Mark Vonesch was removed from his position as Vice-Chair of the SRD through a non-confidence vote, and Campbell River Director Susan Sinnott was elected in his place.
The voting followed what is becoming a familiar pattern: the five Campbell River Directors and their allies voted to remove Vonesch, while the Directors from Gold River, Tahsis, and Electoral Areas A, B, and C supported him.
The Alleged Plot
The vote was preceded by a roughly two-hour in-camera session, after which Campbell River Mayor Kermit Dahl addressed the public meeting.
Mayor Dahl: “I gotta say, WOW! I watched the Strathcona Regional District meeting from April 29, and I think ‘WOW’ best describes the performances of the day. Some were Gemini Award-worthy. From listening to Directors talking about strategically busting quorum, to Directors Whalley and Vice-Chair Director Vonesch plotting a strategic walkout to collapse quorum at 3 hours and 4 minutes into the YouTube recording — I can listen to it, watch it, and it’s clear what their intention was. I encourage anyone from the public listening or watching this meeting to do the same.”
Alleged Evidence from the April 9 Board Meeting
Cortes Currents: He was referring to an incident during the discussion of which electors should vote in the referendum on Quadra Island being included in the catchment area for Campbell River’s Recreate Strathcona Gardens project.
The Campbell River Directors and Area D want the referendum to be held in their areas as well as on Quadra Island. This would mean the votes from an island with approximately 2,500 residents (of all ages) would be counted in a pool whose population is close to 45,000.
A number of Quadra residents sitting in the gallery objected, at which point Chair Baker called a recess. The following clip comes from the resulting 16-minute interval:
Director Whalley: “Is 7 a quorum?”
Director Vonesch: “I think nine or 10 is a quorum.”
Director Whalley: “All of us that are opposed just left.”
Director Vonesch: “Would that be enough? Who else would leave?”
Director Whalley: “I mean, that would leave seven people here.”
Director Vonesch: “There’d only be 4 of us missing, and 10 is still a quorum. Who else is going to leave?”
Director Whalley: “Well, the 6 of us that are here would vote against it.”
Note that the conversation occurred after they left the April 29th meeting and Vonesch referred to 4 Directors, but the minutes (below ) show there were actually 5 Directors absent: Mayor Davis from Tahsis, Regional Directors Mawhinney, Vonesch, Whalley, from Areas A, B and C and alternate Director Deck from Zeballos.
The question is whether Directors Whalley and Vonesch were plotting, or simply making observations.
(Minutes from April 19. Chair Baker called a recess at 3:36 because some of the Quadra residents in the Gallery were speaking up. When they continued to interupt the meeting, he threatened to call the RCMP.)
Mayor Kermit Dahl alleged they were conspiring to collapse the meeting by causing it to lose quorum.
Mayor Dahl’s Assertion
Mayor Dahl: (They were trying) “… to stop the democratic procedure that is inevitable by leaving the meeting, only to realize — probably, but that’s only my guess — that someone who remained had called and let the dissenters know quorum had not, in fact, been lost. The debate and eventual calling of the question was going ahead, and the dissenters returned.”
“This was a disappointing display of many things to me. The first thing I saw in this action was a total disregard for due process and a lack of good governance. This will be a recurring theme throughout this Director’s report or feedback.”
“I thought back to a time not so long ago when there was a vote, and after the vote in favour of the motion, I myself had to leave the meeting. This was seen opportunistically by those against the motion, who reintroduced it and ultimately voted again with me gone. Of course, that changed the outcome in favour of the dissenters. Did the Campbell River Directors get up and leave the room and cause a loss of quorum? Of course they didn’t. It would have been unthinkable behaviour and very unprofessional.”
Alleged Participation of Tahsis and Zeballos Directors
Mayor Dahl: “While watching the recording on YouTube, I was also troubled by the fact that some of the Directors who left are from small communities — communities that are subsidized by the Strathcona Regional District. They were there, they had travelled to attend, and they are being compensated for that travel, yet felt it was correct or permissible to walk out. Tahsis’s entire requisition paid to the SRD is $14,764…”
Robyn Mawhinney (Regional Director, Area C): “Point of order, Chair. I’m not sure if this is business arising, or a Director’s report.”
Mayor Dahl: “This is business arising…”
Chair Mark Baker: “… arising from the last meeting.”
