“One of the core messages and core reasons that I am running for Regional Director is because I want decisions to be centered on island values. To me, island values are respect for First Nations, long term sustainability, also the rural nature that we all love. That’s why we live here. Quadra Island has a rich history of volunteerism. The role of the director is really to be an advocate for the majority of the community at the Strathcona Regional District (SRD),” said Robyn Mawhinney who hopes to be elected Regional Director of Area C (Discovery Islands and Mainland Inlets) on October 15th, 2022.

First Nations

“I’ve already talked to you about my respect for First Nations and meeting with some of the chiefs and councils of First Nations who are in Area C.  I hate that word ‘in.’ They are not in Area C. Area C  is a construct layered on top of their territories. So when we’re talking about island values and respect for First Nations as rights holders, they are traditional unceded territories that Area C is a construct on top of.” 

“I felt it was really important to offer to meet with local First Nations. I’ve now met with three of the First Nations that live in Area C. That includes meeting with Chief Ronnie Chickite and the We Wei Kai council which was a really great opportunity and I learned a lot. I also learned a lot when I met with Chief Darren Blaney, of the Homalco First Nation,and with Councillor Thomas Smith of the Tlowitsis First Nation. Each one of them shared really interesting and helpful information for me on this journey of candidacy, and I am grateful. There’s a lot more to learn and a lot more communication and respect that I believe is very important to the role of director and also in many of the conversations that I’ve had over the last few months. Respect for First Nations is really important to many residents of Area C.”

Community Connections

“I think another island value that is important and held really dearly by many residents, is the strength of our community. Shopping local, supporting local businesses and farms: these keep our island resilient and builds resilience for times when there are problems, when we have more need to reach out to our neighbours.”

She remembers the power outage when Quadra Builders offered free power to anyone who wanted to take their deep freeze down to them. They would plug it in and keep all their food frozen.

“I really want to foster community connections, resilience, and strength, because it does do us better in times of emergencies. I have been reading the Official Community Plan (OCP) and it really reinforces that exact desire for ecological integrity and conserving or preserving the rural character of our island When we are talking about development, we are going to need to have some happen, focusing on the village centres that are dedicated and directed for development in the OCP, Heriot Bay and Q Cove, that really can work in maintaining the rural nature of Quadra Island.”

Long term sustainability

Quadra Island has been developing its emergency services, preparedness, and the neighborhood emergency preparedness programs with the assistance of Shaun Koopman, Protective Services Coordinator for the SRD.

“I do believe that the director has a huge role to play in considering climate resilience and how that impacts our community. There is a lot of interface between the regional district, the director and emergency preparedness in local communities,” added Mawhinney.

“I met with somebody recently who was expressing that their neighborhood doesn’t have a second egress in case of a large fire. So  as a director, I would really be strongly advocating for having a gate replace the large boulders that are currently in the way of folks being able to get out of their neighborhood.” 

Giving the community a voice

Q/ Your opponent was talking about the need for a Quadra island community association, some kind of a body that takes all of the input from Quadra island residents and becomes their voice and with the SRD,  the province and going on. What do you think of that idea?

“It’s something that has been tried before on Quadra island. There was a community association for a number of years or a few years here on Quadra  Island, and eventually it faded. I’m not entirely sure the reasons that it dispersed.”

“I  think our community needs more community engagement and ways to share opinions and thoughts with the director. I originally considered wanting to set up an advisory planning commission, which is a specific tool that’s created by the provincial government. I think we talked about that before, wanting to set up an APC. Since then, I’ve learned from a couple of different directors that an APC has some challenges, mostly in the way that it has a very limited scope. The types of conversations that a director can have with their APC is very limited. I believe that a community advisory council would be a much broader way of having that same input for the director.”

“As a director, I’m definitely not interested in making decisions in a bubble or a silo or alone, or even with a small group of advisors. I’m really interested in having a council of a broad representation of the community.” 

“I’m not entirely sure what this other council is that you’re discussing, but what I would like to see is representation from the different communities that already exist on Quadra Island. That includes the outlying communities like Granite Bay, Bold Point, Open Bay, Read Island – areas beyond the South End.” 

“There’s also certain players that really would do well to be represented and be able to share their voice and opinions with the director. I think the tourism industry on Quadra is pretty big and relevant and would do well to be able to connect with the broader community at a council table. I think as well, the business community on Quadra Island. I’m sure that having youth representation there would be of extreme benefit, and the same for elders. There are many different diverse needs that need to be represented, to share those opinions with the director.”

“I’m talking about a community advisory group or community advisory council, that is what I am referring to. If the community wants to take that and run with it and turn it into something even bigger and more amazing, Quadra Island has a history of doing that.  That’s amazing, but for me the most important thing is being able to acquire opinions and consider thoughts from folks who represent a diverse interests  and locations in Area C.” 

Volunteerism

Mawhinney has served in may volunteer groups during her 28 years on Quadra Island. She served on the board of the Quadra Island Children’s Centre, was a member of the Advisory Planning Commission and was one of the people who created and organized Quadra Island’s beloved Fall Fair. Now she is on the board of the Quadra Island Trails Committee.

“I’ve met so many people on this island through my volunteerism, and I love the connections that I’ve made,” she explained. “I was at  an event on the weekend and someone was reminding me that we had been on a grant writing board for the community center. I actually forgot because it was so long ago,  but  I am really happy that I still have that connection with her and that’s how my connection started. So I think volunteerism and being involved in community organizations is a really great community building exercise, which weaves us closer together.” 

“There are a ton of community services which are provided here on the island by volunteers: the community lunch at the community center, there’s a food bank, there’s ICAN and the vast array of projects that they are working on, as well as other things that are run through the community center. Also private volunteer projects  and organizations which are also happening.” 

“People that live on Quadra and are active volunteers have told me volunteerism here on Quadra Island is hands down many more times and much more involvement than they’ve ever experienced in any of the other communities that they’ve lived in across Canada.” 

“When I spoke to somebody a while ago from the SRD, they told me that Quadra island has more emergency preparedness volunteers than all of Campbell River. There is definitely a huge volunteer community here.” 

Mawhinney went to Read Island on Friday, September 9, for the dedication of the six sided, post and beam ‘the Zone’ pavilion in Surge Narrows. Sheila Hollanders and Jim Mallis, of the Surge Narrows Community Association (SNCA), explained that 60% of the 1,500 construction hours were donated by volunteer. The remaining 40% were paid for by a federal grant.

“That just really goes to show what you can do as a community, to make your community what you wanted,” she said. 

“I believe that’s happened here on Quadra Island with our community center and so many organizations on Quadra, which really take things seriously  and run with them.” 

Mawhinney added that the housing crisis does appear to be dampening volunteerism. It is harder for people who are struggling to pay the rent to find time to volunteer.

“Which is something that I think we need to be aware of when we’re moving forward as a community, because we do really want to keep the heart of our community in our community,” said Mawhinney. 

“I think the role of the director is to amplify the voice of those organizations when they’re looking for support. There’s a role for the director to play there too, but really being able to take the requests of these volunteer organizations or the connections that they need to make with other levels of governance, or other organizations further afield, and be able to support that and amplify the messages that they are already working on.”

Top image credit: Grand opening of the pavilion in Surge Narrows, Read Island. “The pavilion is named The Zone in honour of Rob Wood, for his ‘community spirit, love of nature, and inspiring us all to be in the Zone.’ – Robyn Mawhinney

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