Community, Politics

A $943,000 Question: Quadra and the Strathcona Gardens Vote

Originally published in the Bird’s Eye

Did I set out to write a two-page article this week? Nope. Did I anyway? Yup. This is a big deal for our island — and it’s still early in the series. So yes, I’m running the longest two pages in Bird’s Eye history. Sorry, not sorry. Enjoy!

By Melissa McKinney, editor/owner of the Bird’s Eye.

On March 25, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) board voted on whether to add Quadra Island to the Strathcona Gardens recreation service area. Around 80 Area C residents showed up to watch — enough to fill the boardroom, spill out through the open double doors into the lobby, where even standing room was tight. The SRD livestreams their board meetings on YouTube, so small groups of residents huddled around phones watching their own local government meeting from the parking lot outside. Inside the lobby, the meeting’s audio played from multiple phones on a slight delay, making it difficult to follow unless you were actually in the boardroom. 

The crowd was made up mostly of seniors and parents with young children — showing up for the community, making their presence seen and felt. A few protest signs waved gently. The tension in the room, the lobby, and all the way outside remained sharp. Standing only a row or two back from the open boardroom doors, it was difficult to hear what was being said — but everyone knew exactly why they were there. 

Here is what they were there to oppose. Under the proposal on the table, every household on Quadra would be charged an estimated $558/year to help fund Strathcona Gardens — a recreation complex in Campbell River that, even under ideal conditions, requires roughly 15 minutes to the ferry, a wait, a 20-minute crossing, and another short drive on the other side — just to get there. That cost would be permanent. 

To understand how significant that is, consider that Area C residents currently pay the SRD $840 per average household for every service the regional district provides, combined. That covers administration, the library, community parks, the community hall, planning, 911, the emergency program — everything. Adding Strathcona Gardens would increase that total by 66% in a single stroke. It would instantly become the most expensive item on Quadra’s tax bill by a wide margin — more than double any existing service. Meanwhile, adding Quadra to the bill would save Campbell River households about $50 a year and Area D households about $27.

Over the past two years, 1,226 Area C residents signed a petition spearheaded by Mike Gall, opposing the expansion and requesting a referendum. In November 2024, Director Mawhinney moved for an Area C referendum before any action was taken. That motion was defeated.

Director Mawhinney spoke directly to the board before the vote. She reminded directors that those 1,226 signatures represent 44% of Area C’s entire population, and that she has received close to 300 letters from residents over the past two years — including one from a senior named Christine who has written 11 times asking for updates and expressing concern about being taxed for a facility she had no vote on. Mawhinney pointed out that the study did not explore alternative funding models used by other regional districts in BC, such as contribution service agreements or utilization-based funding, and questioned why Quadra residents should pay the same rate as communities with direct, ferry-free access to the facility and its economic benefits. She asked the board to defeat the motion and “go back to the drawing board to look at more equitable options.” 

Mawhinney then moved an amendment requesting that staff also examine options for a contribution service agreement with consideration for the additional access costs island residents face. The amendment was defeated 7-6 and the original motion — to prepare a bylaw adding Quadra Island to the Strathcona Gardens service — carried 7-6.

The vote happened quickly and quietly enough that many people in the lobby and outside didn’t even realize it was over. Word spread slowly through the crowd. One attendee’s voice cut through the noise: “You just made an enemy out of your neighbour.” Others called out “Shame on you!” to the board. When the meeting broke for recess and SRD staff began asking people to clear the room, a small group of seniors refused to move, instead telling the staffer himself to sit down. It was about the least threatening thing you could say — yet the staff member responded by saying they had RCMP on standby and would call them. Zero to RCMP in seconds, over seniors telling you to sit down.

Strathcona Gardens is currently funded only by Campbell River and Area D. The facility is nearly 50 years old and in the middle of a massive rebuild called the REC-REATE project, with a total price tag of $131 million. The SRD tried three times to get federal infrastructure grants to help pay for it — in 2019, 2020, and 2023 — with requests ranging from $6 to $70 million. All three applications were denied. Phase 1 construction started anyway in fall 2024, and bids came in $22 million over the 2023 budget estimate. The original borrowing bylaw authorized $64.6 million intended to cover both phases of the project. That barely covers Phase 1 now, and the board has since approved a second borrowing bylaw for another $57.1 million just for Phase 2. After the federal government said no three times, the SRD turned its attention to expanding the tax base — enter Quadra Island. 