Mayor Dahl: “The Director of Tahsis receives $26,394 a year. This leaves a deficit of $11,630.
“In the Village of Zeballos, an even more astonishing revelation: an alternate Director who hadn’t attended an SRD meeting left — almost as if this was planned from the beginning. I’ve heard he used the term ‘part of the team’ when referring to leaving himself. I’m not saying it was planned previously. From the conversation between Director Whalley and Director Vonesch, it clearly seemed it was baked on site.”
“Regardless, here is an alternate Director walking out of a meeting he travelled to attend.”
“The village’s requisition to the SRD is a grand total of $4,835, with a cost of $27,078, plus the alternate stipend. This leaves a deficit of more than $22,243. Guess where the funds to cover these deficits come from? You are correct if you guessed the SRD.”
“$33,873 in total to cover the incomes of two Directors willing to walk out of a meeting they have been paid to attend. Not only incomes — they are billing the SRD for travel, so they have literally been paid to travel to the meeting and are now walking out on their responsibilities.”
“Of the $33,873, Campbell River is responsible for 70% of the cost. Campbell River taxpayers will pay $23,711 of that $33,873 deficit. This is how I see it, and while I have been an advocate for regional services that support small communities in our regional district, I am adamantly opposed to a Director receiving travel allowance and a stipend or salary, then walking out on the very responsibility they are being compensated for.”
“Regardless of how you vote, you stay in the meeting, hear the debate, and vote your conscience.”
Alleged Bullying of Director Rice
Mayor Dahl: “In my opinion, what was performed should be viewed as an act of bullying, which I’ve witnessed at this board previously. I’m going to give a couple of examples for those watching and/or interested.”
“For example, when Director Rice was outvoted on a development in Area D by three electoral area Directors who wanted to show him, ‘Stay in line or else. We’ll show you.’ They could stop him from succeeding in moving Area D forward.”
See: Allegations That Rural Directors Bullied Area D
Alleged Misrepresentation of the Planning Service
Mayor Dahl: “Or Directors fabricating a story that Campbell River was joining the Electoral Area Planning Service. There is no Electoral Area Planning Service. There is simply a planning service that any municipality or electoral area can join.”
“Hate to ruin a perfectly good story with facts, so I apologize to all those who did no due diligence: The Mirror, CHEK News, CBC, and whoever else I missed.”
“I’ve challenged several people, including the media, to show me a City of Campbell River agenda where this discussion point appeared. Not surprisingly, no one has ever been able to produce one. Yet Directors went to the media and sold their story that big, bad Campbell River was coming to destroy their planning service, which it was not. Again, it is the regional district planning service, and each and every electoral area and municipality is entitled to join.”
Correction Regarding the Planning Service
Cortes Currents: Historically, and up to this point, the only members of the planning service have been the Regional Directors from Areas A, B, C, and D. As you see above and further down the page, the SRD uses the term Electoral Area planing Service in their minutes.
The following excerpt is from the Municipal Services Committee meeting of September 3, 2025 , in which Directors from Campbell River and other municipalities discussed the idea of joining the planning service.
Doug Chapman (Director, Campbell River): “It’s sad that at this point we’re thinking about this, because we’re supposed to be thinking about the region as a whole, not just electoral areas versus municipalities. We’re supposed to be one organization, one regional district, thinking regionally for the benefit of the region.”
“For municipalities to join the planning service would bring more regional thought into planning issues in the rural areas, because municipalities are in fact affected by what happens in those rural areas.”
“Area D, as an example — in my observations and in my opinion — had an electoral Area Director, Brenda Leigh, who was not supportive of development there, and I’m talking about development by property owners. These people had a right to develop their property as they wanted.”
“Now we have a rural Director, Director Rice, who is more understanding and sympathetic to the development needs of the area. As the area develops more, it does affect Campbell River indirectly.”
“We have some electoral area Directors who, I think, are still trying to stifle development because they’re concerned their portion of the requisition will go up if there is too much development. Their main goal is to provide government services at the lowest possible cost, and that low cost is sometimes put on Campbell River.”
So I think this is a good thing — municipalities getting in — but I think it’s a sad thing that we’re even contemplating this.”
