Tag Archives: 2021 Census

Community, Education, Family, Housing, Jobs

The 2024 Vital Signs Report for Cortes Island

The Cortes Island Community Foundation (CICF) just published the Cortes Island’s Vital Signs report.  

“ When I started with the Community Foundation a few years ago, I  was already in the community, trying to make things happen. In particular, I tried to make things happen in the most grassroots  small nonprofit ways possible, but often in the area where I saw that there was a lot of need. Very quickly, I was in the process of writing grants and trying to figure out how to bring in those resources that I knew were out there somewhere,” explained Manda Aufochs Gillespie, Executive Director of the Cortes Foundation. 

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Community

Reflections on the eradication of Canada’s middle class 

A recent article in the Capital Daily outlines how the housing crisis is eradicating Victoria’s middle class. 

Throughout British Columbia, the average rent and mortgage payments exceed what many people can pay. 

“What’s been happening over the last 10 years is that the share of homes bought by first-time buyers has been declining, and their market share has largely been taken over by investors,” said John Pasalis, president of Toronto-based Realosophy Realty, told CBC News.

He added that, contrary to what many believe, the lion’s share of the investors were domestic owners who purchased a second home as an investment. 

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Uncategorized

Would Universal Basic Income work in the SRD?

One of the most controversial ideas being considered in the SRD’s Poverty Reduction Plan is advocating for a Universal Basic Income (UBI). (A higher level of government would need to implement this.) There are numerous examples showing that UBI is an effective way to raise people out of poverty. The problem is too much of the financial impact may fall on the diminishing middle class ($50,000-$135,000 per anno in BC) rather than the rich who appear to be increasingly growing richer.    

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Community

Immigration in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Discovery Islands

On the surface, one might ask how relevant an article about immigration is to people living in the Discovery Islands. The vast majority of us either came from more urban parts of British Columbia, and/or are the descendants of an earlier wave of immigrants. Many non-Indigenous Cortesians trace their roots back to the era when most immigrants were ‘British,’ European or from the United States. There are undoubtedly many reasons why this predominantly ‘white’ population is now found in more rural areas. Some of us are the descendants of the first settlers in this area, others sought a more rural lifestyle and many moved here because of real estate values. 

According to Statistics Canada, a new wave of immigration has become the principal driver of our nation’s population growth. 

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Finances, Politics

Canada’s National Debt in 2023 (Includes Cortes and Area C data)

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the National Debt is now close to $1.21 trillion dollars, which amounts to $30,602 per Canadian. The government expects to pay more than $46.5 billion to service the debt for 2023/24. This exceeds 10% of the federal revenue threshold, recommended by David Dodge, former Bank of Canada Governor. A report from the Fraser Institute states: “In 2021, the average Canadian family (in which two partners are working) earned an income of $99,030 and paid total taxes equaling $42,547 (43.0%).” What does this mean on Cortes Island? Or in Area C?

Continue reading Canada’s National Debt in 2023 (Includes Cortes and Area C data) →