Tag Archives: Cortes Island

Food

Cortes Island’s Community Meal Program

There is a community meal somewhere on Cortes Island every week. 

“A warm bowl of soup, or a stew, that’s at the heart of it. Then there’s always some sort of fresh veggies or a fresh veggie platter cut up.  Folks are getting that kind of food in them.  Then bread and butter, because that’s just the  basics for everybody and usually a dessert, some sort of cookies or brownies and the whole meal includes gluten free and vegetarian options,” explained Yasmina Cartland.  

“There’s nothing you have to do to come to lunch. Everyone can come. You don’t have to prove that you need it. It’s completely inclusive. It’s meant to be a warm social time and it’s meant to actually nourish people with some warm nourishing food.”  

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Politics

Q&A With NDP Candidate Tanille Johnston

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Cortes Currents asked all three candidates in North Island-Powell River (NIPR) for an interview. Jessica Wegg, of the Green Party, was the first to respond. Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn, who 338Canada currently projects as leading in our riding, has yet to acknowledge the invitation. NDP candidate Tanille Johnston, whose party is trailing in the projections, intends to visit Cortes Island soon and emailed her answers to my questions.

As with my previous interview with Jessica Wegg, this is a discussion of Johnston’s beliefs, not a debate on policy. There is some fact checking on her remarks about the Conservatives negativity (by comparing the name calling and negative imaging in the headlines of Conservative, NDP and Green press releases) and whether they do represent the rich (by looking at the cost to attend a party event and a report from the National Post).

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Housing

Short Term Rentals must be registered by May 1, 2025

There are approximately 100 short term rentals, collectively earning between $1 million and $1.5 million* a year, on Cortes Island. At of the end of 2021, there were 177 on Quadra.  As of May 1st, all  Airbnbs and short-term rentals in BC have to register with the provincial government.

 “It’s a process where the provincial government is asking short term rental operators and short term rental platform operators to register. Then they’re going to cross reference  and use that as a way to regulate Airbnbs,” explained Mark Vonesch, Regional Director for Cortes Island (Area B).

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Communications

Cortes Island Residents Waiting for CityWest To Connect Them

CityWest started hooking Cortes Island residents up to the internet in December 2023, but many homes are still waiting. As the evidence is anecdotal, it is difficult to say how many people are currently connected through CityWest and how many are not.

Sherman Barker just informed me that he has never met anyone who is connected. After waiting for two years of waiting, he was using Starlink by the time a CityWest crew showed up to do the final hook-up. 

“I have a pile of CityWest cable, all the way from my driveway to my yard, that they don’t want back.”  

Sean Coyote, a techie who works for Cortes Community Radio, said typically people who have yet to be serviced are told their names are on a list. Some, like Sherman, subsequently moved on to other internet providers. Sean added that there are a couple of CityWest trucks working on the island right now. 

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Education

Visit 2040 with The Cortes island Academy

The Cortes Island Academy’s third semester is wrapping up and in this year’s end showcase the students are taking the audience on an imaginative visit to the year 2040. It starts at 7:00 this Thursday, January 13, 2025 at Mansons Hall.  

 “A really important part of the Cortes Island Academy is our year end showcase where the students are  given the task of finding a way to share some of the  learning that they’ve gone through in the semester in a form that is digestible for the community at large. So they put on this big event which is supposed to be fun and compelling and also spark the imagination of the citizenry of Cortes and the surrounding islands.  We are really hoping that a lot of people will come out. I’m quite proud of the way the students have really taken things a different way this year,” explained Executive Director Manda Aufochs Gillespie.

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