Cortes residents may have noticed a petition available in paper form at our post offices and grocery stores, or received an email update from our Regional Director inviting them to consider signing the online version. The petition mentions governance and incorporation: what’s it all about? I interviewed Regional Director Mark Vonesch to get a better understanding of the issues and why he’s chosen this moment to launch a petition regarding our governance model.
[This article is a condensed version of our interview. The full version is available in podcast form in the links below. Inset quotes in this article are comments made by Cortes residents who have signed the online petition.]
Those that care most about a place, are those that live in a place –thus are most likely to make wise decisions about a place.
As Mark is quick to point out, signing this petition doesn’t indicate that the signer wants Cortes to become some kind of municipality rather than a Rural Area. The petition is intended to find out if there’s sufficient local support to initiate a process of research and discovery (with Provincial support and funding) to figure out whether incorporation is — or isn’t — a practical or desirable alternative to our current system of government.
As Mark says, “The worst that can happen really, if we bring this to the Province and it’s approved and we start this process, the worst that can happen is that we’d learn a lot about local governance. We’d have opportunities to have conversations and speak to each other and explore the options. And in the end maybe we would vote it down… but this is a petition just simply saying, Hey, let’s see if there’s a better way. Let’s explore it and let’s decide for ourselves what makes sense.”
Since the Province would fund the consultation and research process, Mark feels there is no risk to Cortes residents in pursuing it.
I moved to Cortes as I like the independence. I’ve lived on Bowen for years and have watched the battles over jurisdiction at various points. The idea of Campbell River making our decisions appalls me. The idea of Cortes island residents making our decisions appeals to me.
The comments he’s received so far indicate that more than a handful of people are dissatisfied with the current system of governance — in which Cortes is an Rural Area (Area B) whose Director is one of 14 on the SRD board. While there has been some ongoing friction between SRD and Cortes Island over the years, the event which precipitated the petition was Campbell River’s recent proposal to join the planning service that supports the rural areas.
“Joining the electoral area planning service means that they’d have to pay for it, but it allows them to vote on things. So that’s the big thing, that basically the idea of joining the planning service is paying to be able to vote on rural planning decisions… what some Campbell River counselors have said is that it’s about them wanting to control regional growth and how development happens in the rural areas.”
[I am signing] To potentially give Cortes Island greater control in planning its affairs and future without being dominated and directed by the votes of the one large municipality, namely Campbell River.
Mark says he is puzzled by this move, as it would cost Campbell River tax payers $500K annually. “They don’t get anything out of the service, there is no value for their taxpayers. So it’s really about land use, control.
“ If no one else joined the planning service but Campbell River, they would have five votes on it. There’s only four rural Directors on it. So they could overpower our votes, and they could make changes or approve things, or they could make changes to zoning and bylaws around land use decisions. And they could override our wishes when it comes to how we want to develop.”
We are a very unique community, with needs and resources that are very different from those anywhere else in the regional district. It is understandably very unlikely that someone living in Campbell River or elsewhere in the Strathcona Regional District would have enough context of the lived experience on Cortes Island, to make decisions for our land use or community planning, that actually match our reality.
“One of the arguments I’ve heard for joining the planning services, is that it’ll allow us to have a regional growth strategy, which means that we’d all make this growth strategy, and then we’d have to have our planning meet that strategy, which would mean we’d be forced into Campbell River’s vision for growth in the area.”
Mark didn’t want to comment on whether this push to control development in the Discovery Islands might originate with real estate or development interests (“I don’t want to get into conspiracy theories!”); but he did agree that “ real estate is the biggest industry in BC — it’s the biggest contributor to our GDP, and there’s a lot of money to be made in real estate. And that’s why control over land use decisions is a big game. And from my perspective, land use decisions shouldn’t just be about money. It should be about how we can make Cortes a place that works for everybody.”
No one knows our needs like we do. Incorporation would give us autonomy over land use decisions, bylaws, planning, parks, housing, and administration. In a small remote place this type of governance might be very helpful to address challenges from the local prospective. I am noticing that most of the ideas and processes that work in cities and mainland towns do not translate well in our remote community…
We discussed the potential risk of Campbell River acquiring and using the ability to rezone portions of Cortes, re-writing the community plan against the will of the residents: “I think it’s unlikely… but it is possible. I think the bigger concern is the potential of forcing through developments that we don’t want — I think that’s the biggest concern about them joining. It’s scary for me and I think it’s scary for a lot of people in Cortes, to think that well-meaning people who don’t live here, don’t understand Cortes, think that they can make the best decisions for Cortes. And I think it’s just naive — no matter how hard you try and how good your intentions are — if you don’t live here, if you don’t understand the community, then you can’t make the best decisions.”
Mark says he sees some indication recently that there’s less enthusiasm now for Campbell River to join the SRD planning service, after considerable publicity and public debate. But the incident has revived long-simmering dissatisfactions on Cortes.
Some research suggests that smaller local government units can provide people with greater access to decision-making processes (since the ability to monitor and influence behaviour falls as the size of the government increases.) Accessibility is also an issue, when residents live far away from the centres of decision making. Cortes Island is a rural/remote community; residents are a full day’s travel and 2 ferry rides away from Campbell River where all decisions concerning our island are made. Overall, I would be very interested in exploring how a more local government might better reflect the wishes of Cortes Island’s residents and address the dissatisfaction with the regional district system.
“ The conversations around self-governance and Cortes had been happening for years. People have been having conversations and wondering if there’s a better way to do things, for a long time. And you’re right. this recent event really certainly upped the traffic in my inbox — as far as messages I was getting from people, and the conversations I was having with people on the street. People were really worried and alarmed, and really wanted to seriously consider a different way of doing things.”
