Area C Director’s Report: UBCM, advocacy, island forestry, & well questionnaire

From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney

Hello, The last week was jam-packed, a blur of learning, meetings, and networking as I attended the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) annual convention in Vancouver. UBCM is an opportunity to meet with provincial Ministers and Ministry staff and advocate for local and regional priorities & concerns, as well as learning & listening at workshops, forums & town hall-style events.

Reconciliation in Action at UBCM

While at UBCM I was fortunate to attend a full-day Reconciliation in Action forum, with a keynote address by the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and member of the We Wai Kai Nation. Ms. Wilson-Raybould spoke on politics and advancing reconciliation in uncertain times. She suggested the analogy that we, like turtles, only move forward when we stick our necks out. She further stated that if there is to be reconciliation, first there must be truth: reconciliation cannot happen in the shadows.

Canadian Geographic and the Office of the Independent Special Interlocuter for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves have created a map of Canada’s unmarked burial sites associated with Indian Residential Schools. Explore the map and learn at this link: https://bit.ly/unmarked-graves.

Advocacy meetings with the Province

SRD advocacy this year included meeting with several provincial Ministers. Directors and CAO Dave Leitch met with Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma regarding slope stability concerns outside Zeballos; and Minister of Energy, Mines & Low Carbon Innovation Josie Osborne, regarding the need for adequate & equitable power supply for the Kyuquot-Checleseht Nations.

We also met with Minister of Municipal Affairs Anne Kang regarding critical infrastructure deficits in SRD essential services such as water supply & sewer services. One of the examples shared with Minister Kang was the Quadra Island Wastewater Treatment Plant which is at the end of its service life and the costs of replacing this essential service is a heavy burden for a small community. The response we received was a recommendation to advocate to the federal Minister of Housing and Infrastructure… not entirely positive, but a path to follow. I’ll continue to share updates as this and other advocacy initiatives progress.

Looking across from a rocky Quadra Beach towards Cortes Island

Ministry of Forests & recent Forest Practices Board Report

During UBCM there were also several meetings with ministerial staff. In one of these I met with Ministry of Forests Assistant Deputy Ministers to discuss the recent ‘Management of Old Forests on Quadra Island’ report released by the Forest Practices Board; I shared copies of the Forest Practices Board news release and the recent article in the DI.

While there weren’t many firm responses at this meeting, I learned that Mosaic will need to address the findings of the report and I was advised that ‘recruiting [old growth] when the number is this low would be normal’. One of the concerns outlined in the Forest Practices Board report is that Quadra has not yet undergone local landscape planning – it sounds like this may take some time to rectify and continued advocacy will be beneficial.

Ministry of Forests staff are considering next steps, and I will be following up with them in the coming weeks. I’m grateful for the chance to bring this report to the attention of Ministry staff in person, its certainly a much better discussion than solely through email.

Looking across from Cape Mudge Lighthouse to Campbell River

UBCM Resolutions

One of the functions of the UBCM convention is the Resolution Sessions, which all elected attendees can participate in. Prior to UBCM, regional districts and municipalities pass resolutions on topics which they believe have merit and would benefit from provincial advocacy and submit to UBCM. Over sessions which are interspersed on several days, the pros and cons of these resolutions are discussed & voted on in rapid succession.

One resolution with local relevance which passed was that UBCM request the Province review the Hospital District Act to provide enhanced authority to regional hospital districts, so that they may provide small ongoing grants to non-profit community health clinics in rural, remote & indigenous communities. This is something the Comox Strathcona Regional Hospital District board continues to advocate for, to support rural and remote community facilities.

This year, two hundred forty-seven resolutions were submitted, which we were told was a record number. Due to the volume, not all resolutions were able to be deliberated on at the convention; these ones the UBCM Executive will deliberate on. It was interesting to see Claire Moglove, former Campbell River city councillor and SRD Director, on stage in action as the Parliamentarian for the resolution proceedings.

BC Ferry at Quathiaski Cove on Quadra Island

Drought and well questionnaire

The We Wai Kai Nation and ICAN’s Water Security Team are collaborating on a project to assess the status of water on Quadra Island. Recently they mailed out a questionnaire about drought preparedness and the situation with dug/shallow wells. They are interested to hear from all Quadra households, whether you have a drilled well or a dug/shallow well.

I was asked to share the link to the online anonymous survey with you, here it is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N9XNKPB (if you’ve completed the paper survey, no need to do this one). Thanks in advance for taking the time.

Connect

The rain in the forest is wonderful – its sure good to be back on Quadra. You’re welcome to connect with me with questions or concerns, you can email rmawhinney@srd.ca, or call 250.203.2468. If you’d like to chat in person, you can book a meeting at calendly.com/robynmawhinney.

Until next time,
Respectfully and sincerely,
Robyn Mawhinney

Links of Interest

Top image credit: Looking up to the Vancouver skyline.

All images by Robyn Mawhinney

Cortes Currents