From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney

Midsummer greetings!
Housing is an important issue here in Area C, across the region and our province. This report provides a housing-related update on some of what’s happening locally.

Discovery Islands Affordable Housing Society

The Discovery Islands Affordable Housing Society (DIAHS) board meets monthly: they’ve been a full-fledged board since February 2024. This newly minted organization is establishing good governance by solidifying the Society’s values, mission & goals; building a website with a goal of connecting island tenants and landlords; and determining the best fit for future projects.
 
One of the goals of the Discovery Islands Affordable Housing Society is to advocate for and ultimately create affordable housing on the Discovery Islands. Affordability is nuanced and means different things to different people. At the DIAHS February AGM the definition of ‘affordability’ was discussed.
 
DIAHS Chair Mandolin Hart had an excellent synopsis of affordable that she’s graciously permitted me to share:

“Affordable doesn’t mean housing fully subsidized by the government and it doesn’t mean there is no cost. We get to define what affordable means to OUR community.

To me, affordable on Quadra means you can work a tourism/seasonal or minimum wage job and be able to live here; you can be on pension/disability/social security and be able to live here; you can afford to pay rent and buy groceries; you can have a home that includes running water and electricity.

Affordable means accessible, attainable, and adequate. There is no one size fits all solution to our housing emergency, and we need as many solutions as possible. So, let’s move past ‘affordable’ and focus on housing”.

Much gratitude to the nine Board members for volunteering their time and energy to focus on housing solutions for Quadra Island. (Check out discoveryislandshousing.ca as it grows and blooms)

The mission of acquiring land

In the quest to create attainable, accessible, and affordable housing, acquiring land is a huge hurdle. One way to surmount this is with community support and donations of land in trust. The DIAHS in collaboration with the SRD invites land donations and can provide a tax-deductible receipt! Would you like to book a meeting to discuss this? Please email discoveryislandsahs@gmail.com (or me, and I’ll happily connect you).

Community solutions

This spring the Cortes Island Housing Society hosted a series of online housing forums which explored the topics of water, community land trusts, and how to increase rental stock. Learning about the benefits and history of community land trusts I found particularly inspiring. If you’re interested, you can listen to a recording here: bit.ly/Cortes-LandTrusts

Housing & the Rural Islands Economic Partnership

The Rural Islands Economic Partnership (RIEP) is an organization focused on building sustainable economic resilience for eighteen coastal islands and nearby rural regions. In consideration of housing’s current critical nature, RIEP has struck a housing working group which I’ve been participating in. This working group is focused on moving the needle on housing on the coastal islands.
 
Connecting with islanders across the Salish Sea who are all focused on housing has provided better understanding of the challenges of creating rural housing projects. Working together, I’m hopeful we discover & share opportunities as well.

Housing & the SRD

In June the SRD Board requested a staff report on Co-op Housing to explore affordable housing options for rural areas of the SRD. This follows a recent federal announcement by Housing Minister Shawn Fraser of $1.5 billion being invested in co-op housing across the country. Because cooperatives operate on a not-for-profit basis, housing remains affordable for future generations. I look forward to learning & sharing more when the report is returned.  
 
As well, you may recall the SRD has finalized creation of a Regional Housing Service, so there is a place for Housing work to be considered, and potential financial support for projects.

Connect

You’re welcome to connect with me, you can email rmawhinney@srd.ca or call 250.203.2468. Want to catch up on SRD happenings? Find upcoming agendas & previous meeting minutes here: bit.ly/SRD-agendas-minutes. Read previous Director’s Reports at robynmawhinney.ca/directors-reports.

Until next time,
Respectfully and sincerely,
Robyn Mawhinney

Photos in this Report… the ever cheery Woolly Sunflower; evening light and the coast range; morning on Sarita Lake – Robyn Mawhinney