What would “a different way of doing things” be? There are several examples close to home: municipalities within SRD with populations smaller than that of Cortes, which nevertheless have a mayor and council and settle most of their local affairs within that local structure, dealing with SRD only with regard to regional issues and regionally funded services. “Sayward has three or four hundred people, Zeballos is the smallest municipality in BC with 120 people, Gold River and Tahsis have three or four hundred people also. So there are some very small communities that are using the municipal model.”
I think Cortes Islanders should have more autonomy and control over local affairs.
While Cortes is a sparsely populated island with four villages rather than a single township, there is an established structure called a “district municipality”, a specific type of incorporation created for communities that are distributed and “spread out” rather than densely concentrated, and may have multiple population centres. Mark has been doing a lot of research on the subject, and his finding so far is that this is the only other form of local government defined by BC law that would fit Cortes.
We discussed potential downsides of incorporation: would it mean that the Cortes tax base would have to bear increased expenses? Would taxes go up as a result? “ All of the other places in the Province that have gone through the incorporation process have had an increase in taxes. From a small amount to a large amount. It really depends on that negotiation and the process.”
It would be worthwhile to understand what the benefits of more local governance control are, as well as the potential downside, through a rigorous study.
But, Mark goes on to point out, Cortes currently sends $1.5 million per year to SRD in taxes. The average property last year paid over $1500 in taxes, “and that all goes to the SRD. Now, if we incorporated, some of that would still go to the SRD, but a lot of that money would stay on Cortes, and pay for administration here. So we’d have local jobs, we’d have local people living here, they would be paid a salary here and that’s where they would spend their money.” Right now Campbell River gets all the benefit of being the seat of regional governance: jobs and revenue. Mark sees potential benefit to Cortes in reclaiming some of that income along with more autonomy.
We discuss the potential difficulties of gaining general support for the concept of incorporation, if it does require any tax increase. As we know from experience, some land owners on Cortes are passionately opposed to any increase in their property taxes. Mark has a creative idea about keeping the transition tax-neutral: if there is sufficient support for the idea, there’s the possibility of a wealthy resident setting up an endowment to support the municipality.
“ Let’s say an administration on Cortes costs $300,000 more than it would cost to leave it at the SRD. Let’s say that a wealthier person on Cortes puts in an endowment to the municipality of about 10 million. You put that 10 million into safe investments that earn 3% a year, and that’s $300,000 a year that could help cover the extra cost of administration.” He also mentions that the small municipality of Tahsis meets some of their administrative expenses via grants funding.
I believe a motion to explore local governance on Cortes will be helpful in supporting our local economy. Also significant in addressing our housing crisis, making it more straightforward to rezone and having smaller land parcels thereby making development more affordable.
“ Tahsis gets a lot of grant funding. They put a big focus on getting revenue into their municipality through grants. And that’s something that, that, if Cortes ever did become a municipality, that’s something that I think gives us power too: applying directly to the Province or the federal government for funds to solve issues and to create solutions on Cortes. So rather than us having to go through a third party, or convince other folks what our needs are, we can have a governing body on Cortes that can directly connect with with funds.”
Local people living in a unique remote area should get to decide how their area gets developed.
As Mark points out, specific questions of how much it would cost, what kind of supporting funds could be negotiated with the Province, and other practical details are quite far off at the moment. The process of research and investigation is lengthy, even if the petition does result in approval from the Province to start such a project.
“ We know this: having more independence, having more autonomy, having local people make decisions for our island, makes sense.
I believe in the right to self determination and that decentralized, smaller government is more effective. I think Cortesians should have more control over the island.It would be beneficial for Cortes Island residents to have more local control of services, bylaws, land use decisions, parks, and planning.
“But what does that actually mean? And how much is it gonna cost? So this petition is the first step of a lengthy process, it could take up to four years. First of all, we need to find out if there is any community support for exploring a different governance model and doing things a different way. So that’s the reason why I put it out — to assess the demand or the interest from Cortes Islanders. And I think we’re at about 165 signatures right now. And I’d like to get at least over 200. Just to show the Province that we’re serious in this request, and that we have some good reasons for wanting to explore a different model.
“The more support I have for this going to the Province, the better. If I had 500 people signing this petition — well, it would be very difficult to get 500 people on Cortes to do the same thing! — but if we had that, it would show really strong support. And when people do fill out the petition, if they do it online, there’s a question at the end that says, why do you want to consider a different governance model? And those answers I’m going to include, when and if I send this to the Province. So spending a little bit of thought on that answer is really useful.”
The people who have signed the petition so far do seem to be putting some thought into that last question — and they seem to be seriously interested in trying something new.
I’m very curious about the pros and cons, but generally I do like the idea of being separate from the SRD and being able to develop a more circular economy.
For any readers who would like to sign the petition: Mark has left paper copies at the island post offices and grocery stores, or you can fill out the online version. For more detailed discussion in the full interview, check out the podcast links above.
Other media coverage:
Cortes really does need more local and more democratic governance, not unaccountable rule by a distant board 2 ferries away — who are mostly in complete ignorance about our community and have never visited it. Some alternative to the dysfunctional regional district system is required; we are not the only small coastal community that is dissatisfied with that system: perhaps we can serve as a pilot project for a better, more inclusive, more locally-informed and democratic model of governance for small island/outport communities.
[Note: the voices heard reading comments from Cortes residents on the radio segments for this story are not those of actual Cortes residents; to preserve anonymity, these voices have been synthesised, but the text is taken verbatim from the online questionnaires collected by Mark Vonesch. Some have been edited slightly for length. Digital voices by ElevenLabs. Art work by Midjourney from prompts by author.]
