Originally Published on Cortes Radio.ca
By Roy L Hales
On June 6, 2019, Chair Michele Babchuk and three members of the Strathcona Regional District staff caught a water taxi from Campbell River to Cortes Island. Around 80 local inhabitants were waiting for them in Mansons Hall. I doubt anyone could have guessed what was to follow. The resulting Cortes Island Hall Tax consultation was refreshing.
Continue reading Hall Tax Consultation RefreshingThere was a surprise waiting in minutes of the February 28th session. After all the spectators went home, the Strathcona Regional District Board briefly reconvened in public to make an announcement. The Cortes referenda are moving forward for consideration at the next board meeting.
Continue reading Cortes Referenda Are Moving ForwardBy Roy L Hales
The Boardroom was not large enough to contain us. We spilled out into the hallway. The final count was 36 Cortes residents, all but six of whom are known to support a hall tax to supply core funding for the island’s two community halls. The trip to Campbell River consumed the better part of our days. Collectively speaking, we spent about $1,000 in gas and ferry charges to get there. It was worth it. We came to hear two Cortes delegations address the Strathcona Regional District Board on Feb 28, 2019.
Continue reading Cortes delegations address the Strathcona Regional District Board (Part 1)By Roy L Hales
Fourteen Cortes Island residents unleashed a political avalanche, when they filed a legal petition in the Supreme Court of British Columbia last month. Close to half of the island’s voters have signed an open letter protesting the petition’s “unfounded and mean spirited” allegations, as well as ways in which they suspect the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) may be complicit. Now, amidst mounting criticism, the SRD Board will not listen to the presentations two Cortes organizations hoped to make at their February 13, 2019, meeting.
Continue reading SRD Will Not Listen