The study used to support the expansion was prepared by RC Strategies, the same consulting firm that conducted an earlier regional recreation feasibility study in 2024. It recommends considering Quadra Island as part of the Strathcona Gardens service area — but it contains no Quadra-specific usage data. The consultant acknowledged at the meeting that the movement data could not isolate Quadra Island residents. The entire basis for estimating Area C’s connection to the facility is 944 accounts in the booking system, accumulated over eight years. That is not visits, not individuals, but the number of households that have registered for a program. The study’s own geographic data shows that 16% of visits come from more than 100 km away — but there is no breakdown showing how many come from Quadra specifically.

If this goes through, Quadra would be on the hook for over $28 million in the first 30 years alone, with no end date attached. Nearly a million dollars a year in permanent new taxes for a project its residents have made overwhelmingly clear they oppose. A petition opposing the expansion, signed by 1,226 Area C residents, has not changed the board’s course. Every request for a referendum has been voted down. An amendment asking staff to even explore alternative funding models — like the ones already working in other BC regional districts — was defeated. Yet the entire case rests on data that cannot answer the most basic question: how many of us actually use this facility?

Other regional districts are handling this differently, particularly when it comes to smaller, ferry-dependent island communities. 

The Comox Valley Regional District confirmed to the Bird’s Eye this week that Hornby and Denman Islands are not full participants in their regional recreation complexes service. Instead, the islands contribute through a separate service — the greater of $25,000 or $12.62 per resident based on census data — totalling approximately $33,000 per year. Applied to Area C’s population, that formula would put Quadra’s contribution at roughly $35,000. Under the current proposal, it’s $943,000.

Now that the board has voted to move forward, an amendment bylaw will be prepared — likely for the next board meeting. But voting to prepare a bylaw is not the same as passing one. While the board can give first, second, and third readings in a single meeting if they choose to suspend the rules, the bylaw cannot be adopted without elector approval. 

There are three methods available, and the Bird’s Eye reached out to SRD Corporate Officer Tom Yates to understand which ones apply.

The first is 2/3 consent, where the electoral area director gives or refuses consent on behalf of residents. Yates confirmed this option is ruled out — it cannot be used for only a portion of an electoral area, and Option A adds only Quadra, not all of Area C.

The second is the Alternative Approval Process (AAP), a type of negative petition where the bylaw passes unless 10% or more of eligible electors formally object. Yates noted that given the level of community opposition, an AAP would likely just trigger a referendum anyway.

The third is a referendum — a direct vote. This appears to be the only realistic path forward. But there is a catch. The board gets to decide who participates in that vote, and at the March 25 meeting, the CAO indicated he would expect all affected electors to vote, meaning Campbell River and Area D residents alongside Quadra. 

There is another piece to this. Director Mawhinney confirmed to the Bird’s Eye that she has already been in contact with Ministry of Municipal Affairs staff and plans to follow up directly with Minister Christine Boyle. Under the Local Government Act, the Minister has the power to order that Quadra votes separately on this question. That provision exists specifically for situations where a change would have a significant impact on a specific community; a permanent 66% tax increase for a service that residents have loudly petitioned against would hopefully qualify.

There are many questions we are still working to answer. How was elector approval obtained when the Strathcona Gardens service was originally created in 1970? This is a question even SRD staff haven’t found an answer to yet — Yates told us they will need to examine records inherited from the former Comox-Strathcona Regional District. Here’s hoping they used archival paper. 

The next SRD board meeting is April 29, with the agenda likely to be published on April 24. If the bylaw is on the agenda, the board will need to determine which elector approval method to use and who is eligible to vote. What legal options are available to the community going forward? We will be exploring this and more in a third article later this month.

This coverage is intended to help inform a complex and evolving situation — not to represent a complete picture. We hope it helps bring some clarity. We always encourage readers to do their own research and check sources.

Links of Interest:

Top image credit: Artists depiction of the pool at Strathcona Gardens – courtesy Recreate Strathcona Gardens

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