride the large number of islanders who are doing good and caring work within and for the community. While it is…