Tag: Reconciliation

• A Heartfelt Farewell to MLA Adam Olsen

  September 13, 2024: Eighteen joined us for all or part of the time for this very special ASK Salt Spring gathering welcoming Adam Olsen for his last time with us as our MLA. (Be sure, he is very likely to join us again in one of his future community roles!)  We began with a Territorial Acknowledgement exploring the…

• Welcoming MLA Adam Olsen to Discuss That Classic Battle Between Centralised and Local Decisions

  February 2, 2024: Twenty came to welcome MLA Adam Olsen and Jerram Gawley, his Constituency Advocate, to this ASK Salt Spring gathering. Adam added to our Territorial Acknowledgement by reminding us that his people had a tradition of overlapping spaces, a homeland to different groups sharing linguistic and cultural roots but still very different. He reminded us that…

• Is MLA Adam Olsen Right – Is the Province Ignoring Salt Spring?

  October 7, 2022: While 11:00 came with very few gathered in our new location – the Lobby of the Middle School – to welcome MLA Adam Olsen and his able staff, Laura Parker and Emily Bishop, soon 17 had arrived to ask Adam questions and discuss the issues most important to them.  When we began by…

• How Can Trust in Islands Trust be Rekindled?

   August 19, 2022: Only eight joined this ASK Salt Spring gathering welcoming Laura Patrick, one of our Salt Spring Island Local Trustees for the Islands Trust. While the circle was small, the low numbers allowed a casual, but very rich, conversation. During her Territorial Acknowledgment, Laura spoke of the journey of Reconciliation, reminding us that Reconciliation begins with…

• Respectful Conversations: Is There More That ASK Salt Spring Should Be Doing?

  April 29, 2022: A total of 14 joined us for all or part of this ASK Salt Spring Zoom gathering that welcomed Darlene Gage, Ellie Parks, and Bruce Cameron. After our Territorial Acknowledgement, each of our special guests spoke for a few minutes about their experience in community engagement and their interest in respectful conversations about potentially-divisive topics.  Ellie Parks, a community…

• 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…

• 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…

• Adam is Back – Bravely Diving Into Complex Issues like Health Care 

  December 4, 2020: Adam is Back – Bravely Diving Into Complex Issues like Health Care Fifteen joined the ASK Salt Spring Zoom gathering to welcome Adam back as our MLA. We had all missed him as he was forced into that candidate role again. Throughout the gathering, joy was repeatedly expressed that he can now get back to work…

• An Enthusiastic Welcome for Candidate Adam Olsen

   October 2, 2021: Thirty-six enthusiastic Salt Springers gathered in the United Church Meadow to welcome candidate Adam Olsen. While his visit to us was much like so many other times he has joined us at ASK Salt Spring, the spattering of green Adam Olsen signs signaled a slight difference in this gathering. The plentiful applause and the evident appreciation…

• “Hewers of Wood; Drawers of Water:” Adam Asks Us To Start A Different Conversation

  September 18, 2022: Twenty-three Salt Springers welcomed our MLA Adam Olsen to this gathering in the United Church Meadow. (Two others listened from a distance, but they never joined our circle nor our conversation.) While the air was smokey – a constant reminder of those in peril in the fires to the south – the rain…