A smiling man, standing in front of a judge. HSe is also smiling.

Interview with Mark Vonesch, new Regional Director (part one)

In mid-November, Currents ran an article on the novel Finnish approach to homelessness, “Housing First,” and three local communities where low-cost housing had been created for those in need. We invited the new Area B Regional Director (Mark Vonesch) to comment on the housing issue generally, and on “Housing First” as a concept. Mark wasn’t able to respond in November, but agreed to an interview in early December.

The interview will be broadcast on CKTZ in two parts. The first part (airing on Monday Dec 12 at 8am) is a more general check-in with Mark; we ask him about his first few weeks on office, the three percent short-term rental tax which he successfully proposed at SRD, and his perception of the atmosphere at SRD with regard to Cortes business. We also begin to discuss the housing crisis on Cortes. In the second part (Tuesday Dec 13 at 8am) we discuss the housing issue in greater depth.


‘Imagine’ Photo by Jeremy Beck on Unsplash

Mark’s overall view of his new job is optimistic and positive. He feels that recent changes at the SRD board have been positive for Cortes:

I’m really excited about the changes that have happened in the Regional District. I feel like we have a really strong team there and I’m seeing a lot more willingness to say Yes to Cortes — and I’m just excited about that. Because, you know, no matter what we want to do, and what ideas I have, and what the community wants to take action on — none of that can happen unless we have the support of the Regional District. And I’m really fortunate to walk into a very different situation than what’s been there for the last 10 years.

One of the things I was able to do in my very first meeting as most folks know is, is get the Regional District to support a 3% short term rental tax on Cortes. So to be able to walk in on my very first meeting and get something done that is going to produce action, produce some income for Rainbow Ridge to get built, felt really, really good to me. And also I think it signals the sort of change that’s happened at the Regional District and how folks are, I think, more willing to say Yes to what we want

Mark goes on to explain how the three percent short term rental tax works, and that the revenue will go directly to the Cortes Housing Society; he hopes it will provide as much as $50,000 a year in secure support for the project. While this is not nearly enough to “get Rainbow Ridge built,” Mark says it adds to our competitive advantage when seeking funds for completion.

We can say, look, we’ve got 1.6 million raised through donations. We have these MRDT tax in place: it’s going to provide some secure revenue. We’ve got the land, we’ve got the zoning. It gives us a competitive advantage, when we’re asking the provincial and federal government for money to help us build housing.


We discuss some of the other issues currently “hot” on the island, such as derelict boats and a shortage of labour for local businesses. Not surprisingly, the conversation keeps returning to the housing issue, which lies at the heart of so many of our apparently separate problems.

Well, we could talk about boats. […] we have lots of folks living on boats that are struggling. And it is really the last resort for them. And a lot of people are doing it by choice too and are doing it quite adequately and, you know, love the lifestyle. So it’s a mix. But we are seeing an increase in derelict boats. Boats that are coming off their moorings and hitting the shoreline and that’s obviously a huge environmental concern. But people get desperate and if you don’t have money, you do what you can to get housing, whether that’s to borrow a tarp or spend a thousand bucks on an old boat. And I think it’s easy to look at these folks and maybe feel upset because of the environmental danger, but really you know, it’s just people needing a place to live.

Every business I speak with is challenged to run at capacity because they can’t find staff that have housing or — you know — businesses have staff, but their staff are in unstable housing and it makes their work ability unstable. If we can address housing, we’re going to provide ourselves with an opportunity to, to be more sustainable economically — and I think do what’s right in the world, as far as housing for people that need it.


Mark described his strategy for keeping in touch with his constituents:

I have about 300 people on my mailing list so far, folks that have visited my website and signed up, and a lot of them have shared what issues that they care about, and their ideas for positive change. So people can go there and, and there’s a form that they can fill in their information and also, tell me what they care about.

Mark’s new SRD phone number is 250-202-4422, and his work email is mvonesch@srd.ca. He encourages constituents to get in touch with him:

I’m looking to engage with as many people as I can on this island and have the best understanding I can of the people that are living here — and the actions that people want to see happen […] so I need to hear from people. If you haven’t signed up to my website yet, if you haven’t reached out, I’d love if you could.

Mark plans to establish regular office hours at the Mansons Hall, devoting part of his Reel Youth office space to regional district business.

I think it’s really easy to be cynical about government and the potential for change. And I get it, you know, –I have some of that same cynicism myself. But I’ve seen governments that have made a difference and I am optimistic, especially in Cortes, about the power of the people speaking up. Whether it’s about environment or housing or the economy, there is a real power in people saying, “This is where we live. This is how we’d like things to be done. This is what makes the most sense and it’s gonna have the most benefits. Let’s do it.”


In Part Two of this interview, we’ll focus more closely on the multifaceted issue of housing and homelessness: how this affects the community at large, Mark’s opinion of the Housing First approach, and where he sees opportunities for Cortes island to improve our housing situation.

Top image credit: Mark Vonesh, Regional Director for Cortes Island, being sworn in by Judge Barbara Flewelling – Photo courtesy SRD