Tag Archives: Cortes Island

Housing

Land Sharing on Cortes Island

Tune in on March 14th for another collaborative monthly housing forum presented by the Cortes Housing Society, and supported by Folk University. Themed “Land Sharing”, this forum featured 5 local Cortesian guest speakers chatting about different land-sharing formats (Tiber Bay, Siskin Lane, land partnerships, living estates, and more!), what has worked for them, and what hasn’t. This hybrid-style forum took place on March 8, 2025, in-person at Manson’s Hall and over Zoom.

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Housing

RIEP Presentation: Affordable Housing Across The Islands

One of the 2025 RIEP Virtual Forum presentations was a panel discussion of how the affordable housing societies were faring on six rural islands. There were a lot of common themes running throughout their stories: difficulties obtaining funding through BC Housing, CMHC and other organizations whose requirements are drawn up for urban rather than rural areas; the cost of building on remote islands; relationships with regional districts and Islands Trust; and water issues. The moderator was Mike Hoebel from the  Galiano Affordable Living Initiative Society (GALI).

Mike Hoebel: “The lack of affordable housing is truly a crisis in our communities and housing policy was a major item for discussion back at the RIEP 2023 In-Person Forum Gabriola. Today we’re going to hear from a number of people about housing related initiatives underway in their communities.”

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Environment, Transportation, Youth

Cortes Round-up: Spring is here and its time to …

  • ✅ Get involved in the federal election and support a Climate Champion candidate
  • ✅ Prepare for the fire season by cleaning up around your property
  • ✅ Plan your garden to grow your own food this year
  • ✅ Share the Cortes Roundup with your friends!

Enjoy the latest climate news for Cortes & beyond for March, 2025

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Development, Housing

SRD Staff Looking Into Funding Possibilities For Two Cortes Building Projects

At their Tuesday, March 11, meeting the Electoral Areas Services Committee (EASC) discussed further funding possibilities for the Rainbow Ridge affordable Housing Project and the new multi-use sports court.

Staff was instructed to prepare a report about the possibility of using utilizing $200,000 from Cortes Island’s Community Works (Gas Tax) funds to support the installation of the septic system and waterworks facility. This is approximately a third of the project’s estimated cost.  

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Indigenous Nations

RIEP Presentation: Ways To Further Support The Success Of BC’s Indigenous Economy

Editor’s note: Some of the SENĆOŦEN words do not appear in the following text, but can be inserted when the correct spelling is known. 

One of the most popular presentations at RIEP’s 2025 Virtual forum was Former Green Party MLA Adam Olsen’s identification of ways to further support the success of BC’s Indigenous economy.

Francine Carlin, Chair of the Rural Island Economic Partnership (RIEP) introduced Olsen, “ Adam is a proud member of the Tsartlip Nation. He currently serves as the lead negotiator for the Tsartlip, representing the nation’s interests on land and resource management, governance and the treaty land entitlement process. His leadership and negotiation plays a crucial role and advancing the nation’s rights and self determination, Adam’s expertise of bridging gaps between environmental concerns, indigenous rights and sustainable development makes him a true champion of the greater good.”

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