Click here to read comments Directors Davis, Kerr, Lanyon and Sinnott, made at that meeting)
Campbell River Removed $500,000 from its Tax Requisition
Mayor Dahl: “Never during this campaign led by electoral area representatives was it mentioned that in the previous budget, Campbell River had in fact removed $500,000 from its tax requisition, which would have made Campbell River joining the planning service cost-neutral.”
“No — again, the facts were manipulated to fit the narrative they felt gave them political advantage with their residents.”
Allegation That the Media Did Not Fact-Check
Mayor Dahl: “The media is not complicit in this. They have done absolutely no due diligence. Not once have they checked the information given to them.”
“It’s actions like these that represent the bullying tactics of members around this table. These are not examples of good governance, as some Directors like to pretend they are advocates of.”
Further Allegations Regarding the ‘Conspirators’
Mayor Dahl: “Approximately 3 hours and 17 minutes in the recording, the Vice-Chair, Director Vonesch, returns from the attempted coup — the quorum-busting effort — and starts talking over the CAO. The vice-chair had been missing during the previous portion of the debate, so really had no way at that point to know what motion was on the floor”.
“But the Director continued and started talking about fairness and good governance. What part of good governance is orchestrating the collapse of a meeting by causing a loss of quorum through a walkout? Where does that fall under good governance?”
Cortes Currents: The following comment arises from the fact that Quadra Island residents spoke up at numerous points during the meeting. In response, Chair Baker ordered the gallery cleared and threatened to call the police.
Mayor Dahl: “What I haven’t touched on yet is the abuse of staff. We, as elected officials — as Directors of this board — have a responsibility to our staff to maintain a safe workplace environment. I’d say when staff are hiding or calling for police to attend, that’s probably a failure to maintain a safe work environment. When staff are terrorized by disorder, that’s a failure.”
“Much of the crowd’s outburst could have been managed simply by electoral area Directors saying, ‘She is their voice,’ or ‘I am your voice,’ but the Directors said nothing to calm the crowd — a choice that encouraged tension.”
“Does the Director, or do the Directors, not realize there is a duty to maintain a safe workplace? Do we not care about our staff if or when it feeds our agenda or narrative?”
“As a Director representing the City of Campbell River and as Mayor of the city, I find the actions of several members of this board to be disrespectful toward the city, the SRD board, and staff, and far from the professional behavior that should be expected of leaders in our communities, electoral areas, and municipalities.”
“I request that the Directors who took part in the attempted quorum-busting walkout write a formal apology to the board and SRD staff, and that the Vice-Chair step down from his position.”
“If the vice-chair won’t step down, I will call for a non-confidence vote. I wanted this report to be delivered in the open so the public can see what goes on here. I want to give this matter the attention it deserves.”
Mark Vonesch Responds: The Planning Service
Director Vonesch: “I want to begin by replying to the comments about municipalities joining the Electoral Area Planning Service. The words ‘Electoral Area Planning Service’ are taken from reports prepared by SRD staff, so that’s why it has been called that.”
“The fact of the matter is that Campbell River councillors, along with the majority of the board, voted in favour of exploring (the possibility of) joining the planning service. It was a motion that Campbell River supported — to say, ‘Hey, let’s explore joining the planning service.'”
Mark Vonesch: on Going to the Media
Director Vonesch: “So me going to the media and saying, ‘Hey, Campbell River is considering joining the planning service’ — that’s factual. You all voted in favour of exploring it, and it was something you were considering.”
“How you brought it to council, or whether you ultimately decided to do it, I don’t know what that process was. But at this board table, you voted to explore it. You voted in favour of it. That’s why I brought it to the media. It was of huge concern to most of the electoral area Directors.”
“It was surprising to me that the motion initially came from Electoral Area D, because if Campbell River joined the planning service, it would give you five votes, and there are only four votes there now. That would allow you to override land-use decisions, zoning, planning, and OCPs — which is hugely concerning.”
“I brought it to my colleagues at AVICC (Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities) and UBCM (Union of BC Municipalities) and they said the only recourse available was political recourse — to put pressure on Campbell River and say this is a bad idea.”
“The facts are that you would be paying $500,000 a year to sit on a planning service that was giving you no services for any of your constituents apart from a vote to decide what happens in these rural communities. That’s why I went to the media, and I think that’s why it got so much attention. I didn’t share anything that was untrue.”
Vonesch: on Leaving the April 29 Meeting
Director Vonesch: “In regard to the last meeting, where a bunch of folks left for a short period, I was calling Matthew Jack (Director for Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations) to see if he was there because I wanted to make sure everyone was involved in the vote, and that felt important to me. I didn’t know what was happening. We came back and rejoined the discussion.”
“I am at this board table and in this position because I care about my community. I care about the strategic priorities of this board, and one of the strategic priorities I was arguing for was good governance.”
Vonesch: re a Duty to Quadra Island Residents
Director Vonesch: “Part of good governance is consulting constituents. In the case of Quadra Island potentially joining Strathcona Gardens at a rate that would double their taxes without any consultation, that’s concerning to me.”
Resisting Campbell River’s Proposed Takeover
CAO David Leitch: “Is it the direction of this board that we are, as Director Vonesch has said, to put pressure on people not to join services? Because the goal of the regional district is to provide regional services.”
“It would be news to me and staff if it is the goal of Directors here to pressure other Directors not to join services. That is not the intent of regional districts. So if that’s what we’re doing, folks, let’s do strategic planning tomorrow, because that’s completely the opposite of what we’re here to do.”
Director Vonesch: “Part of my job is to stand up for my community, and to have Campbell River join our planning service and be able to override planning and land-use decisions in my community is hugely concerning. I have the right to stand up for that and to share the facts.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t believe in this regional district or in regional services. But this planning service would provide no service to any of the municipalities apart from a vote. All those services already happen within the City of Campbell River, so you wouldn’t get anything for that $500,000 except control over land-use decisions in my community. That’s concerning, and it’s my right to speak to those facts and share them.”
Further Allegations from Campbell River and Area D
John Rice (Regional Director, Area D): “I just want to go back and look at the last CHEK News interview that Director Mawhinney did. In that discussion with CHEK News, behavior at this board was referred to as predatory behavior.”
“If we want to talk about bullying, what the heck was that? I have spoken to other Directors who have been here far longer than I have, and one of the things I have learned is that when matters are still before the board, why in the world are we going out and talking publicly to the media about things that haven’t even been discussed at this board?”
Director Chapman: “I just want everyone to know I’ll be supporting the non-confidence motion. The reason is that, to be a successful Director, you basically need three things: knowledge, judgment, and discretion. At the last board meeting, in my opinion, Director Vonesch didn’t demonstrate judgment or discretion. As a man, I like you. We get along, but what you did has me concerned.”
“As for the City of Campbell River, before we came to our first meeting, we all agreed that we’re here for the region — to make the regional district work well and to protect everything within it. So if we decide to join a service, whatever that service might be, it’s because we think the region would benefit from it.”
“We want the regional district to be successful in everything that we do, and I think we have been successful in some areas, thanks to the efforts of our staff and CAO.”
Mawhinney Responds
Robyn Mawhinney (Regional Director, Area C): “It’s quite a circuitous circle of commentary that’s happening here. I’m intrigued by the term being thrown around — bullying. I don’t believe that is an appropriate term to use when discussing talking to the media.
“Talking to the media is something we are all called to do as Directors, and we speak to the media for many different reasons — whether it’s a tragedy in our community, something exciting in our community, or something that may truly affect our residents.”
“I really struggle with that characterization when it is used to describe going to the media about something of grave concern to residents and constituents of the electoral areas.”
“I will not be supporting the motion. I do have a high degree of confidence in Director Vonesch and his ability to lead a meeting, have excellent conversations, look at things from a high level, and find areas of commonality that bring us together. I will continue to support him in that role.”
The Votes
When the non-confidence vote was taken, it passed with five votes in opposition. Those opposing the motion were the Regional Directors for Areas A, B, and C, along with the villages of Gold River and Zeballos.
This was followed by a vote in which Campbell River Director Susan Sinnott was chosen as the new Vice-Chair of the SRD.
Links of Interest
- Text of Mayor Dahl’s speech.
- Articles about, or mentioning, REC-create Strathcona Gardens
- Articles about, or mentioning, proposed municipal participation in the Electoral Area Planning Service
- The SRD website
Top photo: exterior of the SRD building – Roy L Hales photo
Note: Screenshot of the minutes added after the SRD published them.